Random Acts of Zhu

Time sort of stopped for me on December 1st.  I have been so out of the loop since my father fell and began his downward spiral.  He is fortunately stable now and there are very hopeful signs of improvement.  For days I came in and out of my house, basically only returning to sleep, shower, and return to the hospital.  I almost forgot about the glorious boxes from Cepia LLC , the makers of Zhu Zhu Pets, that were by my front door.
If you have known me for any amount of time, you will know that I love Christmas.  Love might not even be a strong enough word.  I love colored lights, cookie baking, shopping for and wrapping gifts and most of all celebrating the birth of Jesus.  This year I missed a lot of that.  I wasn't able to bake cookies with my kids and my husband thankfully did all of the shopping.  We didn't have our usual Christmas, but we still had a great one.
One thing that made my Christmas season amazing was being able to participate in Random Acts of Zhu!  Zhu Zhu Pets have been incredibly popular since they appeared on the scene in 2009.  They are adorable hamster like toys that zip around and squeak just like a real hamster.  They saved me from having to buy my daughter a real hamster!!(we have a cat that loves to hunt=bad news for small critters)

 I was given the opportunity to give away Zhu Zhu Pets this holiday season through the Random Acts of Zhu program.  Cepia chose 100 bloggers to donate 104 Zhu Zhu Pets to the charity of their choice.   Because of the amount of time we have been at our local hospital, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, I chose to donate to the Betty Cameron Women's and Children's Hospital that is a part of Hanover Regional.  My father is in the Rehabilitation Hospital which is just around the corner from the Children's Hospital.  On my many treks to the cafe to get something for my dad, I passed so many family members of children who were hospitalized.  My dad and I discussed that while it stinks to be in the hospital at Christmas when you are seventy-three, it would REALLY stink to be in the hospital at Christmas when you're seven. 
 
My husband and children brought the Zhu Zhu Pets up to the hospital and I met them in the lobby.  The Children's Hospital is very strict about allowing access to insure the privacy and safety of all of their patients.  We had been granted access, but unfortunately(not for us, but for the children involved), when we were supposed to deliver our Zhu Zhu Pets they had two children being admitted who were in critical condition.  We quickly dropped off the toys because we knew everyone had important things to do.  I have since heard how much the children and families appreciated having special toys at Christmas. 

My family with our bags of Zhu Zhu Pets around the tree at the Children's Hospital
 
For our family, participating in Random Acts of Zhu was a wonderful way to focus on the most important part of the holiday season, GIVING.  We always participate in Salvation Army projects and Toys for Tots, but it was particularly rewarding to help a toy company like Cepia with their giving.    I am grateful for the opportunity, and grateful to have made Christmas a little bit brighter for children in the hospital!

Rehab ~ Stream of Conciousness Sunday

 

Many thanks again to my friend Fadra who is hosting Stream of Consciousness Sundays.  The idea is to set a timer for 5 minutes and type.  I was able to write much more last time, but I wasn't perched on a hospital bed listening to my Dad's breathing that time.  This is a great way to get out anything that you're thinking about, or just jump start your writing(it was both for me this week!)

and the story takes another turn.  the week after thanksgiving, after a diagnosis of some Parkinsonisms, my dad fell in the middle of the night.  He broke his right femur and his left hip.  He had to lay in a hospital bed from Wednesday to Friday with two broken bones.  He had two surgeries back to back to fix the right leg and repair replace the left hip.  it's terrible.  he is so weak and he is getting so confused and now they arent' even sure if he has parkinsons or some other terrible HEREDITARY condition.  we are at a rehab hospital facing the possibility of being kicked out because he has developed a urinary tract infection and can't do therapy.  hopefully he will tomorrow.

it breaks my heart because he just wants to go home.  I leave at night and go home to my family and he has to stay there. its the best place for him, but hes so confused.  yesterday morning when he was very sick from the infection he thought i was his mom.  that sort of pushed me over the edge.  my mom is exhausted, i am exhausted.  i am so grateful to my husband for taking care of so much at home so I can be here.
and its Christmas.  I love Christmas but the thought of it makes me cry.  I haven't done any shopping and I have two children that need me to be able to find my Christmas spirit. 


There you have it, 5 unedited gloomy minutes. Moving on.   

Caring for your Parents ~The Post I Don't Want to Write

My friend Fadra of All Things Fadra started a meme that asks you to write for 5 minutes and don't edit, just write.  Since I've always been a little bit of a rebel I am writing on a Monday in hopes of getting through the post I don't want to write.  Please forgive me if this is rambling or non-sensical.

