Back home at last

Dad is finally home at last **does a happy dance** 

In total dad spent 10 very long and unpredictable weeks in hospital after he fell and broke his hip back in April

The outpouring of love from people all over the world asking after dad and wishing him well has been absolutely staggering, I read every message, email and comment to dad whilst he was in hospital and I'm sure it's this outpouring of love that helped my dad to fight and make it through some very dark times

Image Description - The day Andy Awford ex player and manager of Portsmouth FC came to visit dad in hospital and really made his day, it was also the day I discovered just how much trivia dad knows about football. Dad is sitting in a hospital ward on a blue chair beside his bed, Andy is sitting on the right hand side of the frame and both are looking at the camera smiling

Not knowing that many of my dad's friends and acquaintances anymore I joined the local facebook group in my old home town, I shared what had happened and why dad hadn't been seen out and about for a while on his regular morning walk to Tesco's for the daily papers

All my life people have joked that everybody knows

Where does the time go?

I can't believe we're halfway through May already, things have been so hectic since my dad fell and broke his hip last month, yet I seem to have achieved the square route of nothing at all

Dad's currently still in hospital, there are plans to move him to a smaller more local cottage hospital at some point, but soon after his admission to the Royal Surrey it was noticed that dad was having some difficulties swallowing liquids which would set off a massive coughing fit and he was at risk of getting food and/or liquid in his lungs

I reminded the consultant of dad's esophageal cancer diagnosis as we were told this may happen in the future, that if it did we were to contact the oncology unit to see about the possibility of a stent being fitted to enable dad to eat and drink more comfortably, at this point dad was put onto a zero oral liquid and small bite diet

Image Description - My dad sitting on a wooden park bench between Boris the Black Cocker Spaniel on the left and Eko the Golden Cocker Spaniel on the right, it's a rare photo of my dad smiling as he has masked face symptoms these days and isn't aware when he's not smiling 

Dad went downhill really fast that first week

Some Good News

My dad was discharged from hospital late on Friday afternoon, it's taken a little while for him to settle back in at home hence why I've not been online much this weekend catching up with everyone 

I'm so relieved to have dad back at home once again as he finds the hospital environment so very stressful

Photo Description - Boris the Black Cocker Spaniel and Eko the Golden Cocker Spaniel sitting side by side facing the camera amongst the dead bracken out on the common

What a Week!

Sunday

At 0245 I was woken from my slumbers to a phone call from Care Line, the phone call I've been dreading for some time now, one of my parents needed help

I was informed my dad was suffering with chest pains and that an ambulance was on its way to him, I quickly got dressed and drove straight to my parents house

As I pulled up I was relieved to see the Abulance crew were already on site and had everything under control, they were just getting ready to pack up their equipment and take my dad to the A&E at Guildford Hospital and I was to follow along behind

Once dad was admitted into A&E and had some tests done it was soon established that his sodium levels were really high and that he was very dehydrated, so he was immediately put on a drip to rehydrate him

After a while dad was taken down for a CT scan to

Rollercoaster Ride

Yesterday was a day of ups and downs, we made it to the end of dad's radiotherapy treatment for esophageal cancer. Even the snow didn't stop us, who'd have thought that 4 weeks could be so long and stressful, now we wait for everything to heal before scans can be done to find out if dad's in the clear

We celebrated by walking The Boys which dad really enjoyed, he's a massive dog lover and has really missed seeing them these past 4 weeks with everything that's been going on

Making Yellow Snow

I can't believe we woke up to find it was snowing this morning, Eko has yet to experience real snow that's settled, whereas Boris is no thank you I don't like this stuff

In the South of England snow rarely settles for long, but it always causes chaos as we're never ready for it and so few people know how to drive in it these days

As much as I want the snow to settle so we can capture some awesome photos, I really want it to be melting before I have to leave today and come back at the later half of next week

My Wonderful Dad

Well that's it, dad finally had his last scan done on Friday, the consultants are getting together tomorrow and will work out which treatment plan is best suited to his fight with Esophageal Cancer

Everyday dad seems to be getting frailer and frailer before my eyes, my big strong dad who's always been my rock is fast disappearing into the shell of a person I hardly recognise because of Dementia 

We're still waiting on the exact diognosis of what type of dementia he has since his brain scan which was done about 6 weeks ago

His wit and sense of humour is still there though, usually at the most inappropriate moments which always cracks me up and we laugh together

Feeling Deflated

⚠️Trigger Warning⚠️

Talk of Scans and Surgery

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Photo Description:- A deflated planet earth balloon

Bit of a Round Up

Bit of a weird day today filled with much sadness for our Queen, I didn't watch the funeral but I will at a later date when I feel more up to it

Sadly last week I was  also informed of the death of a good friend and work colleague of many years, which has made me feel very out of sorts at the moment

Dad Update

Dad is doing OK and yesterday managed 8 stairs up and down in the gym, so they're looking to send him home soon, normally it would have been yesterday, I was in for 5 days for each of my knees, but it's felt that dad is going to need some extra help with carers at home for a short time until he's built his strength back up

He should have had his knee done years ago, but he's so damn polite and hates making a fuss that he slipped through the net by insisting he could manage

When I pushed for it originally after mum's stroke dad was so much fitter, as the day of his surgery approached I asked him many times if he was sure it was what he wanted, knowing how hard the recovery can be I was starting to worry it might be too much for him as he's quite frail now

Good News at Last

After months of pushing for my dad to have Knee Replacement surgery as his leg is so bowed the hospital finally rang yesterday to say that they had a cancellation and could finally fit dad's knee replacement surgery in this coming Monday

He's needed a new knee for the past 10 years or more and can barely walk these days as his leg is so badly bowed

So we're off to his pre-assessment appointment this afternoon, talk about short notice