Will I inevitably be Scrooge?

I have been wandering around since Sunday in a fog. Its been that kind of week. I've been mostly muttering: "The worst part about the inevitable is that it always happens". Since it is more common knowledge now, I can more openly talk about it.

My father has had kidney problems for quite some time. He shared his issue with me years ago, but I am sure they have been going on much longer than I ever knew. On Sunday we had breakfast with Jack and the baby, Maggie and my Parents. After breakfast my father made an announcement. He said it in such a matter of fact way that I was reminded a bit of his father's manner of speaking. He told us, "Boys, your father is dying."

Needless to say I lost my composure for a second then, in my usual fasion, looked for facts, reason, and "where do we go from here". Jack was obviously flabbergasted and speechless. He looked at the baby and began to cry. The statement was then ammended that his kidney's were failing (duh dad, we knew that) and that he will need a transplant (again, duh!)...i think he wanted attention :) .

The real schock came on Monday when my work phone rang. My mom was taking dad to the hospital...that was it...the inevitable was here. Our friend is one of the emergency room doctors there, and even though he was off, he came in to be my dad's ER doctor. We had good care from good friends.

They found water around his heart and kidneys, and began discussing options for treatment. After all was said and done, dad had surgery on Tuesday morning and began dialysis. This is now something he will have to do 3x per week and he can't mule things around anymore. He has to be careful of the ports they put in.

We gave each other our words: He promised to ask for help and I promised to not treat him liek a cripple. My dad is a strong man, stubborn, bull headed and set in his ways...I really hate being like him sometimes. It was tough to see him feel frail and vulnerable. We have done our best to make him understand that it's not the case at all.

The worst part is, even medically, I am just like him. My kidneys are still fine but my blood pressure is not. That was an aggrevating factor in his condition.

Is this my ghost of Christmas future? Ebenezer changed his ways, must I?