The Talk

It started with a phone call from my sister.

Kelly: Hey.
Me: Hey.
Kelly: Has anyone called you?
Me: No, what happened?
Kelly: Mom's in the hospital.
Me: Oh God. What happened?
Kelly: Her defibrillator went off again. Three times. Daddy wouldn't take her to the hospital and she almost had to call an ambulance.
Me: What? Why would he not take her to the hospital?
Kelly: He said it was her pills that were doing it and there was nothing they could do. Plus, he didn't want to go to the Burnet ER because there're a lot of sick people there.
Me: Grrrr. That makes me want to hook that defibrillator to his nuts.
Kelly: You need to get down here. They're making horrible decisions and not listening to anyone.
Me: Imagine that.
Kelly: John told Daddy they're going to have to move to Austin so John could take care of them.
Me: How'd that go over?
Kelly: Dad said he'd put a bullet in his head before he moved.
Me: Well, bullet in the head vs. being taken care of by John. I can understand the struggle.
[Laughter].
Kelly: Well, we're at a crossroad in their care. Something's got to be done.
Me: I agree. And I think I know what's gonna happen.
Kelly: What's that?
Me: Well, it's really pretty simple. If they won't consider moving, which I respect, or accept some type of daily home care, which I also respect, there's only one answer. I'm moving in.
Kelly: Well, I hate for you to have to do that, but I can't move a family of six on a dime. And even though John doesn'’t work, he's still 60 miles away. Might as well be 600.
Me: Yup. And if they push me away, I'll just buy the house next door.
Kelly: It's for sale, you know.
Me: Interesting. I was thinking a tent in the back yard.
[Pause].
Me: So are you on your way there already?
Kelly: Yeah, I'm in the car now.
Me: OK, I'll be there on Saturday. It's the quickest I can get there.
Kelly: OK. We won't discuss anything until you get here.
Me: OK. We're going to figure something out. You get them stabilized and in better spirits and well have a calm rational talk when I get there.
Kelly: OK. I love you and I'll see you soon.
Me: I love you, too. Call me when you get there.

A new HUGE suitcase, a two hour flight and one excellent BBQ dinner later, I'm sitting in my parent's living room. Again. This time, I'm going to be here for a while.