Long time. Christmas seems about a year ago but I want to get some stuff down. I'm really sick at the moment though so that may colour the way it comes out - sort of ho-hum....
I had a great Christmas season - lots of parties, lots of people to see. Louise, Jonathon and Mia were home from Hong Kong and we partied it up at her mom's as usual.

I attended a memorial for John Boy Ryan where I saw dozens of old friends from 15-20 years ago. Sounds weird I know but it was one of those sad-happy occasions.

I had our C-4 + a few over on the 23rd - Chrissy & Jeff, Jess, Larry, Chanda, Marisha and Carrie came by for some Thai food and a relaxed night. Marisha had to head to her brother's in Montreal so missed Chrissy & Jeff.
Ryan came over on Christmas Eve. After he shovelled the driveway, we had leftover thai and watched back-to-back movies.

Christmas day was the nursing home run. My sister picked up my mom and brought her up to my dad's (they're in separate homes by circumstance, not design) and after a visit, Laurel headed home to make sure Christmas dinner was on track. Ryan and I took mom back to her nursing home - my father is aware but cannot get out of bed whereas my mother is completely mobile but has Parkinsons. She has no idea who or where she is or any recognition of us or, quite frankly, of reality. However, with all that, this is the first year we weren't all together for Christmas dinner. It was definitely less exhausting but it's one of the moments. You know?

New Years Eve, I went to Tammy and Greg's for an early new year celebration with the Seckos and kids, Charlotte and Kyle, Blake & Jackie with Sydney, Rich & Steph Phelan with Brady and 1 week-old Griffin and Julie Secko. We rang in 2009 with the kids at 8:00pm and then played Wii until about 11:30. Marisha called to say she was at the Harp with a few people if I wanted to join them but I felt like I'd had a new years and wasn't feeling the pub vibe at the moment. Went home and flipped between Nathan Philips Square and Time Square until midnight.

I was supposed to go to Andrea's on friday night but came down with a really bad cold, high fever. I cancelled and went to bed instead.
Even though I had this stupid cold, I wanted to carry on as planned. The weekend after New Years was starting to shape up as a fun one: a fashion photo shoot for Danielle with Rachel E as a model at the lighthouse and a jewellry class in Bloor West Village for Tammy's birthday, then snowshoeing on Sunday. It all came to a crashing halt when I got a call that my dad was rushed to hospital.
He was at Sunnybrook and when I arrived he was still out in the hall with paramedics. He was there for about 2 hours. The medics who brought him in had to leave - they're on the ETF squad and got a call - so another couple of paramedics inherited him, staying with us until he was admitted.
The hospital was on overflow and he was shifted from one hall to another until a nurse took a look at him and said he was too sick and had to be put in ICU.
Thank goodness. He was freezing cold but sweating and having difficulty breathing. His caregiver said he hadn't eaten for a couple of days. Hours later, the doctor came to me and said his circulation system had already shutdown and his kidneys were not functioning. He said he didn't expect him to last more than a few hours and I should call the rest of the family. My sister was already in the air, on her way home from a vacation in Whistler so I called my brother in Winnipeg and asked if he could come home. He called me later and said he couldn't get a flight until morning. The end of christmas holidays and EVERYONE on the continent was flying somewhere.
I called Ryan and asked him to come back to the hospital - he'd just left 45 minutes before. We stayed in dad's room overnight, sleeping on chairs. Not really sleeping though. It was pretty awful because every 20 minutes or so my dad would stop breathing and clutch his arms to his chest. Each time we jumped up to grab his hands thinking it was his last moment. At no point did he seem aware of us, the few times he opened his eyes they were unfocused and looking past us.
By the morning not much had changed but his fever was gone. His skin was still freezing to the touch though and his pupils were pinpoints. My sister and brother arrived about the same time - shortly after noon - I stayed until the doctor came and looked at him, said no change. I tapped out. He was stable and I'd been at the hospital for 30 hours. I was exhausted. Of course there was a parking ticket on my car in the emergency lot when I came out.
Anyway, they kept him in the ICU until Tuesday when they moved him to a regular room. Today a speech therapist determined that he's able to swallow so he'll be allowed to have some food. He's actually aware now and recognizes us. I planned to go back to work today but am now so sick that I sent an email around 1 am to let them know I wouldn't be in.
My car's in the garage and I'm driving the Honda Fit dad bought for the caregiver to drun errands when he was still living at home. Kind of good to have this floater vehicle for times like this.
Once I know my dad's stable again I'm going on a long holiday.