It's been a tough week

I haven't been posting much this week, mostly because my husband is back in the hospital so I've spent most of my waking hours on the road, on the phone, or beside his hospital bed.

His surgery last week seemed to go well but the gas that they pump into his abdomen left him terribly bloated. On Saturday he felt very nauseous. When he started throwing up with great force, I called the doctor. Of course, I had to go through an answering service since it was Saturday, but before long I was talking to his doctor's partner. He had me drive Frank to the hospital in Winchester, which is an hour away.

After doing a CT scan around 2 AM, they transferred him to GW Hospital in DC, where the prostate surgery was done. There they did abdominal surgery and repaired a hernia, which had not caused any problems before. At that time they thought he might come home Wednesday or Thursday. But now it looks like he won't be released for a few more days because his digestive system just isn't working yet.

And something even worse happened on Saturday. My nephew's son died. Brave little Alex only spent a couple of years on this earth, and they were challenging ones. He was born with myopathy, very weak muscles that did not even provide enough strength to sit up or even to breathe without oxygen supplementation. I guess his little heart could not struggle on. I feel so sad for his parents and all the other people who knew and loved him. He was a sweet little boy.

I did not make it to Pennsylvania for the funeral because my husband needed my help here. But I can only help him a little, since his body has to heal and I can't make it progress any faster. He still cannot eat or drink anything; he is "fed" through a tube. Naturally he is not very happy but at least his siblings and daughters are calling him and trying to lift his spirits.