My dad is proud of me

[Droopy]

My dad is in the hospital right now because he has a lung abscess. It's a complication of a complication. He had surgery on his back last November and for some reason got a blood clot due to it while he was recovering at home. The blood clot found its way into his lung and he had to be hospitalized again. They thought that they had the problem solved, but then a month later, the place where the blood clot had been turned into an abscess. He has been hospitalized twice now for the abscess. No matter how many anti-biotics they give him the abscess just doesn't go away. The doctors are thinking that he will have to have surgery on his lung to fix the problem, but they are giving the anti-biotics one last try.

I was visiting with him today in the hospital and he seemed so weak and frail. He's 56; not an old man. And not the disturbed man of my youth. I wrote here how he had been verbally and emotionally abusive to my mother when I was little. I see very little of that man left. What is there now is a man who is gentle and kind to everyone. He is a man of conscience now, and he is always treating my sister and I like a father should. He is kind to us; he encourages us when we need it; he is truly interested in our lives; he wants to be a good grandfather; he shares in our happiness when we succeed and comforts us when we fail.

Everything is going well for me right now. I am thriving despite the bad economy. I'm getting healthier. I quit smoking last April and I'm losing the weight that I needed to lose. I was telling him about those things and he was genuinely happy and seemed to forget about his pain for a little while. The nurse came in to see how he was doing and he said that he was was hurting some, but that his son was there and that made him feel better.

Our troubled youths are gone. There is no longer any animosity between us. We have both moved on to a better life with happier times. Get well soon, dad.

[mopinko]

1. so happy for you droop.

i suspect that you can take some credit for your father's growth. like that old poem says- the child is father to the man.

so hoping that your dad gets through all this, and recovers completely. do what you can to be there, and know that this is so important. having family members around, and advocating for the patient can make all the difference in the quality of care. to them he is one more patient. to you he is the only patient.
keep us posted.

[Droopy]

3. Thanks for the kind words, mopinko

I was visiting with him today and he says that they are considering doing surgery. At this point, he is tired of the aggravation and pain and just wants to get the surgery and be done with this. He knows it is going to be very painful in the short-term, but the only other option is being discharged and hooked up to an I.V. of antibiotics at the house. He says, "Enough!" I told him to be sure to tell the doctors what he wants. He was apprehensive about doing that, but after he ran it by me and I told him he should express to the doctors what he would like to do, he felt better about it.

[mopinko]

5. can you help him with that?

i can't wait to get a little older, and a little more senile, so that my kids can yell at my doctors for me!

[elleng]

2. PLEASE

get well soon, dad.

[Droopy]

4. Thanks for the good vibes, elleng

:pals:

[mdmc]

6. God bless

my prayers are with you guys and I am glad you got to hear those words..