The home health nurse came to check on Daddy this afternoon. She, too, is concerned about Daddy not wanting to get out of bed. She asked him why and he told her that he had fallen too many times. He did not want to take the risk again. She is also concerned that he does not want to eat. We can make him eat if we feed him, but he makes no effort to feed himself. The mere act of eating leaves him exhausted. He did ask me to bake another one of those fabulous chocolate cakes I posted about. lol.
As fate would have it, today is the third anniversary of my mom's passing. My brother and sisters all believe this is a factor in Dad's sudden downturn. The nurse agreed that this fall was the proverbial last straw. Fear of falling, in addition to this time of year and specifically thinking about Mom's passing could all have put him into a downward spiral. She called his symptoms to be Failure to Thrive. FTT can be a terminal condition.
My dear husband and I worked very hard today taking out his king size bed and setting up the hospital bed in his room. At this point, it seems all we can do is wait and see where this road leads.
I'm so sorry, and hope that your father recovers his will to live. Is there some purpose to his life? That sounds bizarre to ask, but those who live in old age seem to live because they feel they have purpose and someone or something relying on them.
Hi curly. Thank you for sharing your hope with us. It does not sound bizarre to ask about his purpose. My dad is about 90-95% deaf. That is why we live with him because he cannot answer his phone or the doorbell. He had also given up driving about three years ago. So, to his way of thinking, he does not have much purpose. But he was still doing all his daily grooming, eating, and business affairs.
When company comes to visit, we always do our best to talk loudly and slowly and repeat ourselves so he can keep up with most of the conversation, but we know he misses a lot of what is going on. When that begins to burden him, he drifts off into his own little world, and stares out the window. It breaks my heart that he is so isolated. Friends and family go out of their way to let him know we all love and honor him, but we do not walk in his shoes. I am posting some updates and new stories tonight.
The breakdown of the body is so strange and wrong...I'm glad you live with him, and are company for him! It must be so frustrating to him to not hear! I'm so glad he has friends and family that honor and love him, that is an amazing gift that he in many ways must have given himself.
I hope you have peace, together.
What a dear phrase you used that those who love and honor him is a gift he must have given himself. That is so uplifting. Thanks so much.
I stopped back in today to see how your dad was doing. I'm so sorry to hear his fall seems to have brought on so many additional problems. Please know we are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you, enchanted. It truly is a comfort to hear of so many sending prayer for my dad.