For the past week, my dad has been really sick. It started with some skin blisters. At first, we thought it might be an allergy to the medicines he takes when he’s not feeling well.
But these blisters got big and scary fast. The doctor couldn’t exactly figure out what was wrong but said Dad needed to go to the hospital.
This was a tough decision because it meant Mom would have to stay alone in their apartment. I was worried she couldn’t handle it on her own and would be really scared. Dad was also worried. He thought this hospital stay might be the last time he’d be okay.
Eventually, because there didn’t seem to be any easy answers and the doctors said it was important, we got Dad admitted to the hospital. After a day in the regular ward, they moved him to the ICU. It turned out he had a kidney infection, and those blisters were actually minerals on his skin. But they still couldn’t figure out exactly which bacteria was causing it.
Since he’s been in the ICU, it’s been really tough:
- His potassium levels got dangerously high, which meant he needed dialysis.
- His blood pressure got really low, so they did a special scan to check for blood clots.
- His hemoglobin levels dropped, so he had to stay in the ICU longer.
- His blisters are healing really slowly, and now the doctors are talking about skin grafts.
I’m in the US, so I’m just watching and trying to help from afar. My sister, who lives in Delhi, is also really stressed, and she keeps telling me we need more help.
Everything seems much more harder.