NEWS BLUES

And the good news keeps on coming.

My wife’s grandfather is in the hospital. The man is 93 and in remarkably good shape considering his age. But now there seems to be a host of problems. Answers have been frustratingly slow in coming, as The Scientist has noted.

While there has been no official diagnosis of any sort, many problem have been identified, including a partially collapsed lung, general malaise, and more. Nothing seems immediately life-threatening, but those closest to the hospital are starting to say things like “it doesn’t look good.”

We (that is, me, The Scientist and the girls) were actually there in Maryland last weekend for a wedding shower. While I wasn’t really keen on going (no offensive Chris, but we are turning around and flying clear across to the other side of the country in a month) it turned out to be a good thing… The Scientist was able to spend some time with her grandfather. And if time really is limited, then every minute counts.

In other health-related news, my mom goes in for surgery tomorrow morning.

Apparently one of the major arteries in her neck is 80% occluded. Naturally, when she told me this I crapped my pants a little, but mom was very nonchalant about it. “Oh, they don’t really start to worry until it’ more than 90% blocked,” she told said.

Now, that is my mom all over. Last year when she had a small tumor removed from her breast and went through chemo, you’d think we was just having a mole removed. “Oh, I feel fine!” she assured me.

So they’re going to go in and clear the blockage. It’s a relatively minor surgery, and very common… but this is the sort of thing that can result in a heart attack-causing clot. And, despite her outer calm, I think mom is actually worried about this one. She asked me to come down and go with her to the hospital, which I am. Compared to The Scientist’s grandfather my mom is a youthful 74, and in good shape.

But still.

It’s once again forced me to revisit the caretaking role that looms large, not to mention the associated paperwork of being her power of attorney, both financially and medically. If something horrible happened and mom ended up on life support, it’s my legal decision--and mine alone--to pull the plug. Nothing I like to think about, but think about it I must.

But, God willing, mom’s “no worries!” attitude about tomorrow’s surgery will be as justified as it was for her breast cancer. She snapped back from that with flying colors.

Here’s hoping the paperwork can stay in the closet for a while longer.

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