My dad is not doing very well. I saw him last week and I was shocked to see how his health has deteriorated. We were all so happy to have him come home after his heart surgery earlier this year, but now it's as if things have become worse than they were before the surgery.
My mom asked me if I could help her get my dad to his CT appointment last Tuesday. His appointment was for 1000 am and she asked me to arrive half an hour earlier to help get him ready and out the door on time. When I arrived my mom said she was glad to see me and that she was having trouble getting dad dressed and ready for his appointment. She told me he was being stubborn. He was sitting in his chair in his hospital issued pajamas with a blank look on his face; mostly blank. He didn't seem eager to go anywhere. His face looked droopy. His bottom lip was hanging down as if he had suffered a small stroke.
As we helped him walk down the stairs very slowly he would stop every 2 steps and grab onto whatever he could see and lean upon it. As his hands grasped the wooden railing it struck me as ironic that he had built this house. His used his mind to design every finished detail of this home and now his mind just wanted some oxygenated blood. His strength was utilized to carry huge wooden beams that would support this building for many years to come. Now he had no strength and leaned upon the walls he had built to keep him standing.
When we got to the medical imaging clinic I ran inside and got a wheelchair while my mom and dad waited in the car. The staff was very helpful and empathetic.
After the CT (head) exam I was driving them home and I asked my dad if he would like to stop somewhere for some ice cream. He seemed to like that idea. My first thought was Baskin Robbins, thankfully my mom protested that they were expensive, so I suggested we stop by my house and eat there.
He ate his ice cream so slowly that it was completely melted way before he finished it. My mom left us so she could make a short shopping trip. When she was gone I tried talk with my dad but he just wanted to breathe.
