My Dad

Just a quick update! Life has turned hectic all of a sudden! I've been on the cell phone about 24/7 the past four or five days with any one of my three siblings, and my mom!

My dad was diagnosed with Ramsey Hunt Syndrom a few weeks ago. All because he rode in an open skiff without his ear flaps down! He's been doing that for YEARS, like at least 30..but I guess this time it did him in!

By the time he got to his remote camp in Alaska (about a 2 hr boat ride) he basically crawled from the beach to his bed where he stayed for two days until my little brother (not so little, but always MY little brother) called my mom and said we need to get a plane out here to get dad!

To just summarize a really long story, he ended up in the hospital (for the 2nd time) on Sunday...and as far as I know today, he is still there. He should get to go home today.

Ramsey Hunt is a lot like Bells Palsy, it has the paralysis in the face and some other similar things, but the RH has a LOT of pain with it. It also has vertigo, which is my dad's main problem! They live in a two story house, and it was taking him literally 15 minutes to go up 10 steps each morning. He was crawling to the bathroom, etc. Finally after lots of vomitting and dizzy spells, my brothers and a friend helped him into the car and off to the hospital. He was pretty dehydrated, which makes the vertigo worse..so he had 3 full bags of fluids before he noticed any difference.

He's had an MRI done and that's clear, thank goodness. When I read up on RH, these are all symptoms, but we just wanted to make sure it was nothing else! Know what I mean?

That vertigo mess is scary! So anyway, obviously I live in North Carolina and the rest of my entire family is in Kodiak where my parents are. So the past four days have been up and down, if I should fly up there or not! Talk about stressful! :) My family is flying up next Friday anyway, and there wasn't much I could do... Thankfully he took a turn for the better last night, or I would have been on a plane up there!

I guess it had gotten to the point (all because of the vertigo) that he couldn't even feed himself! Now, I guess you need to know my dad..he is 65... He's a hunting guide, a real Alaskan so to speak! He's never been sick a day in his life, NEVER been in the hospital, etc. So it's been really scary for my siblings to see him so dibilitated.

I've felt a little like the loser child, but there wasn't anything I could have done anyway. My siblings and mom are quite capable! But, still! If we hadn't been planning to fly up for two weeks anyway, I would have already been on a plane up there. It's just frustrating trying to figure out what I needed to do! My mom said, "No! No reason to come" My sister said, "You need to come right now!" My brother said, "If it will make you feel better, come!"

What are you supposed to do with all that?! :)

Anyway, they are 4 hrs behind me (eastern time) so I need to call and see how his morning today went!

Thanks for all the nice thoughts! Sara