Friday Leftovers

It's Friday already. Normally that'd be great but tonight's going to be a long work night for me, so I'm kind of wishing it were Saturday already. But oh well, that'll be here soon enough.

Word Association

Play along here.

1. Alarm :: ring
2. Guest :: house
3. Worm :: hole
4. Puppies :: kittens
5. Honor :: brave
6. No! :: Don't!
7. Stomach :: pain
8. Counter :: clockwise
9. Waffles :: eggo
10. Plates :: tectonics

Nothing really shocking. I guess I had geology on my mind for the last one.

Dad Update

My dad was released from the hospital on Tuesday evening. He'd been in there for nearly a week as he was taken to the ER the Wednesday before. He was in about as good condition as he could be when he was let go. We learned a few valuable things about him while he was in there.

One, he can't really eat solid food and certainly can't drink any more liquids. For his food, we need to either feed him soft foods like applesauce and mashed potatoes and the like, or we need to mash up his food for him. Part of the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, or PSP, is that it breaks down the ability to swallow properly, and this could lead to aspiration pneumonia. He was starting to develop this so we need to prevent it from getting worse, thus this seemingly drastic action.

After a while, he will likely need to use a feeding tube because even soft foods and such won't be enough to prevent him from aspirating. For liquids we have to use a thickening powder to get the liquids to have the consistency of honey. That includes liquids like water and milk but also broth in his soups and things like that.

So, if you had any ideas for foods or recipes that might help my dad out, that'd be great. My mom already tries to provide him a somewhat modified diet in terms of foods that are soft and the like but I might want to do some cooking for my folks if I can.

Two, his spirits are high. Thus, he hated being in the hospital. He wanted to go home and his last day there he was anxious to get out. He ripped the IV out of his arm and tried to stand on several occasions. Luckily my mom and I were able to reach him before he did so, because he can't stand on his own.

The best thing is that he was able to take the trip to Hawaii after all. Danny and his wife flew with my parents to Hawaii. They rented a condo for 10 days that's right on the beach so they will be able to spend some time on the islands. I'll see if Danny wants to share any more pictures when they come back from Hawaii. He was able to send me this one from his phone. I'm incredibly happy that they made it because it looked like his trip to the hospital would have prevented that.

Musical Influence

I neglected to mention music in my post yesterday about thoughts during running. It's funny because I used to rely heavily in my iPod. Now, I have progressed to the point where if I don't have my iPod on, it's no big deal.

While I still use it and still plan out playlists and the like, I think if I had to run without it I'd be fine. I guess that's why it didn't come to mind.

I do think it's great and preferable to have one handy and music does and can help you get motivated but if you rely solely on music to get you through your runs, that may not be the best course of action.

I'm not as militant as some Lopers are about running without an iPod. I don't wear one during our long runs and neither do most Lopers. But that doesn't mean that I'm anti-iPod. I like the iPod and look forward to running to certain songs or groups, but I know that I can run without it.

LB's Song Of The Week

I guess it's only appropriate to have a song about the color pink as the song of the week. Given my post and picture earlier this week about my own choice of wearing the color pink, this was a natural fit.

This song is by the group Rocknoceros and the song is called Pink.

Or rather, PINK!