Weird but Good

Normally, when Dad comes home from work, he's totally destroyed. He'll often head straight to bed to rest his back. Sometimes, he cannot even sit during dinner. He has to stand because sitting leaves him in so much pain. On these days, I really wish he didn't feel so bad. But we still have fun. He'll read me stories or play Pokemon cards with me while he lies in bed.

But today was different. In fact, today was pretty weird. Dad came home from work today in good shape physically. And it wasn't even because he took painkillers early, which he sometimes does when going out with Mom. (Dad says this isn't a good thing since the painkillers then run out in the middle of the night and leave him immobile by morning.) Sometimes this happens but the goodness only lasts a short time. But not tonight. Tonight was weird...but in a good way. He played toy car racing with me up until bedtime. Toy car racing is an activity reserved only for the times Dad is in good shape. It involves bending and crouching over the track, and that can be really hard on him. Tonight, there were no problems at all.

Dad is on a new, much higher does of a neuro suppressant called Gabapentin (generic Neurontin he says to tell you). This drug makes him really sleepy. In fact, he told a funny story about work today. Apparently, it makes him so sleepty that he was falling asleep all the time during work. To try to combat the effects, he ran around his office and did jumping jacks. That must have looked really silly to the people passing by his door. Then he did work standing up. But the drug made him so sleepy that he fell asleep standing up and plummeted to the ground. On his way down, he woke up and managed to slow his fall enough that he only banged his head off his desk a little bit. He's got a little mark on his forehead from this. I feel sorry for him though I cannot imagine falling asleep standing up.

At any rate, maybe the new drugs are working because I cannot remember the last time Dad was in such good shape in the evening. He seems more hopeful too. It would be great if I could have my old Dad back although the new one is super fun as well. In some ways, the new one is even better since he doesn't pester me to run around outside like the old Dad used to. Anyway, I hope this means he's getting better.