Dad update, Friday

Dad and his grandfather

It was so gratifying on Thursday to see dad sitting up, eating, drinking, and talking a blue streak. I thought we were on the upward trajectory -- but maybe that's just not the way people recover, or maybe he is not out of the woods as I'd believed.

While his vitals remain pretty good, and he kept his first few meals down, on Thursday night he started to have nausea. For the moment, he seems to be unable to eat, and he is weaker.

I'm not sure how alert he is. For awhile I thought he was "out of it" but every so often he'll pipe in with a comment, barely audible, like "I have eight doctors." The number happens to be correct, because we counted (after he made the comment). None of us had done the math till he spoke up. He knows what sports games are happening every night. He keeps asking about where his wallet is, and did we cash a certain check. This is peppered in with a lot of delerious talk -- he talks to his brother who is not present, he points out a herd of deer over by the sink in the room, things like that.

Oh-- I'm burying the lead as they say in journalism. He has multiple myeloma, a kind of bone cancer. There is no cure for this type of cancer. They will be doing a bone marrow biopsy to see how advanced it is. The treatment to prolong life is chemo, which I cannot imagine right now. The next step for dad, once he improves, is a skilled nursing facility. All of these arrangements are made. What I want more than anything right now is for him to eat. I hope tomorrow brings another upswing...