He is, perhaps, a cat

I’m thrilled to report that my dad has been improving rapidly and steadily since Tuesday afternoon. Monday was touch-and-go, but the doctors decided Tuesday to stop sedating him, remove the breathing machine and see what happened. What happened was miraculous, if you ask me. He went from total sedation to complete consciousness in less than half an hour, and by the end of the day he was flirting with his nurses – a sure sign that he was on the mend.

This is the second time this year he’s come back from the brink. The earlier situation, in June, was due to septicemic shock, and I think everyone thought that’s what this was, as well. Turns out he was drowning due to pulmonary edema – he released 14 liters of fluid in two days.

The list of Things Wrong With Dad continues to grow. In addition to diabetes and the attendant leg problems, bad knees, sleep apnea and obesity (he’s lost almost 70 pounds since June), he now has heart problems and COPD. (If you smoke, please stop. He stopped smoking when cigarettes went from 20¢ to 21¢ a pack, but is still paying the price.)

The good thing is that everything is treatable, for now. And he has the absolute best attitude about life – his, specifically, and life in general – of anyone I know. He’s so grateful for his wife (who is so good for him), his family, his church and his friends. Nothing seems to get him down; he lives a life of gratitude.

A couple of funny things, keeping in mind that he’s a lifelong Democrat: On Wednesday, he called his county’s Board of Elections to get an absentee ballot, just in case he’s not able to get to the polls. And he’s wearing my “Obama-Biden” button on his hospital gown.

Until tomorrow. He gets to go home!