Under normal circumstances, I would not be writing this second post today. I would just let it go with the single post. In fact, I discussed the fact that I might only post one article in a day when I announced the new schedule, Goodbye Morning Music and Anniversary Posts. And if ever there would be a day in which I should get away without doing a second post, it would be today — at least in a case where nothing terrible happened.

My 83-year-old father started urinating blood while doing some construction work for a lady friend of his who lives about an hour and a half away. But because my father is very much a Great Generation man, he said nothing until the work was done. Then he drove himself to the emergency room — an hour and a half away back at home. But after 5 hours at the hospital, he looked terrible. They had put a catheter in him, which was filling bright red. And they sent him home with a referral to a urologist. But he was sweating and his hands were shaking wildly.

Back to the ER

I tried to get him to go back to the emergency room. But he insisted that it only hurt when he urinated. But after 24 hours, even he couldn’t take it any more. This is a man who gets dental fillings without novocaine. In one way, I’m really impressed with this because I’m a wimp when it comes to pain. On the other hand, this “real man” nonsense bugs me. But if he admits to pain, I know it’s bad.

When I got him to the hospital, he could barely walk. He was hunched over, breathing hard, sweating profusely. They got him in very quickly and I hung out in the waiting room. At that point I felt great because I knew he would be taken care of. But the hours ticked past. It was time well spent. I got to read a number of long-form articles that I haven’t had time for. The internet connection at the hospital was great! I suppose I could have worked on my second post, but I find writing on my phone to be pretty hard.

Finally, I asked what was going on and they told me that they were preparing for his release. That was good, because I had been worried that they were going admit him. Anyway, they let me go back and I talked to the doctor and nurse and they told me that they were just getting the catheter installed and that I was welcome to come into the room. I said, “No, no, no!” But given that my father is hard of hearing, I asked that they call me before releasing him, because he often leaves without knowing what he’s supposed to do.

This Is Not the Second Post

It was still over another hour. And, of course, they didn’t call me in. But when he burst through the doors, I could see that there was nothing to be concerned about. The change was so stark and I knew it wasn’t due to any drugs that they had given to him. He was clearly ill when he walked in and he looked liked his normal self when he came out. Apparently, there had been three blood clots in his bladder, and that was undoubtedly what was causing all of his pain.

Interestingly, after telling me repeatedly that he only had pain when he urinated, he told me that when the doctor asked him what his pain was like on a scale of 1 to 10, my father said, “Ten when I urinate; five otherwise”! Thanks for all the honesty, dad!

Anyway, this is the second post today that would have been about something else if all this hadn’t happened. But I’m glad it all worked out well.