Memory-al Day....

Well, I'm in my office at work, not where most people would prefer to be on this day, but the office is quiet and I am happy to exchange this day for the little trip I have to New York. Since it is quiet I have "This Binary Universe" by BT playing and it is soothing me. Which is important right now. This morning I watched an ambulance take my father away.

He had gotten up, been out in the garden, and come in when my niece and nephew were having breakfast. He was unable to form a complete sentence and was slurring the words he could manage. He was having a stroke. I'm waiting to hear if we were able to get help in time and that hopefully no permanent damage results from this. He will survive, but the phrase 'diminished capacity' encompasses so many options that I do not want to contemplate right now. Last night we had celebrated the completion of our remodeling project on the house my parents own in San Francisco and it being rented out for more than they had expected. It was also the 6 month mark since his hip replacement surgery. I was visiting a friend on Saturday evening with Josh and Lisa, and it was a reminder of how fragile and resilient life is. Our friend recently had a heart attach and needed 6 bypasses. He is recovering surprisingly well and the sequence of events leading to this attack border on the miraculous. I did not need this for that to sink in. If you know my dad, please keep him in your prayers. Thank you.

UPDATE: They are keeping my dad in the hospital in Santa Rosa. They are not sure what caused this since he is already on a high dose of blood thinners and has no bleeding in the brain, but it was very mild and they think we caught it early enough that he should not have long term effects. He has no paralysis, can read aloud from a book without problems, etc., but still has difficulty putting his own thoughts into a cohesive verbal structure. There may need to be some relearning of speaking in the future, but we will count our blessings if that is the extent of the damage. It is still early, but we have reasons to be positive.