My Father

Some of you are waiting for an update and some have no idea what's going on. So here it is for everyone.

My father has Alzheimer's. The past few months it has been getting a lot worse. On Monday the 15th, he wouldn't get out of bed and wasn't eating or drinking. I'm not sure if it was that he couldn't get out of bed. Either way, an ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital.

He had a severe urinary tract infection, and also a very swollen gall bladder. Between the Alzheimer's and the medicines he was on, he couldn't even form words anymore. My dad tends to have to be sedated while at the hospital. He's one of those people who rips all of the stuff out of his arms and what not.

On Friday the 19th he had surgery done to remove the gall bladder. No complications with the surgery.

Friday night/Saturday morning, he flatlined. Saturday the 20th we flew out to Florida. He's been in a coma since. Or mostly in a coma. Things are still a bit unclear to me. Yesterday, Tuesday the 23rd, he did respond to nurses, but I don't think he has again.

He's also had three strokes while in the hospital. There is brain damage. We don't know where yet.

So, I have no answers for you. I flew out to Florida expecting my father to die, and I still expect that. But we're waiting to see where the damaged areas of his brain are because we have already made decisions on when to pull the plug or not.

It's been an interesting few days here in Florida. I have a cousin who lives out here and I haven't seen her in years. She came here on Sunday and Monday. It was good for my mother. They laugh a lot when they're together. And it's good for the rest of us because those two are seriously crazy together.

Today, hubby and I are flying back out to Austin. More tests still need to be done on my father and I feel like I'm in limbo here. We didn't plan for a long trip to Florida. We weren't prepared for it. We honestly thought this was it, and I still feel that it is, but now we're playing the waiting game once more. And I can't stay in Florida. Everyone is stressed and things are tense and I am so angry and frustrated and I'm yelling at everyone and I shouldn't be doing that. I will do better in Texas where I can get back on my schedule and have two kitties for company. I have trouble being with my family at the best of times, mostly because there are just too many people in this house and it's always so freaking loud. Hubby and I stay in a hotel when we visit.

So this is an update but not really an update because I honestly don't know what to tell you because I just don't know.

And this last part is where I'm going to sound horribly bitchy. However, this is for my mental health so please read on anyway. I am a realist who errs on the side of pessimism. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all the well wishes. I really do. If you want to tell me my father is in your thoughts and/or prayers, that's fine. Please do not tell me everything is going to be fine. Please don't tell me that he could still pull out of this. Please don't tell me anything similar to any of this. I know your heart is in the right place, but all these succeed in doing is making me angrier and more frustrated and more stressed, and hubby is taking me home to Texas to avoid all of this. Hubby can tell you how badly I react to stuff like that. We've had that here in Florida.

I think that's all. I'll update again when I know more.