Update on Dad
Firstly to everyone who has sent their warm words of support and love - thankyou :) It's a hard time realising your parents are only mortal even if you know that they have serious ilnesses.
As many of you know I gave up full time work to care for my father when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers. The medication until this point has been working well maintaining him at early stages just requiring help with food, driving, washing, paperwork, medication, wound care and some bathroom asssistance. Last week he took ill (see my previous blog) and had the entire family very worried indeed.
Dad is still in hospital (and I won't find out for a few more days as to when he'll be able to come home however he's finally able to say what day, month and even year it is although it takes him a few minutes of thinking for a couple of the answers. In addition he has begun to complain about things he doesn't have with him and about the quality of the TV reception ... both signs that the whole family are _delighted_ to see as it means that he's returning closer to his old self (although the nurses may not enjoy the new fellow quite as much) lol
A couple of days ago I spoke to the Plastic Surgeon and she is organising a vascular surgeon to see dad as he has a 75% narrowing of the blood vessels in his leg which would account for why we have been unable to heal his leg ulcers over the past few years. The pseudomonus (the infection in his ulcer) has now been controlled and he is back on Inadine dressings (as prior to his admittance)
His temperature has finally come down and the Doctor is satisfied he has his infection under control however unfortunately his blood pressure is still extremely high and varying which is very worrying considering the nature of his other problem - a haemmorhage in the brain - a not very common form of stroke.
We won't know whether it's decreased in size until next Wednesday and after that the Dr will decide whether he can come home, remain in hospital or be moved to respite care. We don't want him moved too soon as research we've done shows that people 20% of people with this condition die within a month. :S Not good odds and we don't want to risk anything.
I got a call from the hospital from a nurse last night to say that the Doctor spotted a "hesitation" or "pause" in Dad's ECG (between the P and PR beats - whatever they are). Basically this means that he is now hooked up to a heart telemetry which will continually trace his heartrate and be monitored 24hrs a day. Just now I had a phone call from a cardiologist who explained that my father's heart arythmia is caused by a blockage or slowing thought to be due to his medication he takes for his Alzheimers. Normally the recommendation here would be to have a pacemaker inserted however, due to his numerous medical conditions, the specialist wasn't sure that was the best option in this case.
So I'm looking at going to speak to him tomorrow afternoon about what our options really are. They seem to be:
* taking Dad off the medication (and thus facing a decline in his mental state - probably rapid as his Alzheimers gets more advanced)
* leaving Dad on the medication but risking him having increasing blackouts and fainting spells
* Getting a pacemaker - if the specialist says that's even an option in Dad's case.
I'm feeling pretty wrung out by everything that's happening ... I just want to curl up and be told it will all be better soon.
Thankyou once again for your amazing support at this time - I know I can be buried i hugs when I next see you guys and I'm holding onto that.
Love & hugs
JJ
As many of you know I gave up full time work to care for my father when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers. The medication until this point has been working well maintaining him at early stages just requiring help with food, driving, washing, paperwork, medication, wound care and some bathroom asssistance. Last week he took ill (see my previous blog) and had the entire family very worried indeed.
Dad is still in hospital (and I won't find out for a few more days as to when he'll be able to come home however he's finally able to say what day, month and even year it is although it takes him a few minutes of thinking for a couple of the answers. In addition he has begun to complain about things he doesn't have with him and about the quality of the TV reception ... both signs that the whole family are _delighted_ to see as it means that he's returning closer to his old self (although the nurses may not enjoy the new fellow quite as much) lol
A couple of days ago I spoke to the Plastic Surgeon and she is organising a vascular surgeon to see dad as he has a 75% narrowing of the blood vessels in his leg which would account for why we have been unable to heal his leg ulcers over the past few years. The pseudomonus (the infection in his ulcer) has now been controlled and he is back on Inadine dressings (as prior to his admittance)
His temperature has finally come down and the Doctor is satisfied he has his infection under control however unfortunately his blood pressure is still extremely high and varying which is very worrying considering the nature of his other problem - a haemmorhage in the brain - a not very common form of stroke.
We won't know whether it's decreased in size until next Wednesday and after that the Dr will decide whether he can come home, remain in hospital or be moved to respite care. We don't want him moved too soon as research we've done shows that people 20% of people with this condition die within a month. :S Not good odds and we don't want to risk anything.
I got a call from the hospital from a nurse last night to say that the Doctor spotted a "hesitation" or "pause" in Dad's ECG (between the P and PR beats - whatever they are). Basically this means that he is now hooked up to a heart telemetry which will continually trace his heartrate and be monitored 24hrs a day. Just now I had a phone call from a cardiologist who explained that my father's heart arythmia is caused by a blockage or slowing thought to be due to his medication he takes for his Alzheimers. Normally the recommendation here would be to have a pacemaker inserted however, due to his numerous medical conditions, the specialist wasn't sure that was the best option in this case.
So I'm looking at going to speak to him tomorrow afternoon about what our options really are. They seem to be:
* taking Dad off the medication (and thus facing a decline in his mental state - probably rapid as his Alzheimers gets more advanced)
* leaving Dad on the medication but risking him having increasing blackouts and fainting spells
* Getting a pacemaker - if the specialist says that's even an option in Dad's case.
I'm feeling pretty wrung out by everything that's happening ... I just want to curl up and be told it will all be better soon.
Thankyou once again for your amazing support at this time - I know I can be buried i hugs when I next see you guys and I'm holding onto that.
Love & hugs
JJ