@alliebee
It's not been all together a bad a day Allie.
No day that includes my wife and son smiling could ever be that.
It's just that my dad has not been very well for the last week.
He has had his fair share of problems physically for the last couple of years, more than one stroke, cancer of the bladder, impaired kidney function and a completely blocked carotid artery.
His strokes have left him with severely impaired speech and mobility, he is restricted to a wheelchair. In fact, his ability to communicate is so limited that we do not really know if and to what extent his cognitive capacity has also been affected.
To add to his problems, he has a permanent catheter, another gift of his strokes but also of an enlarged prostate. This makes him particularly vulnerable to urinary tract infections.
But all of the above, he has had for a while now, and they are the reason why he has to remain at the care home; my mom would just not be able to care for him on her own at home.
Depression has also been a problem for a while now, not uncommon in stroke sufferers, and he has been on mild antidepressants more or less continuously since his last stroke.
This seems to be what appears to have become worse over the last week or so. He has become very uncooperative, even aggressive at times, refusing to eat or drink or even take medication at times.
My dad has always been the mildest and calmer of men. I honestly can not recall ever hearing his voice raised in anger, far less seen him be physically violent.
This is particularly difficult on my mom, who is his primary care giver. She spends all day, every day at the home, effectively doing everything for him: feeding him, making sure he drinks sufficient water so that his kidneys do not deteriorate, cleaning him, dressing him. It is very taxing on her both physically but particularly emotionally and it is visibly taking a toll on her.
To be honest I do not know if I feel more sorry for him or for her.
I suspect that if his mood and attitude do not improve, he will be placed on more antidepressant/sedatives with all that will mean for both his mental capacity but also for the health of his kidneys. Antidepressants and impaired kidney function do not mix well.
So this is the background that is the real reason why my parents absence today was so painful. I would not have minded in the list if I knew that they were both well and unable to join us because say they were away on a holiday.
Unfortunately though we have to accept that life is not all good news and bright sunshine.
It would all be too easy then.
I try to be there for them both.
I drive my mom from her house to the home every morning and back again every night.
I am always the one who will go to the hospital with them whenever they need to visit, far too often lately.
I am also the person who my mother can express her worries and frustrations to. This does not always make for the easiest listening but she needs to get things out if she is to remain sane and I am probably the closest person she has. I can be a good listener and a calming and reassuring influence to her but if I am honest the exercise is one that affects me to a much greater extent than I let on.
It's ironic but I get to see a lot more of the two of them now that he is sick, than I did when they were both well.
They usual story of taking things for granted and assuming that everything will continue to be as fine in the future as it was in the past.
I try to be there for them both but I also try to be there for my wife and son. I try to be a good husband and father and that means keeping the full extent of the problem away from my wife and son. It also means putting on a happy face by the time I return home. This is partly for there sake but mostly for mine. My happy face becomes my escape, my safety valve.
But enough about me and my troubles.
I was very sorry to just read about the passing away of your friend this week. My commiserations. It really has not been the best couple of months for you either. Not with your neighbor also passing away, only recently.
It brings home to me that the world is full of problems, a lot of them more serious than my own.
It is just human nature I suppose to give an exaggerated relative importance to our own particular situations.
In many ways I consider my life blessed, not least because I have known the love of two very caring parents.
It may be difficult to see them go through what I can only describe as a personal ordeal, but at least I am fortunate enough to still have them around and as often happens with families, these troubled times have served to bring us closer together.
Thank you for lending a friendly ear.
All the best
Pavlos