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By the time I had reached the US from India, my father was out of danger. He had been released from the hospital and was in Good Samaritan nursing home in Algona, Iowa. Many questions were in the air. Would he be able to move back to his apartment and congregate living with one prepared meal a day and no one checking to see if he was taking his meds? Would he be able to move into the assisted living building from the nursing home, where he would have some medical help? Would he be getting a pacemaker, surgery for his bladder cancer, surgery for his prostate cancer? Would he survive any of these surgeries at his age? (85). Would he want to stay in Algona, or move closer to his family? How long would I stay in the US to help him? As each question got answered, it raised more questions. Over the course of a month or so, all these questions and more were answered. I am most pleased that no decisions were forced on Dad. He got to decide on all of these critical decisions regarding his life. So there are no hard feelings between Dad and his daughters.
So now, in early September, he is still in a nursing home, but one that is closer to some of his daughters. No surgeries are planned. I feel free to continue my volunteer work and return to India, after I stop off in New Zealand to do my taxes. No more round trip airline tickets for me for a while, though. There is no telling when Dad may leave this world.
