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Not much of a writer, nor for that matter - much of a story teller, but let me tell you a little of the situation here.
My dad, he's 83 years old. He was very active, both physically and mentally until about October of 1997. In September he suffered from heartburn, or so the doctor thought. After taking stomach medication for about a month he suffered a mild heart attack. While in the hospital emergency room undergoing treatment, he suffered another more serious, extremely painful heart attack. The doctors rushed him to a different hospital, where he underwent testing , the results of which were basically, he was in need of catherazation to determine the extent of the blockages. The catherazation went bad, he had so much blockage they couldn't really see much, let alone attempt any kind of balloon or other angioplasties. Results - he had two weeks, maybe, before his death. Only alternative was open heart surgery & his chances of surviving the surgery were grim. Open hear surgery worked! Well almost. He was in coma after surgery for several days, maybe a week. During coma, he suffered strokes. The strokes criss-crossed his body. After the triple bypass, he has lost heart functions that are irrepairable. The way it was described to me was that one quadrant of his heart is non functioning. Blood pools in this quadrant as it doesn't pump & tends to clot. He takes medication to thin his blood to reduce the likely hood of more clots forming. Dad was moved from the hospital, after about two weeks, into a nursing home. I visited with him everyday, for an hour or so at first, but it rapidly became apparent that the nursing home staff couldn't devote the time to dad that he required. I ended up spending pretty much 6 and more hours per day with him. He had physical therapy in the mornings for a couple of hours, and that was very good for him. His health care providers(Humana) the doctor, canceled the therapy, saying this is as good as he'll ever be. This was appealed and therapy reinstated, for a week. The doctor canceled it again. Another appeal to Humana failed. Dad was totally dependant on the nursing home for what most people take for granted. He had very little limited use of his hands, one leg didn't function, he was incontinent. He did have one good leg though! If you can imagine what kind of care one needs when the only functioning limb is one leg... You get the picture! He had problems with his gag reflexes, couldn't eat well, nor drink well. Would get the food & drink into his lungs and spit it up. Generally, this would end his desire to finish drinking or eating. So nutrition was and still is a hard part of his care. After several test nights and weekends, I determined that, 'heck - I can do this'. December 11th, I brought him home from the nursing home. I got the comments from nurses, 'you wont be able to take the bossiness' - 'Don't feel bad if you have to bring him back, happens all the time'. As well as other comments saying he will do better at home. Pharmacist flat out told me I wouldn't be able to do it alone. He was dyeing there in the nursing home. It was quicker than just a matter of time, he was going to die. February rolled around and he got sick, doctor said to ask him if he wanted to stay at home and pass on comfortably there, or if he wanted to, he could go to the hospital. Hospital was his choice, he wasn't ready to die, but he didn't want any part of going back to the nursing home. He really hated the nursing home, but liked most of the nurses & aids there. Spent another week in hospital - 'rehydrated' him and one stubborn nurse made him eat! - He had a serious dislike for her! Wanted to get the hell home, Now!
Anyhow, I've been caring for him at home since December. He has gotten better, very much better. He needs help, just as a two year old would, maybe more so in the bathroom & bathing departments. I take care of his finances & household chores, cooking, cleaning ...etc. (and boy do i hate washing dishes), take him to the different doctor appointments, eye, general practitioner(new one), foot doctors, etc... seems like there is an awful lot of doctor/medical type trips. So I'm it as far as his care. Family members have all said that if something happens to me, he will have to go back into the nursing home. All of them have their own lifes to live & I understand that. Dad doesn't? Dad is quite bossy at times, and I tell him so. I saw that in the nursing home with most of the people there that had become incapacitated from strokes mostly. I would have never dreamed that it would actually be so hard to care for him. It can be both physically & mentally - very hard work. The window of opportunity for leaving him alone is pretty much just one hour, any longer than that, I come home to find him sitting in his wheelchair, parked inches from the door, waiting. Plus he can get himself in trouble sometimes, hate to see him fall and not be able to get up, or worse. Ok ... I need to develop an income here. I will do most anything, as long as I am able to do it from home. Would love to have something to do with the internet and computers. I've more than average computer/internet knowledge & experience. 47 year old male, primary background is in outside sales for a wholesale distributor. Working directly with customers and their needs. Setting profit margins and pricing structures, dealing with inventory levels. Supervisory experience, self starter, work implicator (get things started, and get things done). Will provide more details as required. The reason I've written this, is because I am seeking work. I need some type of income while I'm caring for my father. I must be able to work from home. I have financial obligations that require me to have an Income! Almost Desperate - Really! I can be reached most conveniently via email Go.Bonkers@usa.net Thank You ! |