When it rains...

...it pours.  Looks like December is taking it's toll on the Suggs Family as far as bad information goes.  As you know, my Mother is in the hospital at St. Vincents with pneumonia.  Been there for a week almost.  And is doing better.  The antibiotics are doing their job and she is getting better slowly.  She's still very weak, and just about any type of exertion leaves her out of breath and near collapse.  They have determined as soon as she gets well enough, they are going to transfer her to a long term care/skilled nursing facility that has a physical rehab unit as soon as they can find a bed/room for her.  And on one hand I know in my heart that this is the best for her and exactly what she has been needing for many years now.  And their will be many benefits for her to enjoy as she gets stronger over time.  But the cold hard reality is that my Mother is no longer able to care for herself 100%, and that saddens me.

My Dad, whom I have never been close to, more of a "friendship" than a Father/Son relationship lives in Panama City, FL.  It's been well over a year since I have even spoken with him (my fault entirely), so I thought I would take the current situation with my Mother as a good enough reason to give him a call and check in and see how he, his wife Grace and his three kids and umpteen grandkids were doing.  After a few minutes of talking to Grace (she always answers the phone), I ask how things are going with Dad, and she tells me that he has, since I spoke with them last (almost 2 years), been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and is actually not doing very well at all.

I did speak to him, and although it was a nice conversation, with him even cracking a few jokes, I could tell it was hard for him.  Grace told me that his Doctor had prescribed some sort of new PD and that after taking it my Dad basicall turned into a Zombie and sat unresponsive in his chair drooling all over himself for a few days.  They have since taken him off that particular medication but it has actually made his symptoms more severe after being on it.  So disheartening news to say the least.  His wife said he could not drive anymore, had to be fed and dressed most of the time and had a lot of trouble walking.  She also said that he would often have spells of time where he was perfectly ok for a few hours at a time so at least he has a some good time.

I'd like to go see him soon, maybe this summer will work out.  I know that it will take a lot more than this to get the best of him.  It might be humbling, but I doubt if it will put much of a kink in his craw.

Joy, my wife, has lost her voice.  And I am experiencing "technical difficulties" with my ears at the moment, so she can't talk, I can't hear.  We just sit in front of the fireplace amidst the warm glow of smoldering hickory logs and flip each other off as neceassary.

Wes had to take his wife Tara to the ER tonight with breathing/coughing/fever issues, but according to his/her FB page it is bronchitus.

So, yeah, looks like a happy holiday all around!  Like I said...

When it rains, it pours!