Don't Get Old!
Mar. 9th, 2011 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluefirebirdSo, the master class in reasons why not to get old continues.
Our ever helpful NHS expected my 84-year-old father - who takes about 2 hours to ease himself into the day - to present himself at one of the localish hospitals for a 7:30am checkin ready to have the cataract removed on his other eye. This was the plan for tomorrow morning. Meaning Mum would have to get them both out of bed about 5am, and I'd need to leave here at 6am to pick them up in time.
At twenty past eleven, when I should already have been in bed, Mum phones to say that Dad has keeled over in the living room and the ambulance crew are currently looking him over - wanting him to go to the local NHS hospital for further tests. Obviously he won't be making it to the other hospital tomorrow to have his eye done...
I should have asked Mum to text me with her decision. I asked should I come over and the answer was "up to you". Well not much point immediately. Mum could go to the hospital in the ambulance, and there isn't much point in me going over whether she does or not - unless she wants me there with her. What I don't know now is if she decided to go to the hospital, because she didn't know how she would get home in the middle of the night (that's what bloody taxis are for *tears hair out*). So I said if she wants to go and she needs a lift back she'll have to ring me at 2am or whatever.
I bet she won't do that bit, but what might be useful is to have a text when I wake up telling me if she is at the hospital or not...
I wonder if he'll see another Christmas...?
Our ever helpful NHS expected my 84-year-old father - who takes about 2 hours to ease himself into the day - to present himself at one of the localish hospitals for a 7:30am checkin ready to have the cataract removed on his other eye. This was the plan for tomorrow morning. Meaning Mum would have to get them both out of bed about 5am, and I'd need to leave here at 6am to pick them up in time.
At twenty past eleven, when I should already have been in bed, Mum phones to say that Dad has keeled over in the living room and the ambulance crew are currently looking him over - wanting him to go to the local NHS hospital for further tests. Obviously he won't be making it to the other hospital tomorrow to have his eye done...
I should have asked Mum to text me with her decision. I asked should I come over and the answer was "up to you". Well not much point immediately. Mum could go to the hospital in the ambulance, and there isn't much point in me going over whether she does or not - unless she wants me there with her. What I don't know now is if she decided to go to the hospital, because she didn't know how she would get home in the middle of the night (that's what bloody taxis are for *tears hair out*). So I said if she wants to go and she needs a lift back she'll have to ring me at 2am or whatever.
I bet she won't do that bit, but what might be useful is to have a text when I wake up telling me if she is at the hospital or not...
I wonder if he'll see another Christmas...?
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-10 07:01 am (UTC)I think it's kind what my mom was dealing with when my grandpa was so ill. My grandma refused to *ask* for any sort of help with him unless it were life/death (he fell a few times and she couldn't get him off the floor and finally broke down to go get a neighbor to help).
Hope things work out well. *more hugs*
no subject
Date: 2011-03-10 07:21 am (UTC)Yes, sounds very much the same. I get how people want to be self sufficient (me, too) but we have just had an illustration with my aunt that she doesn't need to do this alone.
Sadly the endgame and "fix" to all of this is that my three elderly relatives die, which is not something that I want in a hurry.
And Mum's just rung - she didn't go to the hospital and has spent most of the night trying to get through to someone to find out ANYTHING about him. Now she's finally managed to find out where he is and visiting hours - but nothing else!