I'm So TIRED of Hospitals!

I've had my fill of hospitals this year.  That Man's mother spent some time in one off and on before she passed.  That Man himself found himself undergoing open heart surgery for a birth defect (a bicuspid valve that should have been tricuspid).  My mom made a few trips to the hospital and then passed.  I went (outupatient) during the week of Thanksgiving for the infamous festive colonoscopy, and a mammogram on Black Friday.

I thought it was late enough in the year that I would finally be safe.

Uh, no.

My dad has lymphoma - a non-Hodgkins type.  He has blood tests every three to six months, and when the numbers get to a certain level, it's time for a round of chemo.

This is one of those times.  Friday, Dad went to the IU Medical Center for the first of four weekly infusions.  I got a call in the middle of the afternoon. He needed me to take him home after I got off work - he'd had a reaction to the medicine.

And what a reaction!

When I got there (after frantically calling friends to see who might be available to help me shuttle his car back to his apartment), he was pale, his speech was slurred, his blood pressure was way down, his temperature was way up, and he was so weak he couldn't sit up well.  Frightening!

Long story short, they gave him two units of blood, and suddenly he decided that lying down was uncomfortable, he wanted the Fox News channel turned on, and started ordering me around.

We left the hospital aroun 12:30 a.m., with me following him home.  HE DROVE HIMSELF HOME.  What the heck?  I didn't get home until after 2:00 a.m., and I hit the sack around 2:40 a.m.

Yes, he's mega-tired (but he's ALWAYS like that after a round of chemo!), but he's up and out and going and doing.  I was barely functional on Saturday, and there's nothing (physically!) wrong with me besides sleep deprivation.

Sunday, he drove himself to church and sang in a men's chorus Christmas concert.  I skipped church, did a miniscule amount of Christmas shopping, and watched the wretched Indianapolis Colts football game at Baltimore.  I did a little laundry, too, but that consisted of throwing some clothes in the washer or dryer, and heading back to the couch to watch the game.  Dad did better than I did!

Only three more infusions to go!

Here's a link to some information about his specific type of lymphoma:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000588.htm