Hospitals are Good.

To put it simply, the title of this post says it all- Hospitals are good. My dad is in one right now and I'm feeling very thankful for that. The modern hospital is a good thing- a hospital 100 years ago would not necessarily have been a good place to be- I'm glad they discovered that cutting/bleeding and leeches were not a cure all for the vast majority of all ailments.

Dad left my house on Monday. He spent Tuesday catching up on life and spent Wednesday throwing up everywhere. Thursday rolled around and he was so weak that he couldn't support himself. Mom decided a visit to the ER was in order. She was helping Dad to the car when Dad passed out (and broke the neck off his guitar in the process). After Dad came to, he crawled out the front door and to the edge of the porch. Mom met him there with the computer chair on wheels and used the chair to get him to the car. From there, it was to Walnut Creek Kaiser.

The medical team at Walnut Creek jumped into gear and started to work their magic. They pumped Dad full of IV fluid, put him on oxygen, drew a whole lot of blood, and put a few more tubes in various other places. Then they waited to transfer him to the ICU unit. Dad's heart rate was sky high, his blood pressure was all wonky. His kidneys were on leave of absence as well. Hours later, when a bed became available, he was transferred to the ICU unit. He was visited by his bishop and a neighbor (who brought my mom a coat and some food. A tube was bothering him, so they gave him a morphine injection and off to la-la land he went (and Mom went home for the night).

Today, Dad is much better, based on vital signs. He heart rate is below 100, and his blood pressure is within normal limits. He is bored, which I think is a good sign. His unofficial diagnosis stands at Sepsis. It's obvious that there is a massive infection, but what type and where he got it are yet to be determined. Blood cultures should be back tonight so hopefully he'll have more information tomorrow. Until then, he has his new digital camera and handheld Sudoku game to pass the time with.