Update

I've been promising myself that I'd take the time for an update, but it's been way too long. My grandchildren came and left again. It was great to see them. We had a lot of fun. There's even talk of a return visit in a few months.

Last week I was having a morning at home when the phone rang. It was my mom's doctor calling to give her some test results. Not a receptionist or a nurse, but the doctor. Mom wasn't home so I gave the doctor her cell number. When the doctor is willing to take the time to track you down you know it's not good. I waited a few minutes and then I called my mom.

I was right, the news wasn't any good. It appears that my mom's kidneys, liver, and pancreas are all having problems. The extent of the problems aren't clear right now, more tests had to be ran. Tomorrow she sees the doctor to get those results. She's also being sent to specialists to get everything taken care of. I'm really worried about her.

Things with Donny aren't going too well either. Last Friday he had an appointment to see the doctor. I was planning to ask about getting his morphine prescription changed to a form that the insurance will cover. Right now we have to pay out of pocket to get him any and we can't afford it. There were some other questions that I had for the doctor too. It was a really important visit.

Friday morning Donny decided to inform me that he wasn't going to his appointment. He's decided to change doctors since this one's not doing anything for him except shoving pills down his throat. I tried to explain that there's nothing left to do besides use medication to keep him comfortable and his symptoms under control. He just doesn't get that there are no more tests, no more treatments.

I really think that the real reason for not going to the appointment is because he's drinking again and he doesn't want to get yelled at for it by his doctor. He knows that our doctor will take the pain killers away if he finds out about the alcohol. The drinking is bad again and he doesn't want to hear about it.

The latest bit of idiocy that I think will put Donny in the hospital though is his insistence that he just stop taking morphine. He says that he doesn't want to be addicted to it. He's been on the stuff for 2 years now, I think he's a little late on that one. And at this point, what does it matter if he is addicted to morphine? The doctor is willing to let him have it for the rest of his life, so I don't see the problem.

Speaking about the rest of his life, his latest thing is to tell me that he's dying soon. He usually says it when he's trying to get me to do what he wants. If I want to leave the room when he wants me to sit there he'll be sure to let me know that we don't have much longer together. And he loves to tell me how if I were the one about to die that you wouldn't be able to get him away from me. He is a master at guilt trips.

Also, this weekend my uncle moved in with us. It's supposed to be a temporary deal, but there's no time limit or anything. Donny's dealing well with it, which was my biggest concern. Everybody gets on my nerves at some point, so I know I'll be complaining about him at some point in the future, but right now it's been fairly smooth sailing. He's helping take care of grandma, and today he did the dishes for me. That's almost enough to classify him as a superhero in my book.

Well, I think that's all the current stuff. I'm sure there will be more soon.