Saturday Dad was unable to stand without assistance and then only for a very short time. He could not walk without me holding him up. He cannot sit erect without me holding him. This is a continued deterioration of what I saw on Friday.
He mostly did not answer and when he did it was yes or no and pretty difficult to understand. I believe his face may be taking on the "mask" appearance. Mom's face kind of did that toward the end.
He cannot make his hands do what he wants. He could eat a cookie with his left hand if I placed the cookie in his hand. He could not do that with his right hand. I had to feed him and he ate less than half of what has been normal.
Strangely enough he seems to be losing weight almost as I watch.
He did not understand how to use the straw until I kind of primed him with a taste of juice from the straw. That seemed to trigger his memory to suck. My mom could not remember how to use the straw at the end.
I am not giving him very cold stuff because I think his teeth might be sensitive.
I did not mess with any of the drugs except neurontin. He is not running temperature. Since they could not get him to eat anything Friday night this is 2 days of skipping the Aricept and Geodon.
He slept and slept and slept hard.
I sat with him all day except for my exercise time.
Some of these symptoms I have seen before. Most recently he was unable to walk or stand unassisted in January and February and most of March. There was a time when he could not feed himself for about a week or two. But all of them appearing together and so suddenly to me seems ominous.
So I do not know if this time is different. It seems so strange that Thursday he was still walking and then Friday he was not.
It is 4:30 AM and I have just changed him. He can still push down with his hands against the bed and stand with help so I will stay with the pull-ups. I think the exercise of standing and changing position is good for him.
I will have to decide in the morning if I will go to church and how long I will be gone. If these symptoms persist through Sunday I will visit again with hospice on Monday.
5 years ago
6 comments:
*hugs* times a million. Your a great son. Don't forget it.
"Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope." -Mufasa (Lion King)
Just lifted you both up in prayer. Keep us posted.
My prayers are with you and your dad.
Hang in there, flintysooner. Are you able to get hospice to come more often? Maybe someone who can give you a night of rest?
you two are in my thoughts and prayers as well. i will keep a close eye on your postings. take care of yourself.
Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes. I'm going to visit with my hospice nurse tomorrow. This is about where we were in February when we started hospice. At least since he is sleeping I am getting to exercise and sleep.
Welcome back Nancy. Stef - I have The Lion King ordered and supposed to be here by the 16th. Betsy, Lori, and rilera - thanks so much for your support.
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