Friday, July 15, 2022

Grandpa Update

 So...Dad has been having trouble with his blood pressure. He began to exhibit other symptoms. We had a couple of rough months. He didn't sleep at night but slept all day. He quit eating. He said his stomach hurt. He was weak and falling quite often.  He had seen the doctor in May and they kept telling me they were aware of his high blood pressure when I called. Finally, I called and told them I wanted him seen. 

It turns out dad's heart is enlarged and his labs showed he was in heart failure. They wanted us to go to the hospital immediately - but dad is Comfort 1. He is DNR and DNI and when I asked what they would do that we couldn't do at home - there was nothing they would do.  The doc didn't think things looked good. Nate was in OR and had a weekend between moving...he flew up, arrived late Friday night, spent Saturday and Sunday and left on Monday. By the time he got here Dad was already rallying. I think the combination of seeing Nate and adding meds was a winning combo. 

I KNOW seeing Nate rallied our spirits!

They opted to add 4 new meds...which are administered based on his blood pressure readings....He had a cardiac ultrasound this week. We are waiting for the results. He appears much better. I think he is out of imminent danger...but we're fully aware of the journey we are on. 

Overnight with the Boys

 A benefit of being behind in writing is I can write with a bit of freedom looking back.... we were expecting C to move into CoRielle's home the day after dip-netting. This is a big step, will bring transition and less "couple time" for Cory and Arielle. They've not gone away together since Benny was born. They asked if I would be willing to spend a night with the boys so they could go away.  We knew we would have company, but this is important and needed to happen before dip-netting. Stacia decided to come and spend the night too. 

Thursday afternoon I headed over to their home. When the boys were ready, we commenced to play! We went to a river park...where we discovered Danny does NOT like dirt or sand on his hands. He'd climb a step and then hold out his hands to one of us to brush them off. 




We walked through a campground and along the river trail. We called Maria and suggested she and Kent come walk that trail as there was a break in the rain. They did...and then they went ahead and climbed the Butte as well. No ring was presented. 

Danny LOVED leading the way! 

A grandma at the park told us another park was much better for little ones. I do not agree - but at the time it sounded good. I decided to get gas first....and while I was pumping gas Benny sweetly said, "Baachan - we could get ice cream." 

He wasn't wrong. 

We stopped in at the local ice cream parlor and filled the boys up. For future trips - ONE kids dish is plenty big enough for two....and half of Benny's ice cream fell on the ground. We took Danny's leftovers home for the freezer.


Properly fortified we headed to the next park. 


Not exactly the look I was going for, Stacia. 

Next up was dinner - and boo boo repair. 

We sent photos to CoRielle along the way to ease their concerns at being apart. They sent photos back. They had a lovely Air BnB - one I need to find. They went axe-throwing too. 


Right outside their Air BnB.

Friday started with early morning snuggles! I do miss toddler snuggles! 

When both boys were fed and ready to begin the day, we headed back to the last park we had been at. We wanted to try it when it wasn't busy. We were the ONLY ones at the park, and it WAS much more fun - much easier to keep track of the boys. 
And then a bee flew into Danny's ear....



Bachan, Auntie Stacia, Danny & Benny 

CoRielle got home, put the boys down for naps and then came to our house and picked up Kent and Maria. They took them back to Hatcher's Pass to show them some of their favorite hikes. They got a lot of great photos; no ring was presented. LOL