Pop Update

So last evening was interesting, to say the least. After some preliminary examination by the doctor in the Emergency Room, some odd things took place.

The Resident told Pop's daughters that there wasn't much to be done because the mass on Pop's liver was to blame. It's very large, according to him, and most likely the reason he was in so much discomfort. Two weeks ago, Pop's regular doctor, the head of Oncology at that hospital, ordered a CAT scan for him, and that is to take place tomorrow. The reason, according to that doctor, is to determine the extent of the cancer spread, and to assess what's going on in there. I assume that the Resident had a clue or two, but it's very confusing how he could make his assessment without the assistance of anything like a CAT scan. But they have the medical degrees, you know?

The next step was for the Resident to prescribe some sort of morphine patch to apply to Pop's skin. When his daughters took the prescription to the hospital pharmacy, the pharmacist went a little crazy. He told them that if Pop was being discharged that evening, there was no way he could have this patch, as it would essentially render him comatose. A lot of confusion.

Anyway, the latest is, Pop is going to get the CAT scan tomorrow as planned. His Oncologist won't be back at the hospital until Wednesday, and we're scheduled to see him next Friday. Until then, he's home, without the patch, and using his regularly prescribed medicines. He's apparently not quite as uncomfortable today as yesterday, as he has been resting peacefully most of the day. He actually requested a regular old breakfast this morning, and ate it all. He's having a nap now, and I'm hoping he'll have an appetite for dinner as well.

He cut his arm the other day...scraped it actually, but his skin is very soft and easily damaged. We got some great bandages and tape to use on his wounds, and so far, so good.

It's just all very unsettling. I don't possess a medical degree, and I don't want to be one of those people who is perpetually skeptical about medical care. I have learned to ask questions and clarify things when they're not clear, but there should be some sense of confidence in trained doctors. Last night didn't do that for me.

But I guess it's "all's well that ends well" for the time being. Thanks everyone.

Pop Update

Things have been tough for Pop lately. His health is definitely on the decline and today he had to be brought to the hospital through the emergency room. He's being checked thoroughly as we speak.

The demands have been a lot to handle, for all involved. While I have a job that has allowed a lot of flexibility, I just haven't been able to be as available as I would like to. And today was one of those times. I was just too far away to be able to get back here to take him up to the hospital.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, we have him living here with us. His hospital is a Veterans Administration hospital, and the one we chose to use is in another state because the one that is more local is just not a place we're comfortable with. It's about 125 miles from home to the hospital we use, but it's definitely worth the drive.

Getting back to today, he woke up with some complaints of discomfort. It's been a pretty solid line of complaint with him, so at first it just seemed to be business as usual that would be handled with the medicines. But it became evident that this was not the typical situation.

She and her sister got him into the van and took the drive up while I worked and then got home to our kids. We're in a holding pattern. He's been to the brink and back quite a few times now, but always manages to bounce back. He's definitely faded now, and he looks terrible, but I'd not bet against him just yet.

You don't quite see the time passing. You don't realize that 24 hours just doesn't seem to be enough. We must be doing a decent job because his prognosis was 6 months in September, and here it is almost June. We do our best to provide the best care we can around here. We try to follow the prescription directions very closely, although that isn't always easy, because it sometimes requires the ability to say "no" when he wants to exceed the dosages. I took lessons in wound care, and we got a bedsore to heal up completely. He does his best to keep me in practice though, he's always cutting or scraping something or another. I have a fully-stocked first aid kit and luckily I'm not squeamish. I was taught that, at this stage, no wound is to be taken lightly or ignored. Apparently, the feet are particularly susceptible to problems.

The one casualty is the amount of time that's lost. When you're so involved with things, you don't realize how fast it goes. I miss my friends here, but I want everyone to know that I get by when I can.

Wish us luck. I'm not sure what the outcome is going to be just yet. As I said, he's bounced back plenty of times before.

Life Goes On...

One thing I love about life is that some things really don't ever change. We can make some modifications, but the foundations remain.

Take my idiocy, for example. Had a very late night working last night, but happily had some time to spare this morning, which of course equals SLEEP.

I was tired. I woke up the first time this morning and checked my watch...7:35 AM. Nice. Sleep on, Lippo.

