I called my mother this morning to say hello, only to be informed that she had called 911 for my father, and the paramedics were there. The only thing I got out of her was that he was on the floor of the bathroom, and something about him fainting. My brother and nephew were going to the hospital, and I would meet them if it turned out to be serious. Later I found out that he hadn't been feeling well that morning. My brother called to tell me my father was lucid, talkative, and in the emergency room undergoing all kinds of tests. I called my mother throughout the day, but all she knew was tests showed his blood sugar to be high, which could have caused him to faint. I drove to the hospital after work, and spoke to my SIL on the phone. It turns out he fell because he slipped on the bathroom rug! He hit his head and hip, but a CT scan and x-rays showed no damage, thank goodness. They've run all kinds of tests, and have him overnight for observation. He should be home tomorrow. He's shook up, and a little nervous. I told him he should be able to walk as well tomorrow as he did yesterday. And this brings me to a story and I'll start out by saying there should be NO throw rugs in the home of older parents. None. Two years ago my father slipped on the rug in front of the kitchen sink and fell, hitting his head on the refrigerator. He said it was a pretty bad fall, and his head bled, but he didn't even have a headache and that was that. About three weeks later, he had some problems with numbness in one of his legs. As the day progressed, he couldn't walk. We got him to the hospital, where a CT scan revealed that his fall caused a brain injury, called a subdural hematoma. He had major brain surgery, a Craniotomy. He was in the hospital for weeks, then a rehab hospital for months. He was in really bad shape. He couldn't walk. He was incontinent. It was a terrible ordeal. All because of a fall. He developed a blood clot while in the hospital, that caused problems that still plague him, but otherwise he made a complete recovery. It really was amazing. Anyway, we didn't throw out the bath rugs. No, we bought double-sided tape made for rugs, and attached the rugs to the floors. When the rugs get washed, the tape has to be reapplied. It works well, but apparently they ran out of tape, and, my dad fell. Again. This time, luckily, no brain injury. The doctors told us that any time an older person falls and hits their head, a CT scan should be done. So, keep that in mind if you have older parents or relatives. And no throw rugs!

I feel really badly for my father, all alone in the hospital. He said he never thought he'd be in a hospital again. The hospital brought back so many memories for me. It was the same one my mother spent weeks in when she had her stroke. It was the first time I'd been back there. I remembered the parking lot so well. The emergency room. The sidewalk we wheeled her out to the first time Emily came to visit because we didn't want Emily to see her in the hospital bed. I remembered the chairs we got from other rooms that we put together to make a 'bed' so we could spend the night. All those memories came flooding back. When my mother left this hospital, she spent months in a rehab hospital. The same one that my father went to when he had his brain injury two years ago.

I told my parents they had both used up all their hospital stays. Apparently my father didn't listen. I hope tomorrow I'll be writing that he's home.

PS... For Crusty... I had Dove dark chocolates for dinner. About 15 of the little ones. I'd never bought them before, and never will again. Obviously I can't control myself. I won't tell you what I had for dessert!