Mom and dad came home on Saturday and we took mom to the hospital on Sunday night.  If that sounds crazy to you, then you are feeling the same kind of amazement that I felt at the irony of it all.  Our family must love that hospital or something.  Ha, ha! :)  Mom kidded around to say that "At least we take turns" referring to how I was there, then her when she fell down, then dad, and now her again. 

Mom came home with a red leg, her right calf to be exact, that was causing a considerable amount of pain so we took her to the ER on Sunday to get it checked out.  They did a lot of tests and decided to admit her for at least a day.  At the moment they are saying that it's an infection and they're doing other tests to determine possible causes.  They have some ideas, but nothing concrete as of yet.

When we went to see her today she was extremely nauseous from the pain medication they had given her.  They spent the better part of the day trying to make the nausea and vomiting stop.  Before I left tonight she seemed a little better in that area.  She's still nauseated but it's not as bad and the throwing up seems to have ended.  Poor thing hasn't eaten a thing all day.

The nurses and doctors have been very helpful.  They say she needs to stay for at least two more days.  When I looked at her leg tonight before I left, I thought it looked slightly better and she says the pain medicine has helped so that it's not hurting right now.  That's good news.

That's the update on our family.  Dad is doing well.  He's glad that she's there getting the help she needs and all of us are taking care of him while mom's away.

 Initially mom didn't want to go to the hospital and then after some questioning I figured out that she wanted to go, but she didn't want to leave dad.  She kept saying, "Who will take care of dad?"  Of course the family would help, but she was worried nevertheless.  I've been caring for him today and tomorrow Julie will care for him while I'm at work.  We'll just continue the swapping until mom gets better.  He's been taking pretty good care of himself though, but he still needs someone to make sure he's okay.  He isn't quite ready to be left to fend for himself.  It's fun taking care of him though.  I've had the opportunity to poke his finger and test his blood sugar levels and I'm learning which pills are to be taken and the times they are to be given.  He has a special diet too so I'm learning a lot.  I feel good so far that I've been able to help him.  He's even been happy and patient as I poke him one or two times to give the test correctly.  I know any of my sisters or brother or in-laws would do what I'm doing and probably do it better, but I'm just glad I get a chance to take care of him.  He's a good egg and we're having some great daddy daughter time together.

Now we'll just pray that mom's leg gets better soon and that she'll be able to come home soon.  For now she's happy to be where they can help  her to feel better.  Hopefully this will be the end of our visits to the hospital, at least for the rest of this year.  Mom keeps telling me that I better not bring us here next.  I think she's pretty funny and I agree wholeheartedly.  We've had enough of that place!  On the bright side, dad was able to visit the doctors and nurses that cared for him during his stay in rehab.  He thanked them and they visited.  I could tell they were extremely happy to see that he was doing well.  I'm glad they got to see the fruits of their labors and believe me....they did LABOR.  They worked so hard to help him and his successes are largely due to their skill, hard work, and wonderful caring.