Last Weekend.....

Ok, I can only say I have NO idea where to begin...

I'll start with Dad's status, as I best know it.

Saturday morning Dad got up looking a bit crazed, or confused and headed out of the bedroom and up the hall. Once he got outside Drew's room, a dozen or so steps up the hallway, he went down like a Redwood, but not quite as gracefully. Mom and Adrien were already in the hallway talking, and Thank God, right there. He laid there, silently for seconds....too many of them, and was bleeding heavily from the beard. There was no need for discussion about whether to call for help...so Adrien grabbed his cell and talked to a "general 911" person...who transferred and then another person who transferred, and finally to the Needham Fire Dispatch. Note-To-Self - Use House Phone whenever possible!!

I jumped into the ambulance and was baffled at the length of time we sat in front of the house. While the guys worked on Dad, who was pretty unresponsive, although conscious. Finally, one of the EMT's asks if he is diabetic, and I said Yes...to which he replied "His blood sugar is TWENTY". Now, for those unfamiliar with the guage of diabetes, "normal" is 100-130. You can pass out at 70, and impaired thinking sets in at 50. One study indicates: "Coma can occur at glucose levels around 30, convulsions at 20, and permanent brain damage at 10." It is quite clear that if he had been alone, he would surely have died there....and fairly quickly.

Before even pulling away from the house, they had waved the magic sugar wand injection and he was beginning to make intentional sounds, rather than just vague grunts.

After everything from a neck brace (an hour later) to CT Scans and XRays of the head, neck, spin and chest....they said that he has rib breaks, but it's tough to tell if the lung is partially collapsed. For those keeping score, they aren't able to tell what was already broken and what broke during the fall...and it is hard to see through all the cracks, breaks and fractures.....to exactly what is going on under there! (yikes)

Sunday afternoon Dad was released, (while Mom prepped frantically for a catering job for Monday morning). Upon return, he seemed ok. Midweek brought increasing pain and finally yesterday it reached such an unbearable climax that he returned to "inpatient" status, this time in Boston, at BI. He's asked not to have visitors, as it is painful to talk and he's on enough pain meds that trying to focus is painstaking...

We will check back in mid-weekend or so, and let you know of any major changes as they happen.....sorry this one took so long! You'll have to see the other blog when I update it with the rest of the wildness of this weekend.....more than you can imagine!!

Take care, and love to all...Please do sign the comments even if you are just a silent reader!!!

~Lynn