Today was a roller coaster for dear old dad (or Jiffy Pop, as I now call him after seeing him in his metallic pre-op shower cap-esque thing). This morning when Beth and I went in, he was in a lot of pain, and his blood pressure was unstable and going back up to his normal Oh-My-God-He's-Going-To-Stroke level, which made the nurses uneasy. Throughout the day he made improvements, however. He got lots of rest, and with massive pharmaceutical intervention he was able to maintain a manageable pressure. He was also able to get some sleep today, so we sat with him in silence and watched the fascinating film that is the heart monitor. It was nice to see regular blips and encouraging numbers.

By the last visiting hour of the day (and as you read on Lila's post, visiting hours are fairly strictly enforced and few and far between -- I really have to make the most of my four visiting hours a day), Dad was able to manage a smile -especially when his sister was teasing him about a childhood nickname. I was fairly discouraged this morning, but feeling much better as I left tonight, being reminded that recovery is not a linear process, but rather a series of of advances and setbacks that grow increasingly favorable.

Between the third and fourth visiting times today, we went to Target (or Nirvana manifested, as I like to think of it) and Best Buy and bought Dad a small CD player and a CD of Gregorian chants so that he can listen to some music tomorrow and mask the sound of his monitors constantly reminding him that his normal blood pressure is freakishly high to the hospital staff.

All in all, Dad is still doing well, and if all goes well should be in a regular room with a number and a phone by tomorrow night. When that happens I will post his info so that you can wish him well in card or voice form.

Posted by: Erin at 12:35 AM | Comments (27) | Add Comment
Post contains 341 words, total size 2 kb.