Hi there,
As some of you know, dad fell and broke his hip and his back in March of 2021. Since then, it's been an uphill battle. He had hip surgery and spinal fusion surgery. The spinal fusion surgery was unsuccessful and they had to operate again to remove some of the hardware.

Dad has had a lot of close calls this year but is stable at this point. He walks (with support and a walker) twice a day at the VA long term care home on Delafield road near Fox Chapel. He sits on a chair and watches some tv during the day. He texts us each day and will chat when we call. He's eating well.

Not much is known about dad's long term condition and if he'll be healthy enough to come home, but I will use this site to keep updates. 

For contact/communication, dad appreciates texts even if he doesn't respond. He is starting to answer phone calls too. You can send cards to the house at this time (Anthony checks the mail) and we either take them to him when we are allowed to visit or read them to him over the phone.

For the holidays this year, no visitors are allowed at the VA due to the Omicron variant/risk. We were not permitted to visit him at Thanksgiving either. It is heartbreaking and we appreciate your prayers. We will bring him a care bag that the staff will take to him, and some good Christmas food. We will also video call him during the day. 

We appreciate the Christmas cards and will ensure he knows about them - and any care packages. He cannot have much (no space, it's not like a regular nursing home) but we will show him things online and can take him some small things. 

Thanks for all your prayers for my family and I, it's been a very difficult season in all of our lives.