Monday, October 31, 2022

Gradually at first, then all of a sudden

 I'm living that truism of how things fail right now with dad's failing health.   It has gone from gradual stuff like sleeping a lot and having balance issues over years to 'has lost so much muscle tone his grip strength is tiny, he can't get himself up if he falls and can barely heave himself out of his chair on 'good' days and I have to hand him his pills to make sure he takes them at all, and show him a couple of choices for supper to get him to eat.  And I don't even know what all prescriptions he was taking.    I think he had some system of putting all his pills in bottles in a toiletries bag; including putting some of the prescriptions in generic bottles from the current prescription bottle.   

I'm so annoyed with him for not helping me help him by communicating things, filling the pill organizer I bought him and explaining what he takes and so on.  And he has a horrible diaper rash.  I don't know how he ignored that, as red as the skin is it has to be very uncomfortable.   I probably should have called 911 yesterday when he fell instead of just texting Paul to help get him up.    I think a big part of the not communicating with me is fear of being tucked out of sight in a nursing home and dying amongst strangers w/o even having his dog there.  But this recalcitrance to tell me what he needs, or go to his doc, and see if a medication adjustment would have helped so I can help him stay at home is making me so frustrated that I'm about ready to just call 911, then not even visit him in hospital and just tell them he can't come home until they get him mobile enough to get to bathroom and help him hire a home health aide. 

No comments: