Tag: dear-old-dad

As a reminder, I’m posting at least twice daily status updates on my father’s condition in his blog, grandpa_a. It seems to be slowly improving, although not as fast as I would like (I want him well and whole, dammit!). Some things that I would think (being a layperson) are a step back, according to the nurses, are forward movement (such as the tracheotomy). Somtimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, but luckily, that’s his wife’s decision to make. My sister-in-law pointed out that he should be fully functional (both mentally and physically) when he is healed, and if he wanted to go, he would have gone by now. So, I’ll just keep plugging away, praying for his speedy recovery.

For those following the situation on my father: I just posted an update on his blog (grandpa_a). The 5 second summary: Still slow but steady progress.

Please remember that I’m posting the status updates on my father’s condition on his blog (grandpa_a). The short summary for readers here: So far, so good. Still in critical condition, still in ICU, still on a respirator. However, they’ve been able to move the drugs and respirator settings in the right direction, so there is measurable progress.

I’ve just done an update on my dad’s condition in his blog, grandpa_a. In short: stable, and past the 48 hour mark. I had one question on how long he’ll be in the hospital: we would guess at least 2-3 weeks for the lungs to heal. We’ll know more as time goes on.

My step-mother is doing better. Her eye looks like it could use a ribeye steak, but other than that, she’s going strong. We had some cousins visit this evening, which cheered her up.

I’m tired–it’s been a long day, so I’m just going to check email and go to bed. Drive safely.

I’m not making this public, just in case that might affect any investigation.

In talking to my sister-in-law, who lives in Laguna Niguel, we’ve now got a clue as to what happened, and why when I checked on the vehicle, it was in “evidence hold”. Take a look at this article [O.C. gets a course in putting brakes on street racing] (registration required) from the Orange County Register. Evidently, there has been a rash of street racing going on. Quoting the article:

Typical street racers are males ages 18 to 24, but females are increasingly becoming involved in street racing, Smith said. A serious street racer is likely to have a disposable income – stocking a car with racing accessories and enhanced engine parts can cost more than $15,000.

“These are usually good kids with no criminal records,” Sgt. Fred Furey said. “They’re low-performance drivers in high-performance vehicles. A huge portion of the car upgrades usually are being paid for by the parents, who have no idea what’s going on.”

My step-mother reported that my father thought he had sufficient space, but the vehicle was going really fast. Further, she reported that the drivers were young. Could be possible. My wife says that if this pans out, she should go for assault with a deadly weapon.

Grrrrrrrr…..

We’re back home tonight. First and foremost, thanks to everyone for their good wishes. Right now, he is stable and we’re trying to keep him resting and quiet. I imagine he is frustrated, but I’d rather have him come out of this pissed at me, than… We’re now past 24 hours, so far, so good.

Here’s what I wrote on his journal:

We spoke to the ICU about an hour ago. He is still resting sedated, which is what he needs. He is still on the ventolater, while the collapsed lung and the Flail Chest heals. He’s in a stronger collar for his injured vertabrae, which is why were trying to keep him calm. He has no cord damage, and we want to keep it that way!

Please note: Although I gave the hospital name, please do not call the hospital for information. They won’t give it to you. Please call me (Daniel) or Rae if you need it. But note that I’ll be posting what I know here.

Lastly, for at least a few days, I’m going to discourage visitors. While my dad is on the ventolator, he can’t talk to you, and we really need to keep him quiet. Call the house, talk to Rae, and see what you can do to help her. Once my dad can talk again and his neck is stabalized, visitors will be good.

I just got back from the hospital. Here’s the scoop.

He was in a major auto accident. There are three main injuries.

The least appears to be a broken ankle. Next, there is flayed ribs (basically broken ribs) on one side, and a collapsed lung. He has been intubated, and will likely be that way for a while. He has COPD, which doesn’t help.

He also broke his spine at C2, but luckily didn’t hurt the cord. They are working to stabalize his neck.

Right now, he’s sedated, so I’m back at his house with my stepmother (who has some bruises and injured wrists. We’ll be back there later today. I will likely not be going back east next week (sorry, estherchaya; we’ll see you in Tucson).

For those who do Misheberach Lists, please include Avraham ben Solomon. For those who need the english name, it is Adrian Faigin. He’s at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

That’s it for now.