So it's my last day of holidays. 4 months is one hell of a long time to have off uni!
I don't understand that, I mean I get about 5 months of uni holidays every year. I figure if they halved that then rather than spending 4 years at uni I'd get my degree in about half that time! And 2 years of living off nothing is a lot more appealing than 4 let me tell you!
Anyways, I woke up this morning to find out my Grandpa is in hospital again. Nothing major, just another UTI (For those not used to Medical Acronyms, a Urinary Tract Infection - A pissing disease in total layman's terms)
Nothing major... But when you're old it does strange things to you. It makes you confused (the last time it happened he parked his car on the foot path and was found trying to start it with the arm of his glasses!)
Makes one wonder, do I really want to get that old!?!
But I guess the real issue here is that he's starting to get on in age and I think its almost time to start looking at putting him in a Nursing Home -Sorry, Aged Care Residential Facility (gotta love the politically correct terms they come up with these days!).
Not the nicest thing to be contemplating, but there comes a time in everyone's life where sometimes these things are for the best.
But, its not up to me. Sadly, it'll be left up to my Mum though. She's the Nurse... The one who knows what to do.
Her brother and sister live in QLD, her other brother (my namesake) died before I was born and her other sister can't see the forest for the trees. And Pop's 'lady friend' is just a gold digging whore who's only real concern is that she still has a personal taxi at the end of the day.
Mum knows as well as I do that above all else to put him in care will mean he will loose his sense of independence - the beginning of the end for lots of oldies who go into care.
And who wants to be held responsible for that!?!
The other big factor that comes into play here is that my grandmother spent 8yrs in a nursing home in an almost vegetative state before she finally fell prey to the brain tumour that put her there in the first place.
I wish I could see things in Black and White sometimes, but I've always been able to see grey. It's my gift and my curse, to be able to see all sides of an arguement from all perspectives at the same time...
And finally, tomorrow is Mum's birthday! And I have no idea what to get...
She's the only person I ever really struggle to find something for.
Any ideas?
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Sorry about your grandfather. But if he can't manage on his own, he either has to have people coming to the house as needed or be in a "seniors' lodge," as they call it on Prince Edward Island.
ReplyDeleteFor your mum, no specific ideas, but is there something she actually needs, or is there something she really likes? If she has enough *things*, get her something consumable.
Should probably have mentioned that while he copes OK at the moment, there's a few things starting to throw up red flags.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't need to be put into permanent care just yet, but in my experience, these conversations are best had sooner rather than later.
It just shits me that everything gets left to Mum and then the rest of them have a go at her when its not what they want.
As for Mum, I think I shot myself in the foot with her garden makeover... But that said, a bunch of her favourite flowers should avoid the whole 'You didn't need to get me a present' conversation. *Note to self* Remember to call the lesbian florists tomorrow morning and get some delivered.
Further to that... As I'm sitting here Mum is on the phone to one of her friends talking about just this (I'm not eavesdropping, I can hear conversations where ever I am in this house!). Sounds like Mum's thinking the same way I am... Time to put on my Social Worker cap and make some professional recommendations.
ReplyDeleteI want to do this about as much as she does, but its not about us right now. It's about Pop and his own safety. It might not be the nicest thing to put him in a home, but its a shitload better than waking up to a phone call in the middle of the night.