well, endotracheal intubation, to be ecise.

i just looked up intubation online and i’m glad i didn’t look it up before, not that i’ve really had time.

mom and i drove dad to the ER on saturday afternoon.  he and mom had been at toyota and mom called to say she was taking him to the hospital and would i go with them and so they came over.

we sat in the driveway for a while, discussing whether he really had to go.  he didn’t want to, because, of course, he hates the hospital.

on thursday night they’d come over for dinner and he was in pretty bad shape, and then i talked to him on friday and on saturday and asked how he was and he said “not so good.”  but plenty of time he says this.

saturday, though, mom pointed out that if we waited til night to go to the ER, it would be worse because it’d be so late.  he finally agreed that he’d go and “talk to them.”

that was about 3:30.

i stayed at the hospital til about 11, i guess.

after a few pretty intense hours in the ER, where they first gave him oxygen then something called a Bipap or something, where a really really strong blast of air is forced into his lungs, the thing looked kind of like a gas mask.  it made the air flow better, and then they moved him up to ICU.  somebody said that he “might” have to have intubation if his breathing got worse.

we waited in the waiting room as they settled him into his room, then a doctor came out and said they were intubating him.  we went in to see him.  he hadn’t been happy about the bipap thing, but i figured that the intubation would be way, way worse.

i hope to never see my dad in that kind of pain again.  when we were finally allowed in, they had tied his wrists down because a person’s natural inclination is to try to pull the tube out.  intubation is when they stick a tube down your throat so you can breathe.  he was sedated for the actual sticking-down part, but then he wasn’t anymore, and the look on his face was so horrible.  he struggled to get up, he was so agitated…awful.

they have him a temporary drug while the long-acting stuff took effect, but then the long-acting stuff didn’t work right, and the agony continued.

it was a very, very long night.

yesterday for the most part he was better.

i have to go back to the hospital now.  at six this morning they were going to start decreasing his drugs and seeing how he’d be if the tube is removed, so i’m sure it’s been a horrible morning for him.

hopefully things will go well today.

ok  then,

g.