Round Three

May 9, 2008

Just when we thought things were just about back to normal, POOF, and we are into "Round Three"!

Arend stopped by Daddy's this morning to tell him that I wouldn't be there until later in the morning. (I'm not sure why we decided that he would stop by rather than calling. I think it was God's Hand guiding us.) What he found when he walked into Daddy's house was Daddy lying on the kitchen floor unconscious. Arend called me and I went right over and decided that we needed to call 9-1-1. The ambulance was there almost before Arend hung up the phone! That's the advantage of having an ambulance depot in town, I guess.

We weren't really sure what had happened, but as the morning progressed the whole thing became clearer. Apparently Daddy had gotten up and made himself a cup of coffee and put out the peanut butter, jam and margarine for his toast. He didn't make the toast, though. He started feeling a little weak and decided that he should sit down. He was leaning against the counter and just slid down the cabinet till he was seated on the floor. That is how Arend found him. Daddy does not remember losing consciousness.

He was still not responsive when I got there (we only live three blocks away, so it only took me a couple of minutes to get there), but when I started to talk to him I could tell that he was trying to respond to me. The more I talked to him, the more responsive he became; but he definitely wasn't "normal". His eyes were just "blank" and he didn't really talk.

When the paramedics arrived, they first checked his blood sugar (normal) and his blood pressure (high for him, but high-end normal for most people). They were able to talk to him but he wasn't making a lot of sense. Since they weren't sure exactly what injuries he had sustained, they decided to put him on a back board and in a neck brace before they put him on the stretcher. This involved securing the brace with long pieces of tape that wrapped around the brace and the back board. Daddy fought the paramedics like crazy trying to keep the tape off. He also pulled off the oxygen mask. All the while he was moaning and groaning.

The paramedics asked for one of us to ride in the ambulance with him to keep him calm. Arend usually has a more calming effect on people, so he was the one who went in the ambulance. As it turned out, I probably should have gone instead since Daddy kept asking for me all the way to the hospital. I followed in our car. "Followed" is probably not the best term. The ambulance doesn't have to adhere to speed limits, so it was at the hospital quite a bit ahead of me.

By the time we saw him in "Emerge" he was very alert, his eyes were clear and he knew exactly where he was and what was going on. It was Daddy who told the nurse and doctor (and Arend and me) what had happened, and he was quite clear about it. It was truly amazing!

After a myriad of tests and x-rays, they decided to keep him overnight in the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) for observation. He was fine with that as long as they promised to feed him! That was a definite indication that he was fine. When he isn't feeling well, he doesn't eat. Today he ate everything that was put in front of him - including pears which he doesn't really care for at all. He even sent me to Tim Hortons (like Dunkin' Donuts in the U. S.) for a coffee and doughnut after he finished his dinner tonight! Ever since he came home from the hospital in Port Huron he has been eating like a teen-age boy - something we have had a lot of experience with over the years!

We are hopeful that he will be able to come home again tomorrow (Saturday), but we are not sure how we will work things out. Perhaps we will have to go back to the 24/7 care of him. If so, we will either have to work out a better sleeping arrangement at his place or set up a bed for him on the first floor of our home because whoever slept over at his house before never got a truly restful sleep. That is something we will have to talk about tomorrow morning.

Off and on through today I have had a hymn running through my head. It happens to be one of my favourite hymns and seems to be quite appropriate to our situation.

If you but let the Father guide you,
Relying on His faithfulness,
He will be evermore beside you
In all your sorrow and distress.
He who on God Most High depends
Builds not his house of shifting sands.

How thankful we are that we may trust in the Father to be beside us and to guide us through this valley.

Till next time,
Willa Dale