Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Another bad day
I haven't heard directly but I guess Dad had a pretty bad day today. I don't know if they're giving him his mellowing meds in the hospital but they probably should. I heard that Dad was nasty and combative and actually had to be restrained. He doesn't remember anything about the stroke and he doesn't understand why he's in the hospital. Of course, it doesn't matter how many times you explain it to him. He'll either forget or he won't believe you. That's what Drew and Mindy have been dealing with. They're going to keep him in the hospital for another day. I don't know how they're planning to get him home. Stacey and I have both offered to drive to Phoenix if they need us. I'm sure by now Drew and Mindy could use a break.
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9 comments:
My grandma went in the hospital for something or other and they stopped her valium. She became sure the CIA had microphones all over her room, stuff like that. When she got home and started the valium again, she got back to normal. She was an addict. She'd been taking valium since the 1940s.
--dean
I talked to Drew today. Dad is still fighting against the restraints. He wants to leave the hospital. There's no way to explain to him why he must stay because his mind can't process any information they give him. They can't really evaluate him right now because they don't know exactly what they're dealing with. They can't really tell if Dad's problems are because of Alzheimer's, the stroke or his medication. I guess they could cut out the meds but Dad would go totally bonkers. They're going to keep him a few more days. Right now everyone's trying to figure out how to get him home. It'll probably be a long ambulance ride. he can't fly and if we brought him home we'd be courting disaster. He'd have to be majorly drugged up and we just don't know how to deal with that. And what if he had another stroke on the way home?
One thing is certain. He won't be going back to his apartment. We may have to move him to a completely different facility.
Dede and David will be there this weekend.
I just noticed that the comment I posted earlier didn't show up. Oh well.
Ok, I just got a message from Mindy and I talked to Drew. Dad is doing much better. He's calmed down and he can speak. He's been seen by a couple of therapists and went for a walk down to the nurses station and back. He ate his dinner and handled it well. All of that is very good news. Drew also said that the hospital in Phoenix is one of the best in the country for stroke. Dad's in the right place.
One step at a time.
Good news that he's calming down or they have the right dosages of meds to help.
Much easier to deal with for traveling.
Greg and I were talking about how to get him home tonight. We were guessing how much an ambulance ride would cost from Phoenix to Riverside, because there would be no way you guys could throw him in the back of a van, drive him home and hope for the best (at least the way he was yesterday), and the airlines certainly wouldn't let him on a plane.
It's an interesting theoretical discussion when you don't have to deal with it yourself.
--dean
Virginia- Who knows? it could be that the effects of the stroke are wearing off. Drew said these guys are top notch. If you're gonna have a stroke, do it in Phoenix...
Dean- I'm pretty sure it's going to be the long ambulance ride home. I wonder if his insurance will pay for that?
Earlier I had posted a comment about your grandma being on valium since the 1940s. That kind of boggles my mind. That's back when it was called "mother's little helper".
She was having dizzy spells. The doctor told her for a couple of years it was an inner-ear problem. Ralph Nader wrote around that time that dizziness in the elderly is often misdiagnosed, it's often valium. So of course if they're treated for something else, the problem is never resolved, they're at risk of falling and breaking a hip, etc.
I told my grandma about that. She got really angry because I suggested she give up her valium. Her dizziness problem was never resolved.
She lived to be nearly 81, though, so she must have been doing SOMEthing right.
I think your grandma just hit the genetic jackpot. She smoked, she was way too fat and she was hooked on valium. Think of it. if she'd had better health habits she might still be alive today and living with you!
She ate a lot of really cheap chocolate, too. Yeah, I'm hoping her genes skipped a generation and I got 'em. My mom sure didn't.
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