Dad Update

I have been spending much of my days at Mather Hospital visiting with my Father. He has had two dialysis treatments and is scheduled to have another one today. He is unable to verbalize much and when he does it is often difficult to comprehend what he is stating. He is on constant pain medication and continual oxygen. He spends much of his days sleeping at this point. It is unknown whether this lethargy is due to the dialysis treatments as he has had two treatments in two days or if this present condition is due to disease process. He has a nasal gastric tube inserted into his nose going into his stomach to drain all toxins and poisons from his stomach out of his body as his kidneys are no longer functioning on their own.

While I am with him I hold his hand and when he wakes up I give him ice chips and water for his mouth and lips with a sponge as the continuous oxygen dries out his mouth and lips. He often wakes up and looks me directly in the eyes and smiles at me and I know he is glad to see me. He is able to verbalize his needs and does not appear confused at all. It is a wonderful experience for me to spend time with him. He is sweet and kind and peaceful. I look upon him with such love and compassion and I enjoy our time together. Yesterday he was trying to say something to me and I could hardly hear him at first. I got real close to him and I heard him say "I'm sorry" to me. I asked him "For what"? He tried to reply, but he was very weak. I think he may have said "for everything". It really doesn't matter. I have already forgiven him for it all. This is the very first time my Father has ever told me he is sorry for anything.

On the down side, my Mom received a call from a vascular surgeon who stated that his carotid artery is 90% closed. This in addition to his having a severe stomach infection caused by his having an illius as well as the leaky valves in his heart. On the positive side, his nephrologist states that his levels are better in terms of his kidney functioning due to the dialysis.

I am concerned about my Mom and sisters.

I continue to rest upon God in this situation and ask him to heal my Daddy.