Saturday, April 09, 2011

The problems of old age

In Devon on Thursday morning Husband received a phone call from his sister in Derby: both parents were in hospital.

Mother-in-law had been taken in on Wednesday because she'd been very weak and poorly. Because Father-in-law and Sister-in-law had been at the hospital most of the day they decided not to go in and visit in the evening s,o when M-i-l phoned him and asked for her watch, F-i-l took it upon himself to walk to the hospital.

Now it's not that far for you or me but F-i-l is very wobbly on his legs so it probably took him about an hour and when he got there he collapsed. (If you're going to collapse a hospital is a good place to do it I suppose.)

At first they feared a heart attack but they think it's angina. He was allowed home yesterday afternoon. Husband has gone up to stay for a couple of days to keep an eye on him. They think M-i-l may be sent home on Monday but how the hospital can do that when her main carer has just collapsed is beyond me.

She has carers who go in twice a day but she won't let them do anything. She is very confused and forgetful but fiercely independent and doesn't realise how much F-i-l is struggling. Husband and his sisters are having a family powpow this morning to try to work out what is best for all concerned.

And I'm still in Swansea because I was in work yesterday and I'm off to a wedding today. And it's a gorgeous sunny day: a perfect day for a wedding!

1 comment:

nick said...

Old age can mean an awful lot of "looking after" by the rest of the family. Luckily my 88 year old mum is still in good shape. Personally I hope I clock out while I'm still self-sufficient but fate won't necessarily be so helpful.