Doctor's Orders

First of all, let me say I love my dad dearly. We are alike in more ways than I care to admit. Which means there's a good chance I'll be stubborn when I get old.

That's assuming I am 1) Not stubborn already or 2) Not old yet.

This isn't looking good.

The good news with my dad's health situation is that he is sleeping in his own bed tonight. The bad news, and I've already alluded to this, is that this whole episode could have been avoided. If he'd followed doctor's orders. And then kept following them.

A few years back, Dad was hospitalized in the Twin Cities and got a stent in his heart, got an oxygen tank to lug around for 6-9 months and got a diagnosis of adult on-set diabetes. All he had to do to stay healthy is take his medication (including blood-pressure pills), exercise, eat right and check his blood-sugar levels daily (at least).

Somewhere along the line he decided he didn't need to do that anymore. (It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.) So it shouldn't be any surprise he ends up in the hospital with congestive heart failure.

While awaiting word on his condition today I did some online research. The much-respected Mayo Clinic has some FAQ on congestive heart failure. Basically he's got fluid around the heart and lungs that shouldn't be there. Some causes of it? Diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Something tells me that if he hadn't been stubborn about 1) following doctor's orders and 2) going to the doctor at the first sign of symptoms, this wouldn't have ended up so badly.

As it is, he is heading home with medication (once again) and doctor's orders (again) to exercise a little and keep an eye on the blood sugar.

We'll see how far this gets him. I plan to get Up North this weekend to give him some strong encouragement.

After I give him a hug first, of course. Thanks, everyone, for the prayers of support!