Mom called yesterday (Tuesday) and we yakked for about an hour. She had called a week ago when I was on my way to the airport and I missed the call. I could have been in the parking garage or a bathroom or anywhere else with concrete walls, I have no idea. I never heard the phone ring, I just saw that I’d missed her call. I messaged Dad and told him that I was going to be out of the country, so she wouldn't keep trying to call, and that I’d call when I got back from Madrid.
And I did. I called Saturday, but Mom was napping, so I talked to Dad for about 15 minutes. And found out he’d been in the hospital for a day or two. Apparently he’d been out running errands and his legs just felt weak and didn’t want to move. He was really leaning on the shopping cart to keep going. When he got home he thought that a hot bath might help him loosen up, but then he couldn’t get out of the tub, even with mom trying to help. She finally said she was going to have to call 911 and get some burly EMTs to help get him out. So they showed up, and Dad was buck naked and soaking wet, and they got him up out of the tub. He got some shorts on and they took him to the hospital to check him out. Dad sounded quite pleased with the broad spectrum of tests that they ran. When it came down to it, he’s been diagnosed with a hernia. They had him on IV antibiotics when he was in the hospital and sent him home with more antibiotics, and he’s going to have to schedule surgery to repair the hernia.
Of course, Dad did NOT remember to tell Mom that I’d called. 🙄 Because of course he didn’t.
And it’s just as well that I’d missed Mom’s call, because she was calling to hear about my trip and I hadn’t taken it yet. LOL. Mom was surprised that Dad had told me about his little hospital visit. Mom said that after she called 911, she sat on a stool out in the driveway and when the EMTs showed up she basically asked them NOT to allow Dad to talk them out of taking him to the hospital, because she wanted him checked out. I don’t know if it was hearing it from a medical professional and not mom, or if he was scared enough of how his body was failing him, but he went along with taking an ambulance ride to the hospital. And mom said she was glad she didn’t drive him in, because apparently the ER waiting room was packed.
I think he might have been there 24 hours? Just long enough to move out of the hallway in the ER and into a cubicle or room it sounds like. They checked him for Covid, then ran a whole battery of blood work, and he had an MRI and a CAT scan. I’m glad that they checked for a stroke, since he was having more trouble lifting his right leg and that was one of the things that I was worried about.
Mom wasn’t exactly sure what a
hernia was, so I had to tell her. And now I’m curious as to what exact
flavor of hernia Dad has. Since it was affecting his right leg, I’m going to guess it might be an inguinal hernia? I’ll have to ask him.
Mom and I spent some time talking about politics, because they’re in a Red state, so I don’t think she has anyone besides Dad to talk to about * waves hands *. She asked if I was stockpiling anything because of the tariffs? And I said really just toilet paper (because we get so much wood pulp from Canada) and light bulbs (because every freaking one of my IKEA lamps takes a different size and shape bulb). But other than that, I just have a little bit extra of a few things that won’t go bad (trash bags, aluminum foil).
The condo is still on the market. At least their realtor is better this time. She’s got exact data about who is looking at the listing, and where they’re from (Chicago, NY City). It’s a nice condo and in a good location, I hope it sells soon.
And I told mom about my trip to Madrid. But there wasn’t really much to tell because I spent the vast majority of my time in the hotel doing work stuff. When we had a couple of hours free, I spent it napping instead of exploring the city. I just wasn’t feeling touristy this time. I think the late dinners really threw me off, because they meant I had to stay up later every night than I wanted to.
And I told her that I’m traveling on business again to an offsite in Berlin in September. I’m excited for that, finally going to Germany for the first time since I left as a baby (I was born in West Germany).
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unsent_letters_exchange. :)