Saturday, February 12, 2011

Papa Bill


My father in law- Joe's step dad, is failing fast. He was admitted to a nursing home last week and is very depressed. His meds for Parkinson's make him hallucinate and we are afraid for him. He will be 78 (or so) in a couple weeks and we are all praying for him. We pray and hope that Papa Bill will be able to safely recover from this high risk surgery tomorrow morning. Below is the email from Joe's mom- Nana B...
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Bill is in Kaiser Modesto Hospital. Despite the alarm placed on his bed and on his wheelchair at Meadowood, he fell getting out of bed before the nurses could reach him. After x-rays were taken of his head and body, he was discovered to have broken his right hip. Bill went by ambulance to Dameron ER first, but then was transferred to Kaiser in Modesto.
The orthopedic surgeon phoned this afternoon to get my permission for what he describes as a high risk half-hip replacement. Bill will get just a ball & socket replacement, but there are of course risks like anesthesia problems, stroke and heart attack because of Parkinson's Disease and dementia. But there are risks for not doing the surgery as well:
six months confined to bed could lead to bedsores, blood clots, and total immobility. We are hoping the surgery will allow him a better quality of life even if he has to be confined to a nursing home. At least he can still go for a wheelchair ride, eat in the dining room and have some mobility restored, though in 10-15% of Parkinson's patients have the ball pop back out of the socket as a result of their not being able to control their muscle movements, so a turn or twist just the wrong way can cause the joint to dislocate.
God is still in control. Prayers for His wisdom are constantly going up on Bill's behalf and my own.
Barbara

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