Had a text from my cousin yesterday---turns out her mom (my mom's sister) has a blood clot in her lung. Nuts. And my cousin had her dad admitted to the same hospital, planning to get him observed to see how fit they are (they definitely are) for some skilled nursing care. The ultimate plan is to find a nursing home type of situation for him, at least short-term so my aunt can be attended to. Not sure how this will fly. He was successfully admitted with issues of dehydration and a low potassium level. It's not pretty. Trying to juggle and do the best thing. Thankfully my other cousin, her brother, is here in town this weekend to help her out. But unfortunately there must be a male gene in our family that give the men an out so that the women have to take over. Some wuss gene, I'm thinking. Man up, I say.
I understand the need to distance yourself from the problem, but usually the problem is still there once you tug your head out of the sand. This male cousin is definitely related to my older brothers. Useless.
Shoot. I'm getting more than my fair share of senior health issues. Getting first hand knowledge of how the system works with Medicare and Medicaid. Good to know, but would rather be doing most anything else.
And boot camp boy was able to make another quick phone call yesterday afternoon---he had five minutes to talk, but cut it short because he said he was about to cry. The upside of the call was that he sounded out-of-breath, saying they'd started basic training for sure yesterday, so maybe keeping active will help his mood. He's in good physical shape, being used to biking or long-boarding everywhere. That's a plus. Very lean. His endurance is good, but he's a homebody, so that's the hard part. Not sure if he'll be able to call again during the thick of the training (next two weeks), but I'm surprised I got to visit with him so much this week anyway.
Oldest daughter's begun to watch me, seeing that I don't get overwhelmed. I'm able to turn off my aunt's and uncle's medical problems in my head. Will probably have to tell my mom soon, being that she talks to her sister everyday and will wonder why she's not answering her phone. Not sure that protecting her from the knowledge is a good idea, but she might be glad my aunt is in the hospital and not slaving at home over my uncle, whose increasing dementia makes everyday a dark adventure.
And so it goes. Planning on having a nice, simmery dinner tomorrow, so that the house smells good and we all feel comforted. You do the same. :)
