sunday there was no post. it was not because of a holiday. it was due to the need to fulfill a commandment.
our 90 plus year old father with alzheimers was ill with a condition, left untreated, would be life threatening. on saturday, there were signs the treatment prescribed was not effective. this led to a er admission which involved over 5 hours waiting just to get a room. my brother took that role of care taker during that experience. the admission was late in the day and he ended up staying in the er hospital room all night. these rooms are not like hospital rooms. they are not designed for visitors. like all medical institutions, the intake and provision of initial medical care was impossible and frustrating as the treatment issue was complex. our father is barely communicative and his cooperation is better with a caretaker present. likewise, the medical condition is complex and beyond the pay grade of many medical professionals.
sunday morning, i got the call that my brother was still at the er. i drove there to relieve him. due to a medical policies, the handoff went sideways. due to a covid-19 issue, my brother was to be kicked out of the room and no one would be able to replace him. with that. i would not be allowed to replace him. my brother refused to leave. the covid-19 issue did not make sense as no one was sick from covid-19. with that said, the doctors had to review the matter and lift the covid-19 issue. in the interim, my brother remained holed up in the er room and i had to leave until the issue was lifted. i went to my office got my work done and had no time for blogging. i waited for the call for the issue to be removed.
once the covid-19, issue was removed, i went over and replaced my brother. there was a problem with the hand off as policy was only one visitor allowed at a time. while this made sense overall, with our issue, taking over caretaking, it made no sense. an exception was made and I went in.
i went into the room to find my brother totally exhausted and out of his mind. he showed me what was going on and basically he was doing nurse’s assistant work to make our father comfortable. while i was there, he dealt with our father needing to go to the bathroom. he assisted with our father having a bowel movement. he was in gathering up everything needed which included a porta-potty. he strapped on the gloves and handled the bowel movement. he even took the time to wipe our father up. my brother became a a saint in my eyes at that moment.
i spelled him and spent hours there so he could go get rest. in the relatively few hours i assisted, it was non-stop reassurance that was given. i tried my best to distract him from what was going on and limit his agitation. this is not easy as i don’t believe that my father knows who i am. there were times i got lucky and he thought i was my brother. being with my father can be exhausting.
with this said, sometimes a commandment will get in the way of a project and a post. my brother’s efforts were beyond the call of duty. i made sure to thank him for what he did. he was able to help when i have not able to. in the end, our father is responding to the course of medical treatment and is likely to clear the infection. this would not have happened without the efforts of many individuals and professionals making it happen. i am appreciative for all involved.
be well!!
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