Another Day, Another Hospital

As I suspected, my dad's condition could not be sustained for long without another trip to the hospital. My effort to get an appointment (outpatient) with a cardiologist, arranged by his doctor, didn't have satisfactory results; the first appointment we could get was for next Weds. I knew that wouldn't be good enough.
So when the caregiver called me this afternoon at 2, and said he was having trouble breathing, I knew this would probably call for another stay in the hospital.
When I got there, he was again white and immovable. I knew he wouldn't be able to walk, so I told the caregiver to call the ambulance, and on their advice, we went to the closest hospital, one where we had not been before. It turned out to be very nice, quite civilized, and much more comfortable than UCI, at least in the emergency room.
While in UCI, the tvs and remotes are scratched up and destroyed, unworkable, these worked perfectly. Parking was simple, and there were even people guiding drivers into spots that were safe and legal. And best, it was quite close to home.
While we were in the e.r., and the nurse and I were trying to get his pants off, he almost stopped breathing. It seems the problems he had in UCI when he was there two weeks ago were all back in force: the kidney failure, the elevated potassium, the retained fluid, and even the bladder infection. The doctors still face the same problem: treat one organ and risk shutting down the other. It is probable that this will kill him. I just hope it isn't a long, lingering, and painful death. If he can get a few more months or a year without too much discomfort, that would be nice. We'll have to take what we get. I guess we all do.