Time Lost

Later today dad and I are heading back to the hospital for his 6 week post op check up, the new knee looks great and he's getting around so much easier, also his pain levels are now greatly reduced which is fantastic

I'm a bit worried about the amount of pitting edema still in his calf and lower leg as he keeps forgetting to elevate it, but he's religiously doing all his physio exercises which is great and he now has 85 degrees of bend in it, 90 degrees is what the physio aims for

Physio is the most important part of knee replacement surgery, is it painful - yes it's excruciating, but if you don't do your physio then the surgery is pretty much a waste of time, I should know I've had both mine done if you recall

The difference it's made to dad's quaility of life is amazing now, I'll never understand why he insisted on struggling in pain for so very long and stating he could manage

But he's of the generation where you were taught not to make a fuss about anything, which turned out to be detrimental to his pain management long term which I find really sad

I often wonder how many others there are out there in their 70's and upwards that are really struggling, too proud to ask for help because that's how they were brought up

Dad now confides in me about all aspects of his health and worries, sometimes it's all a bit TMI but I'll do anything for my dad and if it means listening then I'll do it willingly 

Since mum's stroke and her subsequent diognosis of Vascular Dementia dad's lost the one person he could confide in about everything for most of his adult life

They've always had this really weird love/hate relationship of each other which I'll never understand, but dad adores her and he's really struggling with the person she is slowly becoming as she's not always nice to him nowadays to put it mildly

If you're lucky enough to still have your parents, I urge you to keep in contact and check in with them regularly

Photo Description:- A black and white photo of an old fashioned style clock hanging outside a building with the words "Remember time lost cannot be regained"  written on the clockface, below the photo is a credit to the photographer

I missed out on so much time with my elderly parents because of Covid, lockdown and following the all the stupid rules

My parents weren't the same people coming out of lockdown that they were going into it and I never noticed the change over the phone 

For such a long time after mums stroke it felt like the two people living in their house were strangers to me, we have a new relationship now, but how I miss my mum and dad of old, sadly you can't ever turn the clock back, no matter how much you want too 

Dawn, Boris & Eko

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