A week ago Saturday, my Dad was taking a load of laundry out of the dryer, stepped backward, lost his balance, and fell straight back and down. The result was a fractured pelvis.  The treatment for a fractured pelvis is six weeks of moving as little as possible.  Which means that my Dad has been spending almost his entire day just sitting in the recliner. The problem with not moving is, he wasn’t taking deep breaths, which allows fluid to accumulate in the lungs, which then led to pneumonia.

BUT, before he knew about the pneumonia, he had told Jean on Sunday morning while they were still laying in bed that he was freezing. She put a doubled up comforter over him, but he was shivering. He started to get up to go to the bathroom, but his legs wouldn’t support him and she realized he was going down.  She wrapped her arms around him and put her knee in his back and by doing that was able to slide him down to the floor so he didn’t fall again.  Then she called 911.

My Dad has a history of TIAs – Transient Ischemic Attack, a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain, also known as a mini-stroke. Jean suspected he was having one when the paramedics tried to get him to put his hands up on the handles of the walker to help pull himself up, and he couldn’t coordinate his arms. And, when he was answering questions, his speech was slurred.

At the hospital, not only did they discover he has pneumonia and the TIA had occurred, but a nurse also told Jean he was septic, which means  infection had gotten into his bloodstream, and could have caused his organs to start failing. I mean, holy crap, right? How much can one person’s body take?  He’s on antibiotics and blood thinners, and his team of doctors is going to meet to discuss how to treat the fractured pelvis but also figure out a way for him to be able to move around more to prevent the fluid build up.

My Dad is such a happy person, he never complains, even when he’s being poked and prodded, even when I know he’s in pain.  I know he would appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery, or being added to prayer circles at church. His name is Warren Culver. For those of you who don’t pray, I’d sure appreciate you sending your positive thoughts his way.  I’ll update when we know more about how long he’ll be in the hospital. Thanks, everybody.