The most intensive (six week online) course I teach falls in the summer. I hate being so busy during the best part of the year. I'd rather spend my limited energy out enjoying the big lake and my pups.
However, it's a course I like teaching and it pays pretty well so I agreed again to do it. Unfortunately, with the added strain of my dad's poor health and a young pup to care for, it's been very challenging.
My dad was back at emergency last week because his breathing was so terrible. There was a noise when he was inhaling that made both me and his nurse practitioner (NP) worried. She said she wanted X rays and if she ordered them it would take days maybe a week or more to get the results.
She asked me to take him to emergency (yuck!!! it's awful). We were there 6 or so hours and discovered after X rays and blood work that the cause is his pleural effusion (edema or fluid around his lungs) is causing the breathing issues. It's all related to his heart. The Dr. was wanting to admit him, but he also was okay with releasing him given his oxygen saturation wasn't bottomed out.
My dad had trouble even managing the hours we were there with my constant attention, I didn't force him to stay at the hospital. His confusion/cognitive/dementia issues cause him to be agitated and staying at the hospital would make these all much worse.
Not surprisingly since the incident, I've had to spend even more time over at his place helping him. I hit a wall on Friday. I couldn't bring myself to work at all I was so crashed and unwell and depressed and overwhelmed. Thankfully I bounced back and am managing to plug along. It's been poor timing coinciding with my intensive course. That said, there is never good timing for your father to be so ill and facing 'end of life' is there?
Wish me luck. If I'm not on here for a while it's because my life is a whirlwind and I'm just trying to get through each day.
