Dad's not well :(
My father was very excited about my upcoming birthday last week and seemed more absent minded than usual forgetting to do normal things which are part of his daily routine. I initially thought it was his Alzheimers getting worse however last Thursday he suddenly appeared much weaker, with visible shaking and extreme confusion so he couldn't even work out how to drink from a bottle. It was as if my 81 year old dad was suddenly a two year old with me having to do _everything_ for him :S The Doctor immediately saw him and worked out he had an urinary tract infection, due to his high temperature, and put him on antibiotics.
The next day was my birthday and I was meant to be preparing for the party - shopping for food, cleaning and setting up the fire station, however I couldn't leave my Dad alone. He had to be supervised and assisted as he was still unwell. Luckily friends (Chrissy and Evviiiiiil) came to the rescue and helped out. Another extremely welcome surprise was my sister turning up from interstate for my party. She was able to take over the care of my father for the evening so I could get the venue ready, change and then party. Dad came too with a Santa hat on (it was a costume party) although at one point he thought he had to do his Santa duties hand out presents to the children! (Although my siblings were with him at the party he is still very dependent on me and so I spent a lot of the party checking on / worrying about him) Thankyou to everyone who came and helped distract me!
He seemed to pick up the next morning but was hot and confused again that night so obviously the antibiotics weren't working. My sister and I took him to the Doctor, then the emergency department of the hospital on Sunday and spent many hours there before finally being transferred to another hospital again to be admitted there. About 14 hours after we left home we finally got back.
The last few days I have spent many hours with him at the hospital. They have done extensive tests, dosed him up on antibiotics and also been dealing with wound care of his chronic ulcers.
Yesterday the Doctor pulled me aside and said that the infection was actually only a secondary problem. Apparently my father has a large haemorrhage in his brain. :S As to what our next step will be I'm not entirely sure yet but he needs to be stabilised and we need to reduce the size of the haemorrage as well. Thankfully his blood pressure and temperature have both returned to normal and he is more alert - although weak and still fairly biddable. When he starts grumbling and complaining about things I'll know he's feeling better lol
The Doctor said that Dad will need to remain in hospital for some period of time - whether that means one week or many is yet to be determined. I'll hopefully find out more about this diagnosis and what it means for long term effects over the next few days once I speak more with his specialist.
*Hugs to everyone*
~ JJ ~
The next day was my birthday and I was meant to be preparing for the party - shopping for food, cleaning and setting up the fire station, however I couldn't leave my Dad alone. He had to be supervised and assisted as he was still unwell. Luckily friends (Chrissy and Evviiiiiil) came to the rescue and helped out. Another extremely welcome surprise was my sister turning up from interstate for my party. She was able to take over the care of my father for the evening so I could get the venue ready, change and then party. Dad came too with a Santa hat on (it was a costume party) although at one point he thought he had to do his Santa duties hand out presents to the children! (Although my siblings were with him at the party he is still very dependent on me and so I spent a lot of the party checking on / worrying about him) Thankyou to everyone who came and helped distract me!
He seemed to pick up the next morning but was hot and confused again that night so obviously the antibiotics weren't working. My sister and I took him to the Doctor, then the emergency department of the hospital on Sunday and spent many hours there before finally being transferred to another hospital again to be admitted there. About 14 hours after we left home we finally got back.
The last few days I have spent many hours with him at the hospital. They have done extensive tests, dosed him up on antibiotics and also been dealing with wound care of his chronic ulcers.
Yesterday the Doctor pulled me aside and said that the infection was actually only a secondary problem. Apparently my father has a large haemorrhage in his brain. :S As to what our next step will be I'm not entirely sure yet but he needs to be stabilised and we need to reduce the size of the haemorrage as well. Thankfully his blood pressure and temperature have both returned to normal and he is more alert - although weak and still fairly biddable. When he starts grumbling and complaining about things I'll know he's feeling better lol
The Doctor said that Dad will need to remain in hospital for some period of time - whether that means one week or many is yet to be determined. I'll hopefully find out more about this diagnosis and what it means for long term effects over the next few days once I speak more with his specialist.
*Hugs to everyone*
~ JJ ~