Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The Trouble with In-Laws...

Not that they ARE trouble.... They HAVE troubles.

I talked to "Pop" last night and he told me that he was going to the hospital in the morning for his surgeries (oh, man-where was I??? I thought it was going to happen on the 15th!). But "Maw", who was supposed to take him there had twisted her bad knee and was laid out on the bed at that moment with really good painkillers in her. My sister-in-law was going to take him in instead...

"Pop" has been going downhill for a little while. Long before I met him, he began losing muscle in his left arm and when he squeezes your hand with that hand, it's like shaking hands with a feather. Then he started having rotator cuff problems, which the doctors operated on. Well, I'm not sure what went wrong, but he then started losing muscle in the right arm as well. And his hips started not working right and his back hurt all the time. There were days when it was all he could do to get out of bed and spend time upright. He was absolutely miserable. So his doctors revisited all his issues and operated on him in several places this morning. His neck, his shoulder, and his wrist (carpal tunnel). Last I heard, he was talking a blue streak - so I guess he's feeling pretty darn good for getting cut on so much today. They're keeping him in the hospital much longer than my mother-in-law anticipated though. I think it's to follow up with the physical therapy and rehabilitation in a controlled setting and making sure it happens. The last time it hurt so much I think he just quit going. So I see his staying in the hospital as a good thing.

"Bubbe" (mother-in-law, aka "Maw") has been running around cleaning house on her bum knee under the mistaken impression that "Pop" would be coming home tomorrow. When we got the word, she was shaken. I tried to reassure her and tell her to look at it as a mini-vacation/rest that would allow her to get back on her feet (literally) before "Pop" came home. There is enough family here in town now to keep an eye on her and help out as needed. We're going to go tomorrow night and either make her dinner or take her out - whichever she needs. I've volunteered to run errands or grocery shop if she needs. B-I-L Joe and S-I-L Rita have jumped right in and done what needs to be done, but now that we are also in town, my husband and I can pull our weight in this department too!

Keep us all in your thoughts. On the surface things are going smoothly (so far), but you never know what complications are lurking around the corner, waiting to trip up your life.

2 comments:

Janet said...

It's so weird how the older we get, the roles get reversed. I'm still in the stages of my parents doing more for me than I do for them. I know one day it wll come though!

BlondeBlogger said...

Aww, I will keep them both in my prayers.