..... and then the tears.....

My sister calls me this afternoon and asks me in a cautious voice if I am sitting down or if not, could I find a seat.  She has travelled to Kingston this past week to drop in on our parents for their 50th anniversary.  She got to Kingston on Tuesday, days before the big event and was told that he was in the hospital...... the tears began and couldn't stop......

.........Our mother had called the OPP attachment in their small town and had reported him as being violent.  When the police arrived, she was telling them that he assaulted her and urinated all over the rug.  She neglected to mention that he had recently gone through a hernia operation and due to a venus leak from surgery which had caused his abdomen and scrotum to swell to proportions that had became unbearable.  He was bleeding internally and was unmedicated for pain and he could no longer tolerate it and the bloody urine coursed down his leg soaking into the carpet. He had pushed her aside and not assaulted her.  My father has Alzheimer's and the excruciating pain had disoriented and confused him.  My mother as usual in her dementia was sure he was just trying to make her mad.  She wanted him jailed for assault but fortunately the female officer decided to have him taken to the hospital to be examined and thats when they discovered the problem.  According to my sister, he is now comfortable and is pain free... today he ate.

I called my father at the hospital and he answered immediately.  He knew who I was and he asked about the family.  His sense of humor was back and the two of us laughed.  You could tell he knew the severity of the situation but chose to look on the bright side.... a side I easily share with him no matter what is going on.  One of the first things he said was how much food they were bringing him to eat.... I realize now that he was not eating enough and my sister described his condition as seriously slender with little fat on his frame.

I am trying to make arrangements to have him transported here as soon as I can find him a long-term facility.  I will try as hard as I can to get him where we can see him often... I know he would love to visit with his grandchildren and get to know them better, and maybe, his dementia will not progress.  I miss you Dad and think of you all the time. xoxoxo