Paperwork

You know how sometimes your whole job seems to be nothing but paperwork, getting signatures, getting consensus from conflicting personalities? No? Just me?

Well, today that was my dad’s job. Instead of getting the wound on his spine cleaned out — you know, to make sure any leftover bacteria doesn’t spread — he got to wait around all day because of a “paperwork mix-up.” Apparently, someone forgot to consult with the cardiologist about giving my dad anesthetics. So, said cardiologist had not signed the necessary documents, and dad had to wait for the doctor to consult with him, get HIS signature and then sign off on the procedure. By the time that happened, there was no chance dad could get his treatment today.

So dad is getting his wound cleaned out tomorrow. Meanwhile, he is still in a lot of pain. He is healing from his other surgeries, and of course the wound on his back isn’t comfortable to lay on all day.

The good news? Dad is slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. He is able to hold cogent conversations (except when he is on pain killers), and the doctors have loosened some of the liquid restriction he was under last week. He still is restricted though, so he has to eat these weird ice-cream-melting-into-pudding things rather than ice cream.

Sometimes it’s the little things.