At 5:45 AM on Thursday, January 17TH, Magoo hit the carpet with a crash! The port-a-potty went head over heels with him. I jumped out of bed bolted to the monitor, only to see a laid out, carpet kissing, rug hugging Magoo. Not to mention the pee all over the carpet. Lani called 911. The operator asked Lani 3 times was she sure of dad’s birthday. Born in 1914…for the third time! The paramedics whisk him off to the hospital. They were almost sure he broke something. In the emergency room we met our doctor who informed us the x-ray confirmed a break. Femur has lost the ball in the ball joint. In other words the femur snapped and left the ball in the hip joint. surgery was scheduled for Friday morning. Bill is in charge of dad’s “rod and reel” (you know…the male who-who). So urinal duties were Bill’s. What a disaster! And we are not even out of the ER yet. In the meantime we are given a room and dad is given a little morphine for pain. Now, we are are sitting there in disbelief as the nursing team has to revive Magoo from “flat lining”. He had a reaction to the small amount of morphine given. So now they have to give him the antidote to save him. Amazingly …Magoo is back! Hell…it’s not even noon yet! So the night before surgery, Lani and I are in dad’s room, nestled in on our couch bed. Drinking our wine and playing gin rummy. Dad is spaced out on the bed and talking out of his ass and his poor nurse, Harry, has his hands full…literally! Now he is in charge of dad’s “peeing” duties. Which Bill was happy to turn over to him. Now, Harry draws the curtain and this is what Lani and I hear. Hi pops! Do you want to hold it or do you want me to? Do you have it in? Do you feel anything coming out? Does that feel better? Lani and I are on the floor!!!!! We had to bury our heads in our pillows so that the entire wing could not hear us laughing. So what do we do? We get the cell phones out and start taking pics with our wine and Lysol can. We sprayed everything before we touched it. Don’t leave for the hospital without it!
Back at home Lilly (Magoo’s dog) is so lonesome. She barks and howls from missing dad. So not only are we sedating Magoo… but his dog too. We leave the TV and lights on 24/7 and give her extra time when we are home. Bought extra toys and chew stuff for her. So back and forth we go. Home to hospital. Chocolate coffee to motor oil coffee. Nice hot shower to sink spash. Nice cozy bed to sharing a couch with Lani. Head at opposite ends so we have Lysol sprayed socks in each others face. What a great experience.
Friday morning we are escorted to surgery pre-op. Dad has stayed groggy since his “near death” episode. But again amazingly makes it through surgery with flying colors. Now the fun part starts. After surgery the doctor comes to tell us that he put in a new hip joint. And dad would be in recovery for a while and then back to his room. So Lani, Bill, and me go home to shower and get us something to eat. We haven’t even stepped foot in the door until we get a phone call. Magoo is screaming at everyone and hitting the nurses. So by the time we get there they have put “boxing” gloves on him. Large, soft and white. Giant mittens so he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else for that matter. So now he is trying to get out of the gloves so he can pull every tube he has…out! This includes the “rod and reel” tube! Now Magoo is not only supporting gloves but they had to restrain his hands. His legs are already restrained because of the hip replacement. Poor Magoo…he was crying for help. But how do you explain to a 98 yr. old that is doped up, anything. He didn’t even know who we were. The doctors say this is very common in the elderly. So we had his pain meds changed and also gave him a “relaxer” which has calmed him down and helped him sleep…a lot! Which is great for everyone involved.
So now I am physically compromised and mentally challenged. Kinks in the back from the wonderful sleeping arrangements and mentally stressed out!!! But hanging in there. Lani and I actually slept at home last night. Bill has been back and forth doing honey-do’s. The hospital sent a “sitter” for dad and we did not have to worry about anything. Such a relief. I will update everyone as things happen. Please know that we appreciate all the e-mails, calls, and cards. Your support through all our unfortunate ordeals the past few months has helped more than you will ever know. But today is a new day and my 62ND birthday. So God has granted me another year. I pray that He continues to hold me tight and give me strength to deal with Magoo!
HUGS,
Ride,Baby,Ride!
Leilani
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