Challenges

Yesterday was a tough day for Dad. At home we had to call the paramedics to take Mom to the hospital. (It was very weird to see that truck pull up, see the gurney in the hallway, head to the Jordan Valley ER...deja vu all over again.) Over the last week or so a bad arthritis flare-up in Mom's right knee brought her to the point where she felt she could not walk on it at all. She received a cortisone shot in her knee at the hospital and we are following up with home health care to get her all the help she needs. But of course, as you can imagine Dad was totally worried and feeling helpless all day.

And then we finally had our appointment with an ophthalmologist. After some testing, his determination is that Dad's right optic nerve was damaged so severely during the anoxia he first went through that he will never have vision out of the lower half of his right eye. The doctor is also fairly certain that the anoxia created damage in the vision center of his cerebral cortex which accounts for his "fuzzy" vision right now. He said in these cases they like to give the eyes up to a year to come back from that kind of damage. Because the doctor met Dad in his hospital room instead of his office, he didn't have all the diagnostic tools with him, so to really get to the bottom of things, the doctor will refer Dad to a specialist at the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake.

So, needless to say it was not the best day for Dad. But after processing all the news of the day, he is still trying to remain hopeful and keep plugging along.

On the plus side, Dad had a lot of visitors yesterday and I know that lifted his spirits. It was particularly nice to see some of his work friends. They were able to talk and joke about stuff that took Dad out of the worries of the day for a few minutes. It was so good to hear him laugh. Many, many thanks to all the friends and family who made yesterday a little easier for him.

It means so much to me that so many of you count on this blog. That lets me know how many people love us and are praying for us. I will do my best to at least post every other day while we are in the middle of so many challenges. Thanks for your patience.