Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Different

A lot can happen in a short time. I recently met up with a very good friend and spent some hours over a couple of weeks chatting and catching up. It was great to see her again. Like me she too has had her share of life's troubles.
Her marriage has broken up and I know she has a lot on her plate. My role in her life is very insignificant but we both like each other and feel safe with each other when we meet. Hence we do get to be honest with each other and say what we feel. I like that. Hopefully it wont be two years before we meet up again.

But stuff changes. Since my last entry my dad has had a stroke and has spent 7 weeks away from home doing all he can to get back home. He came home on Saturday and it has been an awakening to see him the way he is now. Strokes are bastards of things. You don't see them coming and the effects are devastating. My dad has had a slight stroke but that has meant a great change in him. His speech has changed, his walk is slower and more unsure and of all things in his life he has forgotten how the use the TV. He is not himself, he has lost weight and he does not have the same hunger for things that he once had. I guess that at 86 you can get like that.

Whats hard is seeing the change in him. Gone is the strong robust man who in recent years had begun to shuffle about but was always busy. He seems at this stage to have lost all that. As he says he feels out of it. And I can understand that he does feel out of it and that in time he will get stronger and more confident. His appetite has changed, he struggles with most meals and in lots of ways his behaviour has become very childlike. He is a bit helpless but I know he is trying to deal with it all as best he can. I keep telling myself to see what tomorrow will bring.
Till next time

8 comments:

Brian Miller said...

hey michael...thanks for popping in today...obviously this is a very old blog...do you have a new one? always like to return a visit...

regardless, that you for stopping...

Grace said...

Thanks for dropping by too ~ Kindly let us know if you have any recent or updated writing or blog links ~ Your name leads me here ~

Have a good week ~

Myrna R. said...

So sorry about your Dad. i know it's hard to observe these changes in our loved ones.

Pealogic said...

Is horrid when a parent becomes a child. I didn't deal very well when it happened to me. I hope you have more strength than me. I hope like my parent, your dad gets stronger. Good luck.
Pea

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

Hi Michael--this looks like old news--but I am hoping your Dad had gotten better--

Grace said...

As this is your old blogger account, you should point out to your visitors that this is your new WP blog:

http://summerstommy.com/

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Michael, thanks for stopping by dVerse and my blog. I see from your post that your father was very unwell. I do hope you both are hanging in there. Take good care, of him and of yourself.

Stafford Ray said...

Yes, like others here, I am interested in reading about what you are currently doing!
You'll find the Magpies are a nice lot, positive and supportive of you're writing and any other bits of your life you share with us.
Cheers, Mate.