Thank goodness for good people

Well, in my last post, I said how nice was to have local people on the building crew. This evening I a truly thankful at how kind they are, and that they were here at all today.

I had just finished the morning blog entries and gotten Sofia and me dressed when I came downstairs to find my dad shaking with fever. He said he had gotten up about 5 this morning feeling not well, had taken his nebulizer treatment (which he generally takes twice a day, but he takes it more often when he is sick) and then went back to bed but could not get warm again. He has had a cold since Monday, but he seemed to be on the mend; he was even out doing some work yesterday and the day before. Unfortunately, he got worse in a hurry overnight.

I knew I had to take him to the emergency room (there's no point in calling the ambulance out here, unless something like CPR is needed -- I can get him to the hospital faster than they can, if all that's needed is a ride), but I thought we should get him dressed first. I helped him get his shirt on, but we soon realized he was too weak to stand up. I debated for a while about what to do -- should I call Dave to come home from work? Then I thought that would take a while, since he had taken the pickup into town to get lumber. So I went up and asked the men on the roof if someone would be able to help me, since I needed to get my dad to the doctor. Two of them, James and Rich, hurried in to help me. With their assistance we got Dad dressed and out the door; he even needed to be carried over half the way. I couldn't have done it without their help. And they were very kind and respectful, knowing just what to say to an old guy who wasn't feeling well.

In addition to that, James asked if I needed anyone to watch the kids while I went into town -- that his wife was home with their children and could easily watch them, too. I said baby Erik pretty much sticks with me yet, but that it would help if Sofia stayed with her for the day. Sofia didn't like the idea at first, but she did end up having a great time with those boys. When I picked her up, she had a healthy glow on her face from all the running around she'd been doing, and she fell asleep easily tonight.

So Dad was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. This has happened before; it's not pleasant for anyone, but that's where he needs to be to get better. Last time it happened, he was in the hospital for about 10 days.

But thank you, James and Rich and Tiffany, for your help today! It's nice to get to know my neighbors a bit better, even if it's not in pleasant circumstances.