Spring Break - Rochester

Don't worry, MTV won't be doing it any time soon.

Some of you might know that my dad's been sick for a while, since about the second week in February. We were at Mayo since two Fridays ago (start of Spring Break - woo!) trying to find out what is wrong with him. Since he hasn't felt pain on the right side of his body for his whole life (crazy, huh?) he ground the joint into a mass of blood and bone. The surgeons were amazed that NONE of the joint is intact anymore. Then that blood and bone got infected, and his arm swelled up like a balloon. -- A long way from the ear infection he was diagnosed with in good ol' Hibbing. He's also losing blood from somewhere, again maybe the joint. He had to have a transfusion in Duluth and one after the surgery in Rochester.

A couple of Mayo's top orthopedic surgeons (with their entourages of residents) worked on removing the old broken shoulder and replacing it with an implant. They found out about the infection when they were in the OR, so they couldn't do the shoulder replacement. He's now on 6 weeks of IV antibiotics every day and in 8 weeks he'll be going back to make sure the infection's gone and to get the implant. Six months after that he'll be able to use his shoulder again -- at least that's the plan.

So, things have settled down a little bit. The parents are spending one more day in Rochester with the visiting nurse service. Mom's learning how to administer the IV meds. Then they're going back to Hibbing, but they have to meet with Dad's doctor in Duluth first. Mom gets done with her medical leave Thursday. And then the fun will begin. At least Dad will be able to be up and about, so it's not like she'll have to do everything for him. But he can't use the one arm and he has an IV line in the other, so he won't be able to do much. (I guess not much different than usual, then! ;) j/k.

Now I have to write a couple of papers that I meant to write over the break. Heh -- guess that didn't get done.