I want to get off the fucking roller coaster.
Up and down........there is no level ground.
Things change by the hour.
- I hold my father's hand and tell him I cooked up the turkey bacon in his refrigerator and have a massive heartburn....he laughs.....his blue blue eyes sparkling.....
- I get a phone call hours later that my father pulled out his IV, the tube into his bladder and the feeding tube they just placed in his stomach in the operating room.
- I 'm overjoyed to receive checks from the bank....yipeee I can pay my parent's bills.
- I talk to a bank representative and discover my parents may not have filed their income tax for the last two years.
- I leave Chicago Monday for a short stay at home....my dad has restraints on to protect the newly placed tubes.... I know they can't transfer him to a rehab unit in a nursing home until he is free of restraints for 24 hours....
- The hospital discharge coordinator calls me unexpectedly Tuesday and states he's ready for discharge.....I fuss and fight but am assured he has been fine without restraints....a couple of hours ago...the rehab unit calls....they're transferring him back to the hospital tonight.....he pulled out all his tubes.
- I find my mother's beloved diamond rings.
- I discover dad has carpeted the crawl space and there are at least 500 boxes stored under the house.
- I've installed broadband at my parent's house so I can now access the Internet.
- I discover I don't have the right link and authorization code and can't open my work email.
- I find social security checks scattered around the house and deposit them.
- I discover my parent's investment in stocks has totally tanked and a major part of their assets are gone.
- We find an excellent care facility that would accept mom and dad and allow them to stay in the same room.
- I realize there's no way I can work full time and resign from my job.
Up and down....back and forth.....
for every advance.....a retreat......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
