Challenges, fears & trust

As I right this update we are traveling home from Pennsylvania to Florida. We were to have been heading to Ohio today for the rest of our vacation. After we had left Allentown and just started out on our day of driving, Sherri called. She had just gotten a call from B.J. (our house cleaner who has become a great friend and who loves Mom and Dad as her own parents). She had gotten to the nursing home to check on Mom and Dad early and discovered that Dad was burning up with fever. She checked him out to see if there was infection around the entry place of the feeding tube, etc. Sherri immediately proceeded to the nursing home. Just before she arrived they had tried to give Dad his meds in his feeding tube and he promptly threw up everything they put in his stomach. In the process of throwing up, he choked badly (as if you can choke goodly). B.J. said his lips turned blue at one point and the nurse believed that he had aspirated. (Now the concern is that he could get pneumonia from having this foreign matter in his lungs.) Sherri spoke with the head nurse who said they could do a chest xray to see if this had indeed happened. She also communicated to Sherri that they could have him transported to the hospital if the family pushed and said that was what they wanted. Sherri and I concurred that this was our desire. The last time they did a chest xray at the nursing home to check for aspiration, it took over 24 hours. We also were anxious to find out what was causing the high fever.

Kathy and Carmen had planned to go to Orange Park today from St. Augustine for some errands. They had planned to see Mom and Dad while they were there. I called them to catch them up to speed on what was happening. They went to the nursing home shortly after that. Sherri said that when they arrived and Kathy said her perky hello to Dad that he brightened up, his eyes twinkled and he smiled. He later tried to kick Carmen at the foot of the bed (his way of teasing with Carmen). That was an encouraging moment.

They decided that Sherri would go to the E.R. with Dad and B.J. would get lunch and then relieve Sherri for lunch. Kathy and Carmen stayed at the nursing home with Mom to make sure she understood what was going on and to keep her company for awhile.

So now we wait...for the chest xray and blood work results at the hospital. Dad is on an IV in the E.R. and their goal is to keep him comfortable right now.

Nila called me a little while ago after getting the latest news by way of text message. (This is a great part about sharing things as a family and holding each other up.) She reminded me that I have been their rock and anchor (the earthly one) for awhile now and that Dad is probably quite anxious and not understanding what is happening and his rock and anchor isn't around. She suggested that it was quite important for him to hear my voice and to even pray with him. I have spoken to him once since I left and that was when he was in the hospital for his feeding tube. He can't respond but he can listen. I called Sherri and she put the phone up to his ear. I spoke to him, prayed with him and then I sang him his song...GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. Sherri said that his breathing changed when I started to sing and that he was smiling and looking around a bit afterwards.

I'm so glad I'm on my way home!