Update on My Dad

It just dawned on me (I'm rather slow at times) that my blog
might be an excellent way for me to keep some folks up to date
on how my dad is doing.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about - about 2 years
ago now Dad had surgery for cancer of the esophagus, developed pneumonia
and we almost lost him. It was a long stay in the hospital. He made it
home but he's never truly recovered.

About a month ago my mother called me to take them to the Emergency
room and they admitted him to the hospital again with pneumonia.
To make a long story short - it was a horrible stay but they did discover
that he aspirates everything he swallows - it goes into his lungs. So
they made in NPO (nothing by mouth) and put him on TPN (total parental
nutrition).

He has been at home again for about 2 weeks now. When he came home he
weighed 103 pounds (if I remember correctly). We took him to the nutrition
doctor last week (Dr. Kenneth Olsen who is great) and he is up to 109 pounds.
He is a bit more active and staying up a bit more. I go over every evening
to help mother prepare the TPN bag and hang it. But my mother is doing a
lot on her own. He is getting some home health care - physical therapy
and speech therapy - she is working on teaching him to swallow again.
We got him a hospital bed after he fell last Saturday and broke a rib.
Another trip to the emergency room but they didn't keep him. There's not
a lot you can do for a broken rib.

SO, pray for dad (he's 81 - almost blind (legally he is), almost deaf and very
feeble) AND for mother (she has the patience of a Saint!) for strength.