I visited my father in his residential care home for the first time this morning, and managed to spend a couple of hours talking to him.
He is still not yet totally settled in, but it was obvious that he has begun to put on weight and he was a lot more coherent during our conversation than he had been previously. His short-term memory is not good, and he tends to repeat himself (and needs stuff repeated back to him as well), but his longer-term memory seems far less affected now than it was when I last saw him, and he seems to have stopped having hallucinations. I understand from the care home's manager that my father actually had a urinary infection when he arrived from the hospital, and that now that this has been treated and he is properly hydrated, such episodes should not reoccur.
Part of our conversation covered his service in the British Army from 1944 to 1948, and it was very apparent that this was – and still is – a very pivotal time in his life. I discussed this with the care home manager, and she suggested that my family put together a 'memory book' that covers such events. Luckily I have quite a lot of detail about my father's service with 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery, and I should be able to put together quite a collection of photos and other information for him to look at.
He is still not yet totally settled in, but it was obvious that he has begun to put on weight and he was a lot more coherent during our conversation than he had been previously. His short-term memory is not good, and he tends to repeat himself (and needs stuff repeated back to him as well), but his longer-term memory seems far less affected now than it was when I last saw him, and he seems to have stopped having hallucinations. I understand from the care home's manager that my father actually had a urinary infection when he arrived from the hospital, and that now that this has been treated and he is properly hydrated, such episodes should not reoccur.
Part of our conversation covered his service in the British Army from 1944 to 1948, and it was very apparent that this was – and still is – a very pivotal time in his life. I discussed this with the care home manager, and she suggested that my family put together a 'memory book' that covers such events. Luckily I have quite a lot of detail about my father's service with 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery, and I should be able to put together quite a collection of photos and other information for him to look at.
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That sounds like good progress - I'm sure you're relieved.
ReplyDeleteTim
Tim Gow,
ReplyDeleteHis condition will not improve; we can only hope that it will not get worse.
All the best,
Bob
Sounds like he's in a very caring place. Wishing your family well for the new year.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Jfidz,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your good wishes ... which I reciprocate to you and all the other regular readers of my blog.
All the best,
Bob