Marriage pt. V

Found out my dad was in the hospital today when I called my parents' wondering why he hadn't called regarding the Reds' collapse this afternoon. My mom answered and said he went to the ED last night and was admitted. My mom didn't go with him and had no plans on visiting him.

My mom sounds like a mean person, huh? Well, I really don't blame her since my dad's current problem is that he has GAS AND IS CONSTIPATED! Sure he had a stent put in his aorta a couple weeks ago, but he hasn't been regular so he spent a few days in the hospital earlier in the week before going back Saturday.

My mom had surgery before he did and was told she couldn't drive for a month, but my dad doesn't care and thinks about himself. She went to the hospital the first few days, but her doctor wasn't happy that she wasn't following orders.

Anyways, my dad called me while I was driving to work tonight to  tell me he was having surgery tomorrow. When I asked him what he was having done, he says, ""Colonoscopy." When I tell him that's not surgery, he says "Endoscopy." When I tell him it's the same thing, he begs to differ since "one is a camera through the butt and the other is through the mouth." I tell him that neither is surgery, regardless.

I told my dad when he was getting out of the hospital that he needed to be nicer to my mom, and he was clueless as to my meaning. They have been married for 38 years and he has always thought of himself first. My mom had to retire early so that she'd be able to rest a little, for my dad does nothing around the house,  but yet is able to go to the gym for 6-8 hours daily. I really wouldn't blame my mom if she dumped him. Sure he's got a disease and is in pain a lot, but he makes no effort to be happy and feels compelled to wallow in misery to garner sympathy.

My dad has been "dying" for 12 years now, and he's about the same as he was 12 years ago.Whenever he says he has bad news, I find myself saying something like "spots on an x-ray is not the same as being told you have cancer."

My uncle who adopted three kids died seven years ago from colon cancer that had spread to his liver. My uncle thought he'd recover up until his last visit to the hospital. He was very positive and outgoing and doing things while he could. I miss my uncle. He was a good man. He could have a conversation about anything without getting belligerent when you disagreed with him. Hard to believe that he was related to my dad, now that I thin about it. They had a lot of things in common, but my uncle wasn't a jerk.