So Zzzzzzzzzzzz, wake up again, 7:35 AM. Nice. Sleep on, Lippins.

It did. It took the third time to realize that we only get one 7:35 AM per day. Yah, the watch battery died sometime overnight. Gotta love it. But ya gotta love my cognitive powers a whole lot more.

I want to relax this weekend and do some Blog Hopping. I'm sure there are lots of great things to read out there, right?

On a different note, I spend time thinking about advertising campaigns, slogans etc. I was thinking of some life insurance pitches and came up with this one: Buy life insurance from me today or you might need it tomorrow, got me?

 

I don't know...too subtle?

Have a good weekend

See Gar?

So while the brain is functioning...

i have decided that it's no longer practical for me to indulge in the occasional cigar anymore since I got my eyeglasses.

Yeah, so the correlation here is?

Well, as most things in my life are stupid, the last time I lit a cigar, the smoke kept getting trapped in between my eye and the lens. Oww.

Nasty habit anyway. Good riddance.

Perfectly Normal

So I was lying here a little while ago, snoozing. I'm good at that. The brain becomes aware that something is amiss. Picture frame falling off wall onto noggin confirms that.

Windows rattling, things that don't typically move are doing so.

Nope, nothing as fun as an earthquake. I never get that. This is roadwork going on about 300 yards from Chez Lippy. Scheduled for all night. Yayyy.

Got a little boo-boo I gotta take care of. Police told me this is to be expected. Cool.

Everybody Oughtta, or Sometimes...

Nice fractured title, right?

I just had a bunch of random ideas, thoughts and experiences. I have to light a spark under my writing hand so I thought I would go with these various ramblings.

Everyone ought to watch at least the last 10 minutes of Mr. Holland's Opus, a 1995 Richard Dreyfus film. You just need to do it. It will make you feel good.

We need to make up our minds in this country. One month, a whole lotta celebrities are making bold statements about being large and being good with it. Then the next month they're spokespeople for Jenny Craig. Talk about confusing signals. What's the message here, "stay happy being plus size until someone offers you a boatload of cash to lose the weight?"

AMC station will be broadcasting "Million Dollar Baby" this coming weekend. Intense story, great movie. Saturday night and Sunday night. Check your listings. Sounds like a commercial. Sorry.

I think a great political strategy has come to me. Next presidential election, we wait until maybe September of the actual election year. By then we are so bored with the main yo-yo's that we'd likely welcome anything fresh and exciting. And by that time pretty much anything would seem fresh and exciting. We'll have them kick off their campaign on Labor Day and they'll be elected for sure.

So much for cutting back on junk mail. I got 9, note that- 9 - of those unsolicited credit card offers this week alone. From 9 different banks/institutions. I sent them all back, except I mailed them in the wrong envelopes.

Made me feel better, alright?

I fully expect to see a WaMu commercial on Sesame Street any day now. WaMu. Formerly Washington Mutual. WaMu. They have a website called www.getmyvisa.com Tells you the brain-level they're marketing to, huh?

Things That Have Been Amazing This Week So Far:

1. The amazing fuel economy of the Hyundai Sonata


2. The amazing results of ProActiv acne medicine


3. Some lady actually said the following: "Britney Spears is an amazing mom". Really. She said that.


4. SheerCover make-up. Amazing coverage.


5. Verizon's rate plans. Amazing rate plans priced right.

I Can See Clearly Now...

It always sounds so lousy to say that you've been too busy to Blog. It just does, evein if it's true. So I'll just skip that part. I really miss it when I don't get around here.

Got a nice, new pair of prescription eyeglasses, so I'm seeing a lot more clearly these days. Doesn't mean I got any smarter, I just don't bump into as many things as I was. And man, I didn't realize how badly I was seeing until I got these bad-boys on.

Pop's hanging in there. We'll be going to see his Doc on the 20th. His care has gotten a bit more involved of late, but he's still doing ok.

The new business I'm involved in is proving to be interesting, but the way I'm able to control my hours/schedule, is sure turning out to be a big help. Just cuts back on free time a lot more.

We're getting whupped pretty good here today with this Nor'easter that's clobbering the coast, but so far, no major damage locally. And the power is still on, obviously.

So that's it from the boring old me today. Hope to see you all soon. I'll be making my rounds.