Broken Ribs, A Cursed House, Blood Tests & Falling Over Backward

I tell you, this has been some crazy week and I haven't had time to blog, let alone think straight.

My parents, along with my aunt and uncle, are in town for their annual visit--which is an event I do look so forward to--but this year it has been downright stressful.

Immediately after their arrival, my father tripped and fell in the motel parking lot. An ambulance was called, but my dad felt "fine" and they checked him over and left. But the next day, he was not feeling so fine and finally, two days later, he went to the emergency ward and it was discovered he broken a rib.

Then my aunt has decided she will not come to our house because she believes it is cursed.  I kid you not.

This rather bizarre idea stems from an incident last year when my aunt was standing on our front porch and this 19 year old kid (who lived down the block and had been allowing his dog to crap all over my yard, this kid who that very morning when I had confronted him about his dog had threatened to burn my house down), this little punk said something to my aunt as he cockily sauntered by and she truly believes that he "put a curse" on her. And even though this kid no longer lives in our neighborhood, my aunt refuses to come over and visit Bob and me. So if we plan an outing together, my father must drop my aunt off six blocks away, come and pick me up, then go back and get her. And vice versa, when they bring me home: my aunt is left standing six blocks away. Which really cuts down on the time my mom and dad can spend visiting Bob before and after our outings. Not to mention that my aunt has only seen Bob once the whole time they've been here (when I took him up to their motel on the wheelchair transport) and I'm afraid he is feeling a bit neglected. This whole thing is really stressing everyone, including me, out. I wish I knew how to convince her that our house is not cursed, it's our home and we do miss her coming here...

Also this past week, Bob's PT/INR went off the charts. This is the test for blood thickness that he has done monthly to regulate his warfarin (a blood thinner). The results were a 3.7, which is way too thin and can cause internal bleeding. So the primary care doctor told me to take him off the warfarin for two days (always scary) and then have another blood test, and when the results were 1.7 (too thick) the nurse told me to keep Bob off the warfarin and bring him into the office on Monday to see the doctor. This was on Thursday and I just about freaked out because that would mean Bob would be off the blood thinner for six whole days and the neuro doctor said never, ever quit that warfarin because it could cause another stroke. I finally got a hold of the doctor himself, which was no small feat, and he told me put him on 5 mg and have it re-tested on Monday. Now, this week, results are still running too thick (1.4) but the doctor is worried about Bob's ulcer and doesn't want his blood too thin as it could cause the ulcer to bleed. I tell you all this has me a nervous wreak. His next PT/INR will be Monday.

On top of this, every time Bob attempts to get up with that hemi-walker, he topples over backward. He only has three more scheduled Rehab appointments and I am scared too death that will be the end of his therapy. And then, what will we do? On Tuesday, when we were practicing in the hall by the rail, he toppled backward with me and I attempted to pull him up straight with the gait belt and really, seriously bruised myself.

And there's more, but that's all I have to time to write today. I am taking Bob out to the beach motel where my mom and dad and aunt and uncle are staying. And praying for a calm, uneventful day.