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Long post - My dad has kidney failure and recently had a decline in his kidney function. He went to the ER a few times - which upsets me because no one seemed to care that he was in the er 3 times in one week- and finally admitted the 4th time. He tested positive for Covid too - which I think he probably caught in the ER or in the ambulances he was in. It also turns out he broke his wrist from a fall, but was so out of it that he couldn’t communicate that until he got transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. They finally were getting him more motivated and feeling better with a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech therapist. By the time I was allowed to see him he could shower and dress by himself. But now he has some unexplained internal bleeding that is more than the rehabilitation hospital can deal with. He’s had 3 blood transfusions and no improvement in lab work. Blood in stool also. So maybe a gi bleed. They transferred him to a regular hospital- luckily not the one that missed the broken wrist - and to the Covid unit. So now he’ll be there for who knows how long, I can no longer see him, and he will no longer be getting any therapies. I’m worried he will regress physically - he was barely able to walk 10 feet even with a walker at rehab - with his motivation and also his mental capacity. We were seeing his mental abilities improve, but he had trouble sorting pills and using a calculator. Lying in bed all day for a week is going to really hurt him instead of helping. Yes, he’s too sick for the rehab facility but isolation may see him declining fast. I’m worried. I’m going to check on him tomorrow and hopefully do POA paperwork before it’s too late. I hope he’s staying positive.


Thanks for reading all of that. Thoughts?

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I do recommend that you stay in touch with your dad via phone calls, video calls if possible and send him letters, cards, just anything that can be motivational to him and let him know that he is loved and remembered.

I pray that he has a full recovery but, I think that you should prepare your heart for whatever may come. Sometimes things change quickly at this age and internal bleeding can be tragic with kidney disease.
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I’m so sorry to see this about your father. Maybe, they’ll know more soon. If you are able to get the POA signed, it would be good. How old is your dad?
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When you talk to him on the phone, could you talk him through those ‘isometric-type’ exercises like lying in bed, picking up a leg a couple of inches off the mattress, and holding it for a couple of minutes. You are worried that “lying in bed all day for a week is going to really hurt him instead of helping”, and this might help. It also might help to give you more time on the phone – sometimes it’s hard to work out what to talk about. Take photos on your phone of what you are doing around the house, print them out and send them to him, then talk about them on the phone. All these options are better than just asking ‘How are you feeling’