If I Had a Dollar...

**UPDATE BELOW** (It's all OK...)

... for every time I've received a phone call, "Your dad has had a fall.'"... well, I would have a very nice pair of shoes!  

Sunday morning: Voicemail: "Your had a fall in the dining room on Sat night! He'd bumped his noggin (medical term!) but was otherwise OK."
I was going to stop in and see him on Sunday anyway, and made the decision to sit with him a while in case he needed reassurance.

If I didn't walk into his room and find him escaping out of his bed after his afternoon nap! (Seems we are working on the second pair of shoes!)
"Dad! Stop! Wait till I call a nurse. You just had a fall yesterday."
"Yeah, but that was yesterday."
Right.
Someone came to help him into his chair.  Straightened his clothes up, put his shoes on and I wheeled him into the activity room to sit in the sun and "chat" for a while.

Tuesday afternoon: The care home is just down the street from the grocery store, so I often pop in to say hi to dad on my way there.  I stopped by Tuesday afternoon, to find dad with three women standing over him!  Moment of panic before I realized they were just getting him out of bed, and someone was applying his patch.  He didn't look so great, but I was relieved to find out he hadn't bailed over again...

... I went out to the nurses station to talk to them about a surprise Father's Day treat.  It was there that I learned that dad had been complaining of pain in his hip, and the doctor had ordered an X-ray by the mobile unit for that day.  We wheeled a groggy dad down to the dining area, and I sat in the nook with him and tried to get a read on how he was feeling.  I commented that he put his shoes on on Sunday; as he was not wincing in pain to put them on like he did the time he broke his hip.  Hopefully it's just bruising and nothing is broken!

I'm afraid I slipped back into old feelings of despair and I think it may have rubbed off on him.  It was just about dinner and I took him in to his table.  Now I don't know how to explain this and maintain some of his dignity... but let's see if I can try. (Dad's actions in a confused state has happened before with me, but not for a while. I had forgotten how it can be.)  With dementia, patients need to be kept hydrated.  Also, with the fall, there was some additional confusion.  This means that dad is not himself, and can be very stubborn.  He let loose with his cutlery like he was back on the job site... the knife came down on the fork with an almighty THWACK! and scared the liver out of everyone in the room!  When I asked for the cutlery so he wouldn't do it again, he refused.  And so it went.  He got upset, I got upset. I wanted to help with his meal since he wasn't himself; he wouldn't let me.  In the end I decided to walk away as we were not doing each other any favors.  Something I couldn't do in the old days. 

(On a positive note... dad's dinner companion thought I was still in high school!  I told him that had been a few years ago now!)

Tuesday evening: Called the home to see how dad's evening went.  He improved after I left, which isn't saying much for me!  He needed food and something to drink... and he wasn't going to eat it while I was there!  So now it's back to playing the waiting game on the X-ray results to see if he will have to pay another visit to the hospital or not. 

Wednesday morning: A call in to the care home has revealed that the X-ray results aren't back yet.  He had been in the dining room for breakfast and had eaten well... always a good sign!  So we wait some more.  I am going to post this now... but will update as soon as I know the results. 

Wednesday late afternoon:  Stopped in to see dad on my way home and found out his X-ray was all clear.  He must just have some bruising.  So crisis averted!  Here's hoping he heals soon, and no more dramas for a while.  I have a Father's Day surprise he doesn't want to miss!  (Aussie Father's Day here this coming Sunday.)  And no, it's not Old Spice!