Dad was admitted to the hospital today to have a feeding tube placed and receive IV fluids. He has had increasing difficulty swallowing and choking. The swallowing issue has become so bad that Dad was rapidly becoming dehydrated and losing weight. We are actually encouraged to be having this done as we feel that this will help Dad to regain some of his mental abilities that have deteriorated because of the dehydration.
Sam and I are actually in the car traveling to South Carolina as I write this. This had all been coming to a head before we left and yesterday when I went into the nursing home I was able to talk to the doctor and get everything worked out. Sherri and I talked and the consensus (Rosie, Paul, Sherri) was that Sam and I continue with our plans to leave for our vacation today. There is nothing different that I can do that Sherri cannot. Dad is in good hands. Rosie's daughter, Kristen, who is a CNA in Indiana, is visiting in Florida right now. She and her husband arrived at the nursing home at 7:30AM to check on things and were in with Mom and Dad all morning. Sherri went to the hospital with Dad. I am moved to tears as I think about the providence of God in the timing of all this. Knowing that Kristen was there with them all morning to help out and love on her grandparents with her skills is such a comforting thing. A reminder that God has all things under control. I am reminded again of what Dad has told us several times. When he was born in the apartment above the church where his dad pastored, there was a service taking place below. His mother told him that the song being sung at the time of his birth was GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. She told him that was his birth song. One line of the song is "Be not dismayed what e're betide, God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you." And God certainly continues to do that for my parents!
2 comments:
I hope you have a great vacation! I'm sorry Uncle John's health requires a feeding tube, however, I'm glad it is an option for him. I often think my dad's mind would be better if he weren't dehydrated. I just can't get him to drink much. I have kind of given up harping on him about it. He doesn't like it:)
Beth, I know what you mean about harping on your dad. It got pretty old for me as well. You can't force someone to drink -- he just didn't grasp the importance of it and then we ran into the problem of him not being able to. Wait, I guess you can force someone...put in an IV and feeding tube. :) We did tell him what was happening and he said he would do whatever was necessary. But did he remember?? :)
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