Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Whew, what a week, but, finally, we are able to see, as they say, the light at the end of the tunnel.

On Friday, after four days of antibiotic treatment while in Special Care, there was enough improvement in my dad’s condition that he was moved to a regular room.  By Saturday morning, he was like a whole new person and the doctor began talking about sending him home.  We were all shocked at that and you could not have convinced me on Friday that he would have been well enough to go home on Saturday, but late Saturday afternoon he was finally ready to be discharged.

Pneumonia is a pretty serious condition, especially in the elderly.  In addition, my dad has the relatively rare disease myasthenia gravis and even though the MG is under control, its existence effected the treatment of the pneumonia.  And, if that’s not enough, when he and my mom were leaving for the hospital on Tuesday, he fell in the basement and sustained a severe sprain to his left ankle.  That injury prevented him from being able to be as mobile as they like pneumonia patients to be.  Nevertheless, as his neurologist says, “he’s a tough old bird”, and was well enough on Saturday to go home.

I returned home myself on Saturday evening and was very glad of it.  I think Gene was pretty happy, too, and the Peanut was..., well the Peanut crying for his supper.  Although, I’ve been sleeping at home since Saturday, I have been back over to my partents’ home for the better part of Sunday and today.

My mom came through like a trooper even though she was worn to a frazzle.  My staying at the house, doing all the cooking, keeping the household chores done, and driving her back and forth to the hospital was the best decision we could have made.  But, I think she has gotten tired of me being under foot and today she informed me that she could very well take care of her own home and that I didn’t need to come over there everyday.  I heard that--I’m staying home tomorrow.

It is my understanding that pneumonia is not all that easy to get over and that a relapse is a major concern.  My dad will have to take it easy for several weeks as he slowly rebuilds his strength.

Our plans at the moment are to stay in town until the weekend.  We’ll see how things go and will, of course, stay as long as we’re needed.  However, if all goes well, we hope to be on the road headed south by Sunday.

Several of you, our dear friends, have expressed your concern, prayers, and support through comments or in personal e-mails.  We are grateful for each and every one of you and truly appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support.  Thank you so much.

I was without my computer for several days and, even if I’d had it, I’m not sure when I would have found time to read my daily blogs.  I am looking forward to catching up with what everyone is up to.

So, that’s where we are on this Tuesday.  Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to spending a whole day in my own home.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Thanks for tagging along.