It’s been a Strange 48 hours

            Noon on Tuesday I got a phone call from a lady I’ve never met saying she had stopped by to check on my dad and he was not doing well.  She had put a call in to the cancer center and his family practitioner and wanted to tell me.  I called her back minutes after listening to her message and discussed with her what I would do.  Within the hour a hospice nurse dispatched by the family doctor had contacted me and we were discussing meeting at his house and assessing the situation. 

I was the only administrator in building so I knew I needed to wait until after school.              Three o’clock came and I headed to Ecru.  Once there it was apparent home hospice was out of the question.  With the plan of seeking a placement at the Sanctuary Hospice House the next day, I headed back to Oxford for class at 7.  After class about 9:30 I called my brother to give the news, and then called my other half siblings. 

I had trouble sleeping and woke up early Wednesday thinking of all I needed to get completed.  I headed to work, and my brother headed to see about my dad.  I worked the phones getting paper faxed and placement secure, while Brett took it all in and tried to manage Daddy. 

            Scheduled to teach my first ever college class at 4:00, I gave my brother directives and tried to help him from 45 minutes away.  By 5:00 he had secured help from our cousin to try and get Daddy in a vehicle and moved.  In the moving Daddy fell and got scraped up pretty bad.  They called the ambulance and he was transported to the E.R.  At 6:30 I was out of class, home, and at the E.R. with Brett and Daddy.  His wounds were treated and we awaited his ride to the Hospice House.  By 7:45 we were headed to Tupelo to get him settled.  The trip left him restless and us quiet.  Once the ambulance crew got him situated and the hospice house staff got him assessed, we were able to check in and say goodnight. 

            I took today off to get some things situated.  I was up at 3:00 unable to stop thinking about things I needed to do.  At 3:30 I knew sleep wouldn’t find me again, so I got up and began cleaning.  The kitchen countertops were wiped down, floor mopped, fridge and microwave cleaned out and scrubbed down.  Next I decided to get showered and ready and to start making plans.  Three cups of coffee later I’m wired and sitting next to Daddy’s bedside listening to his sleep noises, staring at his scrapes from yesterday.  His knobby knees are raising the bed covers just a bit.  His hands are fighting to stay on top of the cover.  This is not where I imagined myself 48 hours ago.  This wasn’t in my plan.