Dad

My dad has always been an independent person. He doesn't really ask for much and when he does it is truly something he needs to get done. He can be really stubborn sometimes and it does take a while to convince him of things. 

A few years ago he was sent to the hospital by his urologist. His sister had said that the last time she saw him, he looked really bad. He was bloated in his face and she was planning to talk to him. Christmas before, he came to Vegas and said that he felt chills even though the weather was mild. The day he went to the urologist though, he wasn't producing any urine. He was in icu and they told him he was in kidney failure, which is what he told me on text. I talked to his doctors and nurses almost his entire stay at the hospital; almost 3 weeks. After that, he went to a rehab facility so he could learn how to walk again because laying down for 3 weeks makes you lose muscle that quick. We argued about the rehab facility. I said he needed to be in Chicago, closer to me. He said he wanted to be closer to home. So I told the social worker to find one closer to his home. He was there for 6 weeks and hated it. 

Now, he again is faced with kidney failure stage 5. He isn't happy about it and is in quite a bit of denial, but he is learning that he doesn't always have to be independent and stubborn in everything. My dad has had 2 surgeries to move veins in preparation for dialysis. He is not needing dialysis at this point, but the time will come when he does and you want to be prepared for that time. 

He is also getting prepared for getting on the list for transplant. He will go in on June 23 and 24 to find out his best match and cross match and go from there. My sisters are interested in knowing how they can help him best, but this step has to be done before anything else. I will be going with him as well to provide support, more information, and possibly help make decisions about his care.