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Busy Times
Although I have told everyone who has asked me to review their work that I would need several weeks to get to it, I am behind my self-imposed schedule for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is family, specifically, my dad.
My mom died 22 year ago this coming January after a long battle with cancer and not a day goes by that I do not miss her. She was not without fault but she was a good mother and I treasured her advice and council. I continue to treasure the advice and council of my dad, 76 this December, because he has always been a great father and as I have progressed from childhood to adulthood to parenthood he has treated me with respect and dealt with me as an equal.
Several years back my dad was diagnosed with COPD and spent nearly a week in the hospital ICU. I have visited my dad when I could both in Florida and Tennessee but last February my youngest and eldest brother and I arranged our schedules to all visit with him at the same time. Flight issues with my return flight gave me several free tickets and I used them to do nearly monthly visits with my dad and step-mom and found the time there to be a perfect antidote for re-entering the single life and getting my head on straight,
During the PA Ren Faire run, August - October, my visits were curtailed as there were shows every weekend but the 19th of November found me on a plane, winging my way to Nashville. The visit started well enough but on Friday the 20th my dad had breathing difficulty in the morning. This got steadily worse throughout the day until by 3:30 his heart rate was above 130, his BP had spiked, his respiration was over 30 BPM, his bloody oxygen was in the mid 80's while on 2.5 liters of oxygen and he felt as if he could not get enough air.
We spent from 5:00 - 10:00 in the emergency room, finally getting my dad stabilized after his pulse was over 140, his BP 196/149, his BPM over 40, and his blood oxygen level hovering in the low 90s while on 3 liters of oxygen and got him checked in to the ICU ward.
This situation, needless to say, was not how I had planned to spend my visit but I am extremely glad I was on hand to offer moral and emotional support to my dad and step-mom. I also did random chores, but that's one of the reasons I go down to visit on a near monthly basis so that was not out of the ordinary.
Thankfully my dad is recovered and home from the hospital and doing well. They pumped him full of antibiotics and steroids so his dreams of competing in the Winter Olympics must be put on hold for this iteration but, at least, he is doing well.
If you have wondered why I am talking so long to get to things, now you know.
If I've promised to review your work, I will. If you've changed your mind in the meantime, no worries.
Some people will take this blog post as a personal attack. These people are idiots.
My mom died 22 year ago this coming January after a long battle with cancer and not a day goes by that I do not miss her. She was not without fault but she was a good mother and I treasured her advice and council. I continue to treasure the advice and council of my dad, 76 this December, because he has always been a great father and as I have progressed from childhood to adulthood to parenthood he has treated me with respect and dealt with me as an equal.
Several years back my dad was diagnosed with COPD and spent nearly a week in the hospital ICU. I have visited my dad when I could both in Florida and Tennessee but last February my youngest and eldest brother and I arranged our schedules to all visit with him at the same time. Flight issues with my return flight gave me several free tickets and I used them to do nearly monthly visits with my dad and step-mom and found the time there to be a perfect antidote for re-entering the single life and getting my head on straight,
During the PA Ren Faire run, August - October, my visits were curtailed as there were shows every weekend but the 19th of November found me on a plane, winging my way to Nashville. The visit started well enough but on Friday the 20th my dad had breathing difficulty in the morning. This got steadily worse throughout the day until by 3:30 his heart rate was above 130, his BP had spiked, his respiration was over 30 BPM, his bloody oxygen was in the mid 80's while on 2.5 liters of oxygen and he felt as if he could not get enough air.
We spent from 5:00 - 10:00 in the emergency room, finally getting my dad stabilized after his pulse was over 140, his BP 196/149, his BPM over 40, and his blood oxygen level hovering in the low 90s while on 3 liters of oxygen and got him checked in to the ICU ward.
This situation, needless to say, was not how I had planned to spend my visit but I am extremely glad I was on hand to offer moral and emotional support to my dad and step-mom. I also did random chores, but that's one of the reasons I go down to visit on a near monthly basis so that was not out of the ordinary.
Thankfully my dad is recovered and home from the hospital and doing well. They pumped him full of antibiotics and steroids so his dreams of competing in the Winter Olympics must be put on hold for this iteration but, at least, he is doing well.
If you have wondered why I am talking so long to get to things, now you know.
If I've promised to review your work, I will. If you've changed your mind in the meantime, no worries.
Some people will take this blog post as a personal attack. These people are idiots.