09-04-2013, 10:25 AM
It was also the day that the doctor chose to inform her that my dad has been degrading quickly and the next step would be hospice care. The hardest issue now is that he is not swallowing. He'll stuff his face and chew, and get frustrated. It's probably due to dementia. We are not planning to force feed him. He's going for a barium swallow test today, which we're not sure how will work as he doesn't swallow. That's modern medicine for you - the test to help figure out why he won't swallow requires swallowing. My mom can't watch him eat anymore because it's too distressing. As I've mentioned before, my dad has always been a good eater.
So, we're still in a holding pattern. As he still requires specialized care, his insurance will cover his stay at the nursing home. Another nursing home probably won't take him as they generally don't take patients that don't swallow (my mom already contacted a few and was informed of this). So it'll be a hospice or back home with additional care. We'd both like to get him back home, but he's still unstable now, so whether that will be manageable remains to be seen.
My mom is holding it together as best as she can. Stacy and I took her out to dinner and gave her presents last night, which cheered her up a lot. She was never really big on birthdays. Some of her old bridge friends came by during the day and surprised her with cards and well wishes.
Like Cole's mom, neither of my parents want a funeral and are going the Neptune Society route. While we're on the topic, I do want a funeral for myself just because I want you guys to be the pall bearers.
So, we're still in a holding pattern. As he still requires specialized care, his insurance will cover his stay at the nursing home. Another nursing home probably won't take him as they generally don't take patients that don't swallow (my mom already contacted a few and was informed of this). So it'll be a hospice or back home with additional care. We'd both like to get him back home, but he's still unstable now, so whether that will be manageable remains to be seen.
My mom is holding it together as best as she can. Stacy and I took her out to dinner and gave her presents last night, which cheered her up a lot. She was never really big on birthdays. Some of her old bridge friends came by during the day and surprised her with cards and well wishes.
Like Cole's mom, neither of my parents want a funeral and are going the Neptune Society route. While we're on the topic, I do want a funeral for myself just because I want you guys to be the pall bearers.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse