It's like a bad episode of House

Dad's Doc did not admit him to the hospital on Thursday, as planned. I called the rehab in the afternoon on Thursday to see if he was still there, and sure enough, he was. The nurse/case manager read me the doctor's orders (and made me wonder if they would have been read at all, had I not called, since she sounded surprised at some of the notes), and the plan was to hydrate him via a saline IV, and clean the surgical wound regularly with Betadine, and admit to the hospital if he doesn't improve.

Well, he didn't improve. In fact, he got way worse, real fast. The neighbors called yesterday afternoon, relaying a message from the very nice man: Dad was taken to the hospital by ambulance in the afternoon on Friday. Apparently, he was completely disoriented, and had pulled out his IV, as well as one of the pins in his ankle.* By 10 pm last night, he was stable and coherent, but had received a blood transfusion, as his actions had led to a significant amount of blood loss. It seems likely, at this point, that he will need to undergo another surgery to repair the damage and replace the pin.

* The surgery was an attempt to fuse together the foot and ankle bones, providing more support and stability. It involved metal pins that hold the bones in place while they fuse; these pins extrude through the skin, which creates a sort of exoskeleton that allows for weight-bearing recuperation.

TM and I had planned to go visit Dad tomorrow, anyway, so we will know more tomorrow. I don't really have anything wise or insightful to say about this latest development; it is what it is.

But here is something completely unrelated, just for the sake of levity and cuteness. Enjoy!


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