sarahbyrdd

I went up for an overnight to check in on the 'rents and the results are mixed:

The good news is the Stepmonster hasn't smoked since being released from the hospital. Currently she's maintaing with a patch, making no promises, but hanging in there. She's sounding miles better, doesn't collapse into coughing fits mid sentence, and seems to be dealing with the shoulder injury/sling fairly well.

The bad news is that Dad's condition has back-slid considerably. The cellulitis infection on (in?) his leg that hospitalized him in January is back and being treated on an out-patient basis. His mobility is considerably worse: he's using a walker most of the time and is doing a 2 or 3 inch shuffle to get around. Apparently his knees are pretty much shot and they're talking about knee replacement surgery IF they can knock out the cellulitis ... which being a recurring viral infection, isn't looking too likely to me. Plus the house is getting that overly cluttered look because he refuses to put things away because it takes so much effort for him to get them out again. Add on to that that he's clearly in a fair amount of pain and managing it with vicodin (prescribed) and gin (NOT A GOOD IDEA). It's really hard to watch.

I feel completely powerless to make a difference in the situation. That my visits consist of a great deal of hurry up and wait further frustrates me. If I were able to DO things, it'd all be easier to get through. I guess the point is to just keep showing up and spend some time with them so they don't feel forgotten ... living way over in that corner of MA where they chose to retire.