Becoming AnchorWoman

Nancy - I just got off the phone with Dad. I had been calling all afternoon and not getting an answer. I did not want to alarm you so I just kept trying. When I tried the last time he had just walked in the door from the hospital. Now he is talking to you so I didn't want to call. Just want you to know how frank he was with me. Didn't seem at all surprised that I knew what had been going on. I suggested that he not fatigue himself by calling us both with reports. I told him that I would depend on you for information unless he wanted to call me for some specific reason. He is trying to conserve his energy, stay fueled, and get lots of sleep. I told him I was very proud of him for making this move and also for knowing that HIS health was very important. That's why I don't want him to have to make multiple calls. Keep me posted. I will write Mom a note after I feed the family. So nice to have a long chat with you last night. I have missed that. I don't like email for correspondence because I do so darn much business on it. Would like to talk to you more. Hope you got some sleep last night. I am afraid that perhaps you spent your day calling Dad and were worried just as I was. Sleep well tonight. She is in the right place! Love, M

Zombies and potions

Dad has finally taken Mom to the ER this afternoon after a phone call with her doctor. She is now admitted at least for tonight, and on an IV to get her rehydrated and get her potassium level corrected. She has had a very thorough interview and exam by one of the doctors from the practice of their long-time doctors. The lab tests so far have not shown any bacterial infection, and this situation is no longer thought by anybody to be connected to the dental root canal problem. It is hoped that by feeding and rehydrating her with the IV, she can disconnect from her prolonged nausea syndrome*.

I also hope that Dad can get some sleep, as he has been "on duty" way too long and is a walking zombie. I wish I could have convinced him to do this Thursday when I first got an indication of how severe the situation was**. We had another long phone call last night, as Dad was really needing support and a sounding board.

*I'm not sure of the exact term. Basically, Mom had gotten into an automatic reflex of coughing and gagging whenever she ate or drank anything. This reflex fed and then was fed by her anxiety in an ugly spiral. Dad and I are both hopeful that if the doctor can get her to relax and rest her innards enough to stop the nausea pattern she will be okay.

**My dad tends to minimize problems. I'll never forget all of us gathered around five-year-old Steven who was hurt rolling down the hill in the backyard. Steven was lying there with his arm bent at an impossible angle, and Dad was telling me that it definitely was not broken. Dang. I'd seen a lot of broken arms by then, and it was mighty broken!

Buckle up, you guys!

I've been traveling with four invisible vicarious companions on this solo trip. My parents love frequent updates, and my bosses want juicy details. Enquiring minds want to know, don't ya know? I feel like the star of my own reality show!

New Mexico

This is a new era. I can stand on a sand dune next to 150,000 year old volcanic rocks marked with six hundred year old petroglyphs while talking on the phone to my mom in Lincoln, Nebraska about my parents' dental problems and the funeral of their old friend. I can check back with Mike about the malfunctioning smoke detector while I empty sand from my shoes in the parking lot. I can nearly crash the rental car when the cell phone starts playing the Toreador Song when I am on the exit ramp from I-25 to Bernalillo. I'm into a very quiet journey, traveling solo, speaking rarely, listening to birds and rustling grasses. Even in my normal life I get discombobulated when I receive a rare cell phone call. I am the Maytag repairman of cell phone calls. Thank heaven the call is from my dear summer intern/assistant, so she understands that I am technologically challenged. Her news is great. She and her boyfriend are going to use the opera tickets that my parents couldn't. It will be fun to share the special occasion with friends, and it is a relief that I won't have to stand outside the box office trying to find a buyer. It's so amazing how everything is flowing on this trip.

Youch!

Checked in with my folks. Howie had lost an inlay. This is on top of Fritzi's root canal nightmare. I would have loved sharing this vacation with them, but am so relieved that this latest complication occurred back home.