Grumpy Grumps

Dad was quiet today. He was awake most of the day but got a bit grumpy towards the evening. After a lot of fussing from the nurses, Mum asked if he was comfortable and he shot her a look so i asked if he needed anything or would rather we all piss off. I got told in a weak-voice "Piss off." Fair enough. He ended up dozing-off watching the television while we were eating dinner, rather noisily, across the room. My brother came today after work, so is here for the weekend. This helps us tell one day from another. We will have a full house tomorrow as my boyfriend will be here too. He has been away completing a course, so perhaps tomorrow we ought to celebrate the end of his exams with that party Dad mentioned. My brother will be in charge of drinks!

Absent without leave - passive seizures

Dad has been very quiet for a few days. He thumbs a few pages of the newspaper but doesn't really read it, despite having read one every day of the 29 years that i have known him. He often stares at the television for long periods but we can't say how much he is actually interested and how much he is drawn to look in its direction simply because of the sound and motion. He is not interested in food, but mostly puts up with us spoon-feeding him and seems annoyed almost at our insitence that he tries to drink more too. He told me the other day "Stop trying to pump me full of water"
After Dad's recent seizures i realised that he has, i think, been having seizures for a while, but seizures of absence rather than active physical seizures. There are periods where he stares at nothing and it is impossible to get his attention through talking and waving at him. They tend to only last 10 - 20 seconds each time, but it has happened several times most days. He often says a few words of a sentence and then suddenly stops without finishing it. We had noticed that he 'zoned-out' every so often, but it was only after seeing him have an active seizure that i really thought about it. I'm sure he was only confused last night though, when he hiccupped loudly while the nurses were here and i said "Been on the sauce again Dad?" and he replied "No you've been on it for me!" Serves me right for being cheeky.

Another Fit

Dad slept almost all day and it was only around 5pm that he was more awake and we managed to get him to eat anything (some strawberries) So much for getting more fluids and fibre into him.  He was more alert with the afternoon visit from the nurses and when they said "We'll be off now then" Dad said "Oh good" He didn't mean to be rude, we've noticed in fact that he makes an extra effort to behave with visitors, so it brought a smile to our faces (and the nurses took it well). After dinner Mum, my brother and i settled with Dad to watch the television and Dad had another small seizure. It was over a bit quicker than last night and we put him in the recovery position to sleep it off.

Howling wind and the killer ditch

Today has been a quiet day, apart from the wind howling down the chimney. The nurses have come and gone. Dad's shave this morning was far simpler than the other day, partly because his beard wasn't nearly so established, but also i think, because the nurse shaving him was a 'no nonsense' type. Different nurses visit each time and some we are starting to recognise. The ones who have visited before have started to park down in the village square and walk up the lane rather than attempt to navigate the perilous drive and the killer ditch.
Mum was invited to a friend's for coffee and i convinced her to go. I kept on top of work from the armchair near Dad's bed while he listened to the radio and watched some television. The pharmacy finally got hold of Dad's medicines in liquid form today, so Mum collected them. These will be easier for Dad to take than the pills. We now have to work out and write down the equivalent amounts to make sure we get the dose of each correct.

Piccadilly Circus comes to Ightham

Today has been extremely busy. The head continuing care nurse came early this morning to assess what sort of care Dad needed from her team. While she was here the bed arrived and was erected. Mum and i played with it to test which button did what so we wouldn't end up folding Dad in half once he was in it... The Macmillan cancer nurse came at lunchtime and helped us walk Dad downstairs. He needed a lot of support as he is very weak and wobbly on his feet but we made it. He opted to get into the bed straight away and reports it to be very comfortable. He is clearly happy to be reunited with Sky television; he watched a combination of BBC and Sky news for 4 hours this afternoon. He even waved Mum to one side when she stood in his view at one point. Then we had a pair of continuing care nurses turn up earlier this evening to give Dad a wash and help him brush his teeth. Mum also managed to pop out to the surgery to ask the doctor to prescribe Dad's medication in liquid form, as he is now struggling to take pills. In between all of this i have dived in and out of my work email. We are all wiped out now, even the cat, not that she did much. Mum did lock her in the garage for a few hours earlier though, who knows what she got up to in there.
Tomorrow we expect Dad's brother, sister-in-law and Dad's mother aka Grandma. It is much better he is downstairs now as he can be involved in everything with everyone. Mum and i have taken a few of our lunches upstairs this weekend to eat with Dad in the bedroom, but we can't do that with three visitors.

Screwdriver anyone?

A few days ago Dad asked Mum to go and get the screwdriver from his dressing gown pocket. She was fairly sure there wouldn't be one but went to check and there was no screwdriver or anything else in fact. It didn't seem to matter. Earlier today Dad surprised Mum when he was lying in bed and asked her again for a screwdriver. She asked what he wanted it for and he pointed at the television. My first thought when she told me was that it was alarming if Dad suddenly wanted to take a screwdriver to the television in an effort to repair it. Fortunately Mum was a bit quicker thinking and after a quick scramble about found and  gave Dad the television remote control which he seemed happy with. Of all the possible words, isn't it strange that 'screwdriver' is the first to pop into his head?
Dad's friends came to visit today as planned and he enjoyed seeing them. They had to come to his bedside though as he didn't get up today. Mum says he seems slightly less coherent each day but then shows moments of his old self. Apparently yesterday when the doctor asked if he knew where he was, Dad quickly replied "Ightham" with a look on his face that said 'if you don't know where you have come to see me, then what use are you?'