Well what a week we had here full of highs and lows and everything in between. Papa had planned a camping trip with my brother-in-law and youngest grandson. He had been so looking forward to it for almost all summer. He had purchased a new tent, lots of food and had the fishing polls restrung. They packed up Tuesday for three nights with the pick up truck full and a small trailer filled with everything else. Well, I was woken up at 4:30 Wednesday morning by m brother-in-law walking into the bedroom saying, "don't panic papa will be okay." I opened my eyes and he was a little freaked out so I slowly said just tell me what happened and we'll go from there. Papa got up in the middle of the night and left the tent to go to the bathroom on his own instead of waking my brother-in-law and did not take his cane. He took a tumble and was found on the ground moaning. My brother-in-law did everything he was supposed to do including going out to the main road to lead in the EMTs and firemen. I have to say I was a little freaked out on the inside when I got to the hospital and papa was in a neck brace resting on a bed. I saw scrapes around his eye (thank goodness he did not have his glasses on) and he had a huge bump on the back of his head. We talked for a few minutes and at first he was very confused and then the memories came back. The CT showed a little blood on the brain and with the concussion they decided to keep him overnight. He bruised his ribs and has a compression fracture in his spine (he had one previously so the only thing that bothered him with this is he may lose another inch of height). The doctor said to me, "your father is a fall risk and should not be left alone. Have you considered a nursing home? I looked at him and said, "are you kidding? My mom is in a nursing home with Alzheimer's and we promised my dad we would keep him at home if at all possible." The doctor shrugged his shoulders and said we will arrange for a visiting nurse for now and pt. I said fine. When the doctor left, papa looked at me and said, "you are not going to do to me what we did to your mom and put me in the nursing home. Are you?" (Here I am thinking he had not heard.) I said, "no papa we will do everything we can to keep you at home." I am not sure how I kept the tears in to be honest.
They released him on Thursday and he has been basically resting since then. He has a residual headache and may have one for up to 12 weeks. He is keeping his hat on at the nursing home so mema does not see his bruises. With every thing that happened papa did not have his medical procedure so now to get everything back on track.
Papa is funny about his cane. His cane was left at the campsite and I brought him the one given to him by the Federation for the Blind. He kept saying I want your mom's blue cane (which is actually purple). I said it's at home no big deal. So he left the hospital with the white cane. When he got home we almost had a fight about the cane. I finally got the my mom's cane from the shed. Papa says he does not want to use the white one because he can still see and the white ones are for blind people. I said to him well you have been declared legally blind. He did not say anything else after that, but thank goodness his steel cane was returned from the campground. I have not told papa yet, but as far as I'm concerned he is done with camping unless we can ensure there is a flat ground and straight line to the bathrooms.
With papa gone I was supposed to have some fun girl time with my niece and her best friend, but it was cut short. They did get to stay with me for a few days and were so great about me running back and forth between mema and papa. We went to a horrible movie and had a few good meals together. Of course, ice cream always helps...LOL!
With all that happened, I did not have a chance to finish any books. Hopefully this week I'll get back on track. My coffee shop is closed this week for vacation (usually good reading time) so not sure yet where I'll fit in some free time. Hopefully, I'll find a spot near the waterfront to refocus. I do have an energy massage tomorrow that has been scheduled for weeks. Thank goodness they confirmed this morning I can escape for a little while.
I hope your week goes well. I'm trying to stay positive and move forward with as much energy as possible. Take care and chat soon. Marie
"The energy of the mind is the essence of life." Aristotle
"It's so important to realize that every time you get upset, it drains your emotional energy. Losing your cool makes you tired. Getting angry a lot messes with your health." Joyce Meyer
"We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength." Charles Stanley