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Coreybear -> My Papa-Daddy is ... (8/1/2008 9:01:52 AM)
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in the hospital, after having a stroke yesterday morning. Prior to the stroke, he had, and still has, an arthritic right shoulder that is very painful, and as a result he has very limited use of his right arm.
He has not been able to work on his writing for the last several months because of it. He was working on his latest novel when the arthritis intruded. My brother and I have been very worried that if he can not use his right arm to type, and can not continue doing what he has loved doing all his life, writing, he will lose interest and desire for life and living. I know this is a remote possibility, but my brother and I have heard of many cases where people that have been disabled have no wish to continue living after losing what they value the most. Of course, there would be options for handling this, but my father is very willful and stubborn, and he many not agree to any of them. Last week, he had surgery on his forehead to remove a skin growth that had become cancerous.
The surgeon removed all of it, however, my father was taken off the blood thinner meds he has been on for years to prevent blood clots. He has a bandage wrapped around his head and says he looks like a war veteran. Thursday morning he could not walk; his left leg had no strength and his left arm was very weak. My brother called an ambulance and he was taken to the emergency room. Tests and a cat scan showed that he had suffered a mini-stroke, that is believed to have been triggered by a blood clot. He is back on blood thinner meds now, and is staying in the hospital (Scripps Medical Center - La Jolla) so his doctors can watch him closely before letting him go home. We are hoping that his strength will come back and he will pull through this. He will need physical therapy in the hosptial, and maybe after he goes home ... we'll wait and see what happens. My brother, Jeff, and his partner, Ray, are going up to Portland in a week to baby-sit Ms. Stella Mae, so I will be playing Florence Nightengale while they are tending to Princess Stella. I think I can handle the nursing duties, except for one thing: I do NOT do bed pans !! Poor Papa-Daddy, can't use his right arm and his left leg is busted .... maybe it's time to pull those bionic arms & legs out of the closet and crank them up.
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