Apparently, my phone rang early on Saturday morning. I didn't hear it, but when I saw the blue notification blip, I picked up the phone and noticed I had missed two calls from my sister. My heart did a skip flutter, because the phone doesn't usually ring early in the morning unless it's some kind of news. And it was news. My father had collapsed, was unconscious but had a pulse and was breathing. I had that feeling that comes over me, utter calm but yet there is a roaring in my ears. All I can hear is the catch in my sister's voice as she explains things to me.
My drive to the hospital entailed a bit of time, so that wears on one's nerves. Questions abound. How? Why? What now? I listened to talk radio and learned a thing or two about the types of home replacement windows available. Isn't if funny what you remember? My sister called me again, wanting to know where I was on the highway, so she knew when to expect my arrival. Then they were talking about how to efficiently clean out a downspout that was packed with sprouted maple seedlings. Good information to know for a future time, good time filler when you are trying so hard to maintain the speed limit.
I arrived at the emergency room and entered the room where he lay. He is awake, upset, bloody, confused. He didn't remember the episode, was disoriented and continued to insist on wanting to leave.The ER doctor let us know that it could be dehydration, low blood sugar or a heart attack. I'm texting my mother, trying to keep her in the loop as she is 6 hours away, with the vital information that she is craving. I knew I was her link to him and of course, her phone battery is low-so making phone calls isn't really an option. I attempted to put her at ease, he is awake, hungry, nose is broken from the fall, doesn't want her to leave her event and make the drive back home.
Dad is mortified he made a scene in a public place, that his blood was spilled, that such a fuss is being made. I'm confused by his words, his refusal to admit that something happened, even though the evidence is clear that something happened. I watched his blood pressure, it seemed kind of high, and decided that he needed to talk to my mom. She needed to hear his voice and she had the words to calm him down. I think it's what being married forever must be all about, and they are truly two peas in a pod. Dependent on each other when the chips are down. He wanted her to stay at her convention, she couldn't think of anything but being by his side. Once she was there, he would reach out for her, just to make sure she was there.
So the verdict is he had a heart attack. We've learned about medical procedures, acronyms, normal and abnormal medical test results. Hospital food is still really awful and surprisingly there are few healthy snacks available. Nurses are amazing care givers; empathetic, caring, listening to what was said and not said. Doctors are patient with talkative patients that want to share with them each medical event in their lives, except the really important ones that might have an effect on treatment or be a reason for the blockage.
I'm thinking about the next steps in this. My sister and I keep taking pictures of him, because we know at some point he will want to know what he looked like. I'm sure those amazing nurses think we are odd ducks. Thankfully, he received a stent, so his recovery will be less awful? I hope so, and I will find out more later.
As we were sitting in his hospital room, being introduced to the next amazing nurse caregiver, out of the blue my dad states, "Marilyn Monroe is my cousin! Heh heh, I mean like 9 times removed." My dad is passionate about a number of things, and one of them is Royal English history and how it pertains to the family tree. He can quote various ancestors and their part in wars, rise to the throne, etc. He is a voracious reader of historical fiction, because he knows that some of those people hang on his tree. We all know the Marilyn Monroe tidbit, but I'm sitting there wondering what on earth would motivate him to spout that particular fact. I think he must be still dealing with the after effects of his head injury. But no. Our nurse is wearing scrubs with Marilyn on them.....apparently he is going to be OK.
