The whole process was amazing... the medical team was doing absolutely everything they could to keep Dad going... if a machine was needed, plug it in... if a drug was needed, plug it in. It was interesting because it really demonstrated (for me) how well medical technology had progressed – at least as far as supplementing the mechanical processes of the body... but it also drove home the fact that the psychological & spiritual part of a human being... the part that makes them actually human... is still largely a crapshoot.
Hi everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't sent out a message lately... it's been difficult to know what to say in terms of "update."
Things are very much "in the moment" in dad's hospital room. You get into a rhythm of watching the numbers on the various monitors and obsessing about the beeps and alarms - and any of the smallest of things. While he rests (still sedated), a machine is breathing for my dad. Another is doing the work that his kidney should be doing. Drugs are in place to keep his blood pressure up, regulate his pain, fight any infections, and both support and suppress his new immune system.
A pageant of medical personnel take care of him... both physically and, as much as they can, emotionally. Planning for any possibility they can, and caring for any need that presents itself. For his physical state, there isn't that much that we can do, other than sit... and wait... and watch... and worry... and most of all do that which the machines can't do. Care.
So we care, and we love him, and we hope, and we pray, and we tear out our hair and stomp the floor with frustration. It doesn't matter if you're in the same room with him, or on the other side of the world... if your thoughts or your prayers are with him, you're a huge part of the caring part. We can't thank you enough, and you're doing more good than you think.
Dad is "as sick as a human being can be, but he's holding steady there." Over the past week, he has been on 5 different antibiotics, and there doesn't seem to be current evidence of infection. On the other hand, he's been spiking mysterious fevers. Last night his fever reached 104. His lungs are in pretty good shape, but he's not breathing on his own; his heart is pretty healthy, but he is still on some (and has been on a lot of) medicine to keep his blood pressure up. His liver is currently ok, but his kidney has failed. Everything is in a delicate balance right now, and it's currently up to Dad and God whether he'll come back.
Thank you for all of your kind words, love, and care.
Take care,
-p
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