Warning. Do not ever, ever, ever, ever leave a loved one in a hospital room alone. Not for one minute. Do not assume that your loved one will be taken care of. Stay there yourself, have other family members stay with them, and if you can, hire sitters.
Dad had brain surgery. A scar ran from one ear to the other. He had a malignant tumor in his left frontal lobe the size of a large orange. There is some sick irony that a man who talked non stop had a tumor in the language center of his brain.
Once he left ICU, they removed all those nice tubes that allow you to stay in bed for days at a time. So, four days after brain surgery Dad is on his own to feed himself and get himself to the bathroom. No small feat for a man who is legally blind. The food service people would leave his tray on the bedside table. Each serving was hermetically sealed in Saran Wrap. I had trouble removing it and I can see. We had to cut his food into bite size pieces and feed him like a baby. He sort of was like a baby during this time. You had to interpret his limited, confused vocabulary and try to guess what he was trying to say.
Dad had a hard time letting us know when he had to go to the bathroom. Why they removed the catheter I will never know. They did the same thing with me after my recent surgery. It really does add insult to injury. No wonder they have those uncomfortable plastic matresses. Anyway, Dad couldn’t give us much lead time. There’s no way in hell he could have pushed the call button had we not been there. And, by the time a nurse came, it would have been too late.
So, the first time he frantically gestured that he needed to go RIGHT NOW, I looked at my sister. You’re a doctor. You do this.
So she did. She took the milk juggy thing, put the right parts in the right place and waited for Dad to do his business. There is no dignity in being sick. Lines are crossed. Roles are reversed. You see your Dad’s junk. When he was finished, Melisse came back to where we were sitting, turned to me and with wide eyes said “I am scarred for life.”
As it turns out, Melisse should have given me a lesson before she left. On my first turn with the jug, I closed my eyes and shoved it in the approximate vicinity. Next thing I know, Dad and I are both getting sprayed. Oh my gosh. The damn thing had a lid.
As it turns out, Melisse should have given me a lesson before she left. On my first turn with the jug, I closed my eyes and shoved it in the approximate vicinity. Next thing I know, Dad and I are both getting sprayed. Oh my gosh. The damn thing had a lid.
Just Passing Through 