Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is third time (that I can remember) that Dad has lapsed into a diabetic coma. He has always recovered in the past so our hopes are high but since his mother just died week before last his emotional state isn't the best for going through something like this.

I'm sending one up for you right now.

Dad's blood sugar is back down to 220 (which is still a little too high) and his pulse and blood pressure are normal. The swelling of his face and arms is starting to go down but he has developed a mild fever. Just a few hours ago I learned that when he arrived at the hospital his bodily functions had pretty much all ceased including breathing.

When Dad first came out of his coma he was moving around too much so the doctor's been keeping him sedated so his body could heal. Since Dad's vitals stabilized the doctor stopped the sedative at about 9:00 this morning.

So far he hasn't regained consciousness but he turns his head to face whoever's talking to him. During the 8:30pm visitation Dad still hadn't woken up but he was trying to climb out of bed anyway -- which we take as a very good sign. The doctor gave him an extremely mild sedative so he wouldn't hurt himself and because they don't want to try to remove Dad's respirator during the night (my theory is that it's because the hospital has a smaller staff at night).

About 3 or 4 in the morning they'll stop his sedative again and he should wake up sometime tomorrow. Once he's awake they'll remove the respirator from his lungs so he can breathe on his own. I assume they'll keep him in ICU for a day or so after that to make sure he's stable before moving him to another room.

Mom's hanging in there but just barely. Thus I've decided to stay in Lenoir a bit longer. Lura is already home because she has to work in the morning but she'll coming back down the mountain after that. We're hoping that Dad will wake up before we both have to return home Monday.

Thank you for your love and prayers both for Dad and for us.

PS - Mia, that is one incredibly cute frog avi. 8o) Hope everyone had fun at Pokemon League without us. TL is off work again next Saturday (or at least gets off sometime before 4) so she'll get to be there, too.

PPS - After being married for more than five years I dislike sleeping alone. I'll be glad when TuraLura gets back down here.

We're home now but will likely be going back later this week. I've got a doctor's appointment of my own Thursday morning which is complicating things.

Dad was able to speak enough today that we know he hasn't suffered any significant brain damage. He wanted to know where he was and what had happened. His breathing is much better as well.

It looks like Dad will be okay now but he's got a long road to recovery ahead. He's in a lot of pain but until the doctors know for certain how extensive the damage is they can't give him any medications that might mask his symptoms.

When we left the hospital about 1:00 this afternoon Dad was scheduled for an MRI but I don't know if that has happened yet. I expect that Mom or one of my sisters will call me as soon as they know anything more.

Thanks once again for your prayers that helped get us through this.