My dad is one of my best friends.  Weird, huh.  We live next door to my parents which is a little "Everybody Loves Raymond" but it works.  Actually it's our house, then a few acres with a barn and pasture, then their house.  We aren't right on top of each other, but we are close enough to help out in a crisis.  This fall we have found ourselves in a crisis.  My dad has terrible arthritis and extreme muscle tightness.  In an effort to help with some of his joints, he has had his right hip replaced and was scheduled to get his left hip replaced at the beginning of October.  Unfortunately, his right knee sort of crumbled underneath him so he switched from having his left hip replaced to having his right knee totally replaced.  Just information here, the knee is a much tougher recovery than the hip.  Someone with medical knowledge can tell us why, but the knee is MUCH tougher. 

The surgery went just as expected, but post surgery is when life got really interesting.  I stayed with my dad in the hospital at night.  The anesthesia and pain medicine threw him for a loop.  He would wake up(sort of) and think he had to be someplace and start trying to get out of bed.  When I broke the bad news that he couldn't get out of bed and tried to get him settled back down he would become very agitated and anxious.  Then they tried to treat the anxiety which you would think would help him sleep but he just had weirder dreams and episodes.  He spent a few days at a nursing home/rehab facility until he fell and we discovered they had been medicating him even more.  We brought him home. 

He improved and was going to physical therapy at an amazing facility not too far from where we live.  About a week ago we went to see his psychiatrist (he was being treated for depression/anxiety) and that doctor told him that he was experiencing episodes of delirium and was susceptible to dementia.  Then proceeded to eliminate any drugs that might aleviate the anxiety dad was experiencing.  He told dad about a book that would help him.  I don't know if any of you have ever experienced a panic attack, but the last thing you want at that point and time is to read a book.  The next day we saw his orthopedic doctor who said he was progressing nicely, the knee looks great.  That night my mom told me that Dad had felt weak when he was walking across the room.  The next morning I was out at breakfast when my mom called and told me that Dad had fallen.  Fortunately he didn't hurt himself, but he is a tall guy and with his lack of flexibility he could not get up.  My husband and my brother and I had to get him up and back into his chair.  (my mom actually broke his fall, fortunately she was okay)
He swears that he didn't actually lose consciousness, but I am not so sure.  Later that afternoon he fell again.  (this time a very soft chair broke his fall~at least he's good at falling)

I wanted him to go to the hospital.  I admit that I was worried about him having a stroke or something along those lines.  He has a very intense fear and dislike of hospitals and I let him talk me out of it.  We made an appointment with his primary care doctor for the next morning and agreed that if he fell again the first call was going to be to 911.  My sister came in town the next day for the doctor's appointment.  The doctor was a little dismayed at the committee of people there for the appointment.  He agreed that Dad should be referred to a neurologist and ordered other basic radiology tests and blood tests to rule out things.  He made the mistake of saying that my dad had been dealing with "malaise and increasing frailty."  Friends, my dad is 73.  He is no spring chicken, but he should not be dealing with the health issues that he is, unless there is a cause beyond aging.

So that's where we are.  Waiting to see a neurologist on December 16th.  If you are a neurologist this is clearly a great market so please move here.  Have an appointment with a cardiologist after that.  I am torn between not wanting them to find anything, and wanting them to find something that is treatable.  I would love for him to have an answer beyond "you have the tightest muscles we've ever seen"  I know that tight muscles doesn't sound like a big deal, but his are ridiculously tight.  Some of his muscles in his legs feel like steel cables they are so tightly contracted.  Words have been tossed around that are scary.  Parkinson's is one that I have investigated and as scary as all these words are, they are at least treatable.  My mom has forbidden us from talking about Parkinson's until we go to the neurologist.  I worry so much about her too because she isn't getting the sleep she needs.  I spent last Wednesday night with him and we were awake a significant portion of the night.  (of course I was brilliant and went to the midnight opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows~ I was TOAST on Friday.)

He seems to be stronger.  Last night Mom brought him to my house for the first time since before his surgery.  I want him to be okay.  I want him to be as well as he can be.  Maybe he is having delirium and maybe there is a neurological problem.  I just want him to be okay.  If you are the praying kind, would you say one for him?  And I will selfishly ask for prayer for myself.  This is a new road and navigating it is not easy.  Would you pray that I will know the best way to help him and my mom?

that went way too fast but at least I got the basics out. phew. Thanks to Fadra for hosting!