Ho - SPIT - Al

When I was in the 4th grade, I couldn't spell "hospital" for the life of me.  My reading/writing teacher, Mrs. Butts (Yes her  name was Mrs. Butts.  As 4th graders, with 4th grade humor we found her name amusing to say the least. Even more amusing to us was when we discovered our other teacher's name, Mr. Holstein, really mean cow) used to work with me on spelling hospital.  It wasn't like it was the only word I had issues with, it was just one that stuck in my mind.  Kinda like bad 80's songs, but I digress.

Mrs. Butts broke the word out for me:

Ho

Spit

Al

And since my dad's name is "Al" it did the trick.  So even to this day when I spell "hospital" I say, "HO - SPIT - AL".  Its a dark, winding maze in my brain.

The DadUnit is in the ho-spit-al again.  His back has really been bothering him, and he's been in significant pain.  Finally today he couldn't get out of bed, and the MomUnit(with her back problems) couldn't get him out of bed.

The MomUnit dialed 911 and her favorite firemen came to her rescue again.

After an X-ray and then an MRI it was determined that the DadUnit's L3 vertebrae is fractured. The doc says he really couldn't say what caused the fracture, but made an educated guess that brittle bones and a tired joint is what did the fracturing.

I called the MomUnit tonight to see how she was. She sounded exhausted. And no big surprise, but she is.  They just got back from a driving trip to Washington and then Montana. The MomUnit doing all the driving of their huge truck and 5th wheel, as well as taking care of the DadUnit and his 2YO tantrums.  She has a right to be exhausted. I'm tired just thinking about it.

I love my dad. I do. But him being in the ho-spit-al is, in a way, a blessing for the MomUnit.  While she hates to see her husband in pain and in a sterile room, she won't have to care for him 24X7 while he's being cared for by experts.  She won't have to get up 3 times a night to help him to the bathroom. She won't have to worry nonstop that he may fall getting out of the chair to go get a glass of water. 

She worries about him, and I worry about her.  In a weird way, the ho-spit-al will be a vacation for mom. And she deserves it.  The DadUnit will recover, though we don't know for sure if that recovery includes a surgery or not, but either way, he'll have to stay until he's better.