Today we found out that Dad has pneumonia. I guess this is normal if the breathing tube is in for a while...they are treating it with antibiotics. Unfortunately, he seemed so lethargic today and out of it. He was asleep for most of the day, and even when he was awake he didn't squeeze our hands at all.
I woke up at 7:15 this morning (yes, all on my own), panicked at all I had to do. I made it to Costco and Superstore all by the time I would normally have just gotten dressed. We managed to pack two donations suitcases full of Children's Advil, Tylenol, vitamins, diapers, clothing and shoes. We were planning on just going for a quick walk to enjoy the nice weather and then going bowling with the girls, but we got a call that Dad was in a coma again.
We ended up rushing to the hospital, but thankfully, by the time we got there he had stabilized again. It is common for aneurysm patients to have the arteries in the brain spasm, and days 4 to day 7 are the worst. Today was day 4. They tried increasing his blood pressure, which can help, and they did a scan as well. Interestingly enough, it actually wasn't the spasm in his head that caused the coma...they're not quite sure what it was, but we are thankful he is still with us. He wanted his glasses on, was able to communicate by blinking, and was alert for about 10 minutes.
I have Mebira's suitcase half packed...I'm just not sure what to bring along to occupy her on the plane. We have lots of books, stickers, felts, play doh, mp3 player, leapster, dvd player with Dora DVDs and 2 new Amharic Sesame street DVDs...she'll probably end up sleeping the whole time and we won't need any of it...and that will be just perfect with me!
If anyone has some experience with bringing home kids and has ideas on what snacks to bring, I'd love some advice!
What you've packed sounds great, Anita...and you're doing all of this under such stress.
ReplyDeleteI hope the last plans get done quickly and smoothly, and of course, that Arvid's dad gets better.
Blessings as you prepare to go, Anita!!
Ruth
PS. Where did you get the Amharic dvds??
Hi Ruth. Thanks - things are slowly coming together. It's not at all how I wished things had gone, but we're making the best of it.
ReplyDeleteI got the DVDs at this site: http://www.tsehai.com/
We're hoping that will help during our 9 hour layover in London, or for the long flights.
Hi Anita,
ReplyDeleteI hope your father-in-law is improving.
As for snacks, I would suggest that you purchase some kolo while in Addis. It is a roasted barley and peanut mixture that is a popular snack in Ethiopia (there is also dabo kolo which is a dried bread snack, but not as nutritious), often served at coffee cermonies. My kids all love it, and we brought some back on each of our trips. It is something that Mebira will be familiar with. We stored it in the freezer when we got home.
The snacks sounds like a good idea. I suggest bringing along freezer size ziplock bags if you're going to pack food in your suitcase. We had a bad experience bringing Shiro home in our suitcase... I'm praying your father-in-law will be stable and improve over the next while and you can travel with less worry for him.
ReplyDelete~Liesl