January 14, 2011
-
1 Ah, life keeps turning and churning.
2 Let us begin then, shall we?
3 Dad is back in the hospital.
4 My sister Gayle, who stayed with him yesterday, saw that he wasn't really ready to come home.
5 He was slow, confused, and had trouble breathing.
6 Her result?
7 Take him to emergency, which I woulda done too.
8 I was in the midst of Socratic Seminars, which I do each Thursday.
9 Gayle texted me that Dad looked disoriented yesterday morning,was short of breath, and couldn't even remember if he had breakfast or not.
10 She rushed him to emergency, and then the wait began.
11 Well, they found that after all the stuff, he had a ridiculous blood count, WAY high, and that he clearly needed to re-admit.
12 = ( <----sideways sad, worried guy.
13 Well, that' serious bizness.
14 So they had to re-admit him.
15 I sorta knew this. The day he came home, he was looking pretty weak. It was GREAT having him home and watching Bonanza and all, but when I got to school yesterday I had an uneasy feeling. You know these things.16 I decided to step up my game, so the Socratic Seminars worked famously. A couple of classes screwed around on my sub on Thursday, but I didn't really blast them. I just reminded them that I didn't want to come back from an ordeal and read bad things. I said no names aloud, and focused instead on smiling, on hope, and on the lesson. They respected that.
17 One student asked me if things were okay with my Dad, and I responded, "My Dad has crashed in an airplane, been hit by a car, has diabetes, colon cancer, bone cancer, kidney failure, and a bunch of other things we don't know about. So yes, as always, I'm really concerned, but he has always been a fighter. And I'm proud to be his son."
18 The student said, "Mr. H, your Dad is a tough guy."
19
20 Yup.
21 After that student said that, I toughened up and decided I was going to be totally on point for the rest of the day.
22 Because I am my father's son. And he taught me toughness.
23 He also taught me kindness and understanding.
24 Yesterday his blood count went so high that it rocketed off the charts. They kept him in the hospital, but as of last night, hadn't yet figured out how to calm that down. I went to bed early, but spent much of the night awaiting some sort of phone call.
25 It never came, so for that I am a bit relieved.
26 So I am once again on edge, but I've become a bit accustomed to this unease.
27 I'm more concerned with everyone else in the family. That might sound wid, but that's my strength. It is important that I remain strong and optimistic, as well as spiritual.
28 And that I keep a gentle smile, knowing that life isn't all right here.
29 Anyway, right now, as far as I know, he is in the best hands he could be in. That's all we can hope for, and that he has a speedy recovery. It is difficult, but I can't imagine how difficult it is for my his sisters, my sisters, his friends, and for my wife and daughters, as well as the rest of the extended family.
30 But trust me, this man is a tough hombre, and doesn't give up easily. He taught me that too.
31 The fighter still remains.
32 Keeping this on short today.
33 You guys have a great weekend. Throw some prayers out there; I do believe in positive particles.
34 I'll keep you posted. I expect good things, no matter what.
35 Believe.
36 Peace.
~H~
Recent Comments