Unexpected

First of all, thanks for the messages from people reading the blog:) I'm either not tech-savvy enough to figure out how to respond or too lazy to really try to figure it out. Anyway, I appreciate the comments!

Soooo, we've had a bit of excitement in the past couple of days--my dad had to spend the night in the hospital.

Gasp. Yes, it shook me up a bit. I think I get that my parents aren't invincible, but then things happen which remind me of their mortality, and it rattles me a little.

Since we've lived in TX, my parents have made at least one yearly trek via car up to Iowa to visit their respective sides of the family. Apparently, it can take a toll on one's body. Two days ago my dad complained of having a charley horse in his leg. In my infinite wisdom (since I know soooo much about things like that), I suggested that he drink some water as I've read somewhere that charley horses are caused by lack of water to muscles which then spasm. The next morning, when I finally roll off my air mattress and join the rest of the world, Dad tells me he's going to go the doctor's to check on his leg. It's swollen and tender, and he limps around. Mom worries that he has a blood clot and orders him off his leg. Dad, of course, has already been out riding the horse that morning because apparently that hurts less than riding his bike. Um, ok.

As his doctor never returned his call, Dad prepares to head to the emergency room, and I offer to drop him off as I take the kids to the Skate Plex. I plan to pick him up after we're done skating. The skating doesn't pan out, so we head to Transformers 2 (warning: it's really long) and call Mom post-movie. She says nothing about Dad, so I assume he's safely at home and doesn't need a ride. Surprise, surprise. When I get home, Mom informs us that Dad is still at the hospital, he does have a blood clot, and he might have to stay overnight. Mild heart palpitations accompany this announcement, but I make some lame joke, and we proceed with dinner. Then Mom receives a phone call from Dad.
"In the lungs?" she says.
What? What does that mean? I shoot her a glance. She has that focused, serious look that she gets in dramatic situations. When she hangs up, she looks at me.
"They found clots in both his lungs."
"Um, what does that mean? Like, what do they have to do?"
"They'll put him on blood thinner, and they may admit him to watch him overnight. He has to stay off his feet. I guess he got up to change the channel in his room, and a nurse caught him and yelled at him." She grinned at that, but I could see the worry.
So we played the waiting game for a while, wondering what would happen. Eventually Dad learns that he will be staying over night, so he asks me to bring him some things. I ended up waiting with him for an hour or so at night while he waited on his room. It took two hours from the time they said he would stay over night to actually get him in the room. Poor guy didn't get a meal or drink or anything for the 8 hours he sat there. He did learn that it was the long hours in the car that caused the clot to form.

Today he is home, hoping for insurance to kick in. I hate insurance companies. Of course they're going to try to deny paying for any of this. I mean, why would they pay for a health concern? I feel like growling at them. As it is, I must content myself with shaking my fist in the air.

As for Dad I think he'll be ok with some R and R. I get to take the kids places now that we were supposed to do as a family. My only resentment (yes, I am shallow enough to feel that way) is that I really wanted to do some of these things all together. I leave on Thursday. Won't be back for months, ya know. But, well, that's life I guess, and it goes on.