Thursday, May 10, 2007

Ischemia

apparently my dad (80) has had some transitory episodes over the last several months. he had one the other day. my sister called me and asked if my mom had called me yet to tell me. she hadn't. i expect she is leaving me alone while i deal with the other shit in my life.

Ischemia

"Rather than in hypoxia, a more general term denoting a shortage of oxygen (usually a result of lack of oxygen in the air being breathed), ischemia is an absolute or relative shortage of the blood supply to an organ."

it's kind of like a little stroke.

"A transient ischemic attack (TIA, often colloquially referred to as "mini stroke") is caused by the temporary disturbance of blood supply to a restricted area of the brain, resulting in brief neurologic dysfunction that usually persists for less than 24 hours"

dad couldn't remember a bunch of stuff for awhile one morning.

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mom just called

apparently it happened a couple of times (very minor) while they were down in the States, but she didn't want to push him 'til they were home (free medical care and all) to get it checked out. he'll be having a full work-up shortly. his medication and stuff has been changed

mom has recruited us to put the lean on dad to clean up his eating and health habits - mr meat and potatoes and bread...

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son failed an exam today. math.

teacher called because he was so upset when he left her class. teacher says it's unlikely he'll pass the class.

i'm going to talk to her about a rewrite on compassionate grounds. son found out about the mini-strokes yesterday when he went to do some work for my mom and dad. maybe i can weasel him some slack on those grounds.

i'm proud of son that he didn't spill the beans to me. he was asked to not say anything to anyone. he didn't.

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Smitten's dad was hospitalised a couple of weeks ago. he was supposed to get out. the health district won't allow him to be discharged until an assessmentis done of his ability to take care of himself or to call for help in an emergency.

yes - public health regulations/staff here have the ability to refuse discharge of people from hospital if they are likely to suffer a relapse or be in imminent danger.

he is getting a home care assessment done (some of the home care is funded under medicare, some [cleaning] has to be privately paid for). he won't be released until the assessment and arrangments are done.

he has problems with his legs failing (heavy smoker)

it's difficult for her because she is largely estranged from him, but feels an obligation to assist because he is unable to handle it all himself. he is not a super-capable guy. he wasn't when he wasn't around when she was a child (divorce) and isn't a very good dad now either...

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the office politics are heating up inside the organization. there are succession politics after my boss left. some of our "client group" are getting nasty in the infighting. i got threatened to keep my mouth shut for the first time today.

i documented the conversation.

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stbx-Mrs_C agreed to my buy-out figure

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got to go teach - later

4 comments:

Zephyr said...

YAY to the buy-out agreement! Finally something goes right...

On a side note... the words to the song "Numb" by Linkin Park have really been speaking to me again lately, both for myself and for your situations. Just wanted you to know you're in my thoughts.

*hugs*

Mouthy Girl said...

There are few things like the changes in a parent's health that can bring me to tears.

I hope your dad is able to make the transition in his life.

cadbury_vw said...

lara: thanks. i'm looking forward to the changes that will occur with the settlement.

house, daughter, paid off credit cards

BG: thank-you for your emotion and caring.

he is appears to have recovered from the transient effects of the ischemia, but there are high probablities that he will suffer more or a stroke (heart and stroke killed his father and mother respectively). now grandma died at 98, so... but she did have the stroke at 88.

i talked to him today, and will be going over to work on his computer tomorrow. i put the lean on him about his diet and told him i would help him through the transition to a better diet.

i hope that these TIA episodes are just a wake-up call, and that the urologist can find the answer to the urinary incontinence issue

i offered to drive them to the States next year when they go. i'll see whatever else i can do.

Big Pissy said...

Thank goodness she agreed to the buy-out! One less thing to worry about! :)

Hope things go well for your dad.