Hi Everyone;
Thank you so much for your support and PMs......much appreciated. We got my dad to the hospital where they administered the clot-busting drug and yes, it was done within the 3 hour time frame. It was a very serious stroke but so far he has responded extremely well. Within an hour of the drug being administered, he was able to move his left arm and leg somewhat and say a few words, which the doctor said was very, very encouraging.
Some asshole from the blood liason committee showed up in theory to "give support", but in reality, to make sure that there wasn't going to be any blood administered. After the brother questioned the doctor on several things, the doctor got aggitated with him and said it wasn't going to be a problem (translation: shut up and let me do my job). For the most part I tried to ignore the idiot and he left after he was assured that blood wasn't going to be administered under any circumstances. (can you feeeeel the love???)
My JW aunt and uncle didn't come to the hospital because it was their assembly and holy shit, we can't miss that now can we? However, my other uncle----the one who left the Borg 30 years ago and hates the religion with a passion was there within a half hour and stayed with us for hours. That was really nice, because out of all my relatives, I'm the most like him (he's got the same sense of humour that I do).............
The doctor said that the first 24 hours after the stroke is the most critical time frame, and the fact that my father survived that was a huge relief.........
There's more to say, but I'm really tired, I need a glass of wine and to simply stare off into space for while.
For those of you who said a prayer, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Mary