Here's why this weekend has been so rough:
We went to San Antone to visit my dad's family on Christmas Day (we had "christmas
" the day before). My grandparents haven't been doing fabulously health wise lately and
moved to a nursing home a few months ago after living by themselves on the farm well into their 90s. My
grandad, who suffered a stroke 30 years ago and prostate cancer long ago as well, is techinically in hospice care, but grandma wouldn't leave his side. The cancer, which was orginally treated with hormone therapy instead of chemo (they didn't think he would live to see any recurrance) has indeed come back, but this time in his bones--which is incredibly painful I'm told. He has also had diabetes onset in the past few years and keeping his blood sugar low or stable is a challange in itself...add to that that half of his body doesn't work well because of the stroke and that he'll be 91 in February...
We visited them each day we were down south, and granddad had his good and bad days. On our way home today to Amarillo, we got a call from my uncle saying granddad's blood sugar was plummeting and he was being taken to the ER. Upon later infomation from Grandma, he didn't leave the nursing home, the doctor came to him, but has given him a grim diagnosis that he might only live a few more days.
I know this is hitting my grandmother the hardest--to watch her husband of 71 (yes) years laying in the bed near her, helpless while he is in pain and loosing control of himself slowly. Pray for peace for her--and all our family.
Also, yesterday, an old family friend came by to borrow ski clothes as her family is going skiing and taking a teenage friend of her daughter's with them. Amy, one of my oldest friends, was housesitting for us while we were gone... Our family friend ran over my dog, Dusty (the light colored male, for those who have trouble distinguishing b/w Cody and Dusty).
They immediately took him to the vet, not our regular one mind you, but who they could find...they x-rayed his pelvis and back legs, which were what was scraped up, but ntohing was broken. They stitched and stapled his leg back together and sent him home. They said to call if he was worse tomorrow ...but the next day Amy found that Dusty had thrown up and peed everywhere through the night and looked like he felt awful.
Amy's mom happens to be the secretary at our horse-vet clinic, and she called her mom, who relayed info to Gregg, our horse-vet, who said something like "bring him in, i want to look at him." So she did, with our permission of course. Gregg said that if Amy hadn't brought Dusty in, we would have come home to a dead dog...his kidneys have been crushed and has massive internal injuries. They x-rayed him again at our large-animal clinic (thank God also for Gregg V!) and made sure his bladder hadn't burst by filling it with air through a cathedar and using an x-ray to 'see'.
By the time we got home this evening, we were allowed to take him home to continue I.V. fluids and keep watch over him (no one would be at the clinic tonight, so he's better here).
We have him hooked up to his IV in the back hall and have diapered him, as they left the cathedar in his bladder for the night.
It's been a crazy weekend, and I wish I could just go to sleep, but alas, I will stay up and take care of my puppy.
Again, please pray for my family--modular and extended. Thanks everyone.
--Sal
Addendum: as of this morning (12/30) Granddad has made a turn for the better and is talking and seems to be okay again... Dusty has had fluids all night and now has his IV and cathedar out and is on the road to recovery as well.
