Going MIA

Last week I got a phone call from my older brother telling me that my Dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in pretty bad shape. He said it all came on very suddenly. This hit me like a ton of bricks...but also my radar went up.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease and it doesn't just show up suddenly.

I called me Dad, and after a few minutes of him not being able to keep his train of thought longer than 3 seconds, I hung up and cried.

I then got the number of his wife, who is an LPN, and did some more digging. She told me that he totalled his truck a month ago and after the accident he didn't remember the accident or the other car. He refused to go to the hospital, and the only visible issue was a burn from the airbag.

Over the next two weeks he went downhill fast. They went to the Dr. and she asked him some questions, mainly focusing about his memory loss, and from his answers she diagnosed him with Alzheimer's....without doing a head CT, which can be definitive in the diagnosis.

It bugged me that a CT was never done, and I kept thinking that he probably had a stroke, which is why he had the accident to begin with.

Well, yesterday his wife called and said he was having difficulty walking and she got very scared and took him to the ER. They did a head CT and MRI, and found a golf ball size tumor in his frontal lobe. Due to the size of the tumor, his brain has shifted and there was a large amount of swelling.

After 24hrs in the ICU on steroids and anti-convulsants, he is doing much better and can recognize/remember people again. They have decided to operate Wednesday morning, which is his only real chance.

I have a friend coming into town on Tuesday, so I won't be alone, but please pardon my recent absence, and for a few more days. And please keep my Dad in your prayers.

*comments off*