Waiting.

Living away from your family can be a blessing and a curse. I like to think that I'm blessed with distance so I often have perspective on family issues that those who live near to each other do not have. On the other hand, when there are health emergencies, it is an absolute curse. ESPECIALLY when your family members who are there are not good communicators.

Over the past year, my mom had a couple surgeries, both with worrisome complications and long recoveries. I spent many hours glued to my phone, waiting for updates. Last night, I experienced the same thing with my dad. He had been feeling sick and running a substantial fever for a day. He finally went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and upon arrival, his vital signs were so alarming that the doctor called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital. One of the worst things about this for me was that my dad is supposed to be the healthy one.

For three long hours, that's the last thing I knew. My mom does not have text-capability on her phone and was not answering calls. My brother did not go to the hospital, taking my mom's "don't come until we know something" at face value. (Side note: Idiot. She should not have to sit alone, worried, no matter what she said. That absolutely would not have been if I lived there.) Finally, I told my brother to call the hospital to see if my dad was admitted. And, by golly, he was. And, he was having surgery! Finally, finally, my brother got in the car and drove up there. At that point, communication improved some. Nonetheless, it was a very long night, sitting and waiting to hear. Not that it would have been all that different if I was there but at least you know you're getting all the information real-time when you're there.

Around 1:15 am, I got the text saying that my dad was out of surgery, his infected gall bladder removed, and he was doing okay. Today, I wait to hear an update. The latest is that he is in the ICU, still suffering from a serious infection. He arrived at the hospital in septic shock and if he had waited much longer, he may have died, so I guess a serious infection is a step up.

** UPDATE: He got moved from the ICU to a regular room. That is a baby step in the right direction, even if the earliest he will be released is Thursday. **

Related, why is reception the worst in hospitals? I know there is a lot of machinery and such but of all the places where people want to be able to contact others, a hospital has got to be VERY high on the list. Someone needs to fix that.