August 2006 - Posts
Dad was moved to a long-term care facility over the weekend, and I was able to drive to see him Monday. I couldn't stay real long, but I spent a couple of hours with him, and was able to be there while he had a session with his occupational therapist and one with his physical therapist. From what I could tell, he seems to have stabilized some, and now even seems to be making small bits of progress, which is very uplifting.
While I was there, he responded positively to the interaction, and we got him to sit up for a while, which although at first he seemed annoyed by, at the end, he seemed proud to have done it (but he was whooped). Before I left, I asked him to give my hand a squeeze with his left hand (which he basically has lost all function of) and he gave a little squeeze. It wasn't much, but it was a definite twitch. Right now, I'm going to take those tiny victories and keep praying that progress continues.
This is going to be a marathon, rather than a sprint, but we're going to get him through this. He may never be exactly like before, but I am much more hopeful that we may someday get him out to the pier or in a boat to wet a line, or even ride around on a golf cart or something so he can see MacDougal running on the birds. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers -- we have a long way to go.
Emma was baptised Sunday during our normal mass, and everything went very well, save for some outbursts by the little one. The weather didn't particularly cooperate for the brief celebration afterward, but all was fine.
We're now at Community Server 2.1 and all appears to be running smoothly. I will probably put my blog back as the redirect off
http://www.chrisoverbeek.com/ as I liked it better that way. Dissenting opinions will be summarily discarded.
I guess with CS 2.0 Telligent fixed the post times for blogs to correctly reflect the time in the user's timezone. My blog posts at midnight will no longer show up as 9 PM. Coolness.
I am testing out posting using a new utility from Microsoft called Windows Live Writer. It is a pretty nifty little post crafting utility that will let me write up a post offline, then sync it to the site. Obviously, I could always do that by writing the raw HTML, but this formats and handles all of the details for me.
Cool
You can grab it here.
I have attempted an upgrade to version 2.0 of community server at chrisoverbeek.com. Lots of stuff isn't lining up quite right yet, but it should be working, somewhat. Let me know what's broke (other than the galleries, which are all hosed...)
A cover can be done with such skill that it transcends the original song.
Case in point: Obadiah Parker, a band from Arizona, has published some video and mp3s of an acoustic cover of Hey Ya by Outkast. I loved the original, and this absolutely blows me away. I can't stop listening to it.
It reminds me of the first time I heard Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World by Iz. Makes me want to cry every time. I don't know why, just does.
Apparently yesterday Dad had a cardiac 'event'. They're not too sure exactly what happened yet, but Mom said it looked a lot like what people look like when they have an arrest. Luckily, he returned to normal (well, as normal as he was prior to the event) shortly and seems to be fine with respect to that. However, they have moved him from the stroke unit to the cardiac care unit. This all but guarantees he will not be going to Mary Free Bed, and again complicates the picture even more. On a somewhat inspiring, but scary, sidenote, just after my Mom left in the morning yesterday, apparently DaveO was determined to move from the chair to the bed by himself. He did not succeed, and in fact, gave himself a lump on the noggin', but his spirit is without limits. We have to admire his tenacity and his determination.
Spent Saturday and Sunday in GR, spending time with both Mom and Dad. Dad is not doing well. It appears that he continues to have strokes, and his condition is worsening. He no longer has any strength on his left side, and his speech is limited to a word or two at a time. He still seems coherent, and he still has his sense of humor, but the strokes are robbing him of his ability to cmmunicate and to move around. We're still hoping to get him to Mary Free Bed, but as his condition keeps changing the schedule does too. Keep us in your hearts and prayers. This is a very difficult time, to say the least. I keep holding out hope that my best fishing buddy may wet a line again someday, but the prospects don't look good.
I'm headed back to see Dad. He had the surgery to put in the feeding tube, and hopefully Monday (if not sooner) he'll get moved to Mary Free Bed. Keep praying for him (and all of us). This certainly has been a bit of a trying time, but we will get through it.
You be the judge: http://www.babyrockrecords.com/web/page.asp?pgs=products
Lullabye covers of rock songs. You've got to listen to believe...
Well, now that we are getting a clearer picture of what is going on, and what was probably happening for a while, things seem a little less positive, although there is certainly still much to be hopeful about.
The latest is that the doctors wanted to try to stent the vertebral arteries in his neck to improve bloodflow to the brain. Unfortunately, one of the arteries is so badly occluded that the surgery would be much too risky. So, now the prognosis is that he may continue to suffer additional strokes unless his body somehow miraculously breaks down the occlusion (which usually actually results in a stroke as plaque from the occluded artery walls flow to smaller sections of artery and get lodged, blocking flow there). In other words, the chances of him improving with no further strokes are less likely than we had originally thought (hoped).
So now the plan is again to get him ready to move to Mary Free Bed to recuperate. We can only hope and pray that no further strokes occur.
Michelle just called me to give me an update, and apparently the doctors ordered another MRI on my dad, and it showed that he has had several more small strokes since last Friday (which we had suspected, since he seemed to regress some over the weekend). I don't know what measures they are taking to prevent this from continuing, but at least they know what is happening. Apparently he is again improving, though, and he is having longer and longer periods of lucidity, which is allowing him to better understand the situation and he is expressing a desire to do what is needed to get better and get out of there. They are still doing tests, but apparently his blood chemistry is improving (which should help prevent further strokes). Also, they are planning to put in a feeding tube, which will allow him to go to a specialized rehabilitation center where they really will work him to get him stronger and more active. Laying in bed all day isn't doing much for his body, let alone his mind.
Keep praying for him (and all of us) -- every little bit helps. I know there are thousands of families that go through things like this every day, and I feel for all of them. There is no easy way to deal with a loved one being in a state where it is difficult to communicate with them and their future so difficult to predict. I will say that I am glad I have had a good relationship with my Dad (sure, rocky at times, but pretty dang good overall) -- you never know when something is going to happen, and life is too fragile to wait until the last minute to be on good terms. Give your moms and dads and wives and husbands and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters a hug. They're your family and it is impossible to replace those you love.
I think since about the age of 15, I have had a pretty realistic view of mortality, but it is easy to get complacent -- make no mistake about it, our lives are short, make the best of the time you have...
Well, things are better than I expected with my Dad, but it is still going to be a long road back. In general, he is doing very well -- no paralysis or apparent permanent mental disruption, with the exception of some issues with his memory -- which is improving already. He will be forced to retire, however, which will freak him out some. He is supposed to be released from the hospital in the next couple of days, and will be getting some specialized care to help him recover as fully as possible. There is still a long way to go with his recovery, so keep him in your prayers.
Apparently my dad had a mild stroke while they were camping and is now in the hospital. Details are pretty sparse, but it sounds like he's lost some memory and is very confusing to talk to. Michelle was rather upset and called me so I at least know that it has occurred, but she hasn't been able to get much information from my Mom yet.
My family is going to need all the prayers and strength we can get. Jo's dad (Dave's father-in-law) recently was given a rather short expectency due to cancer and its evil complications, Jodi's mom has had a string of pretty serious illnesses and injuries, and now my Dad -- we're reeling right now.
I'm not sure I know how to deal with this...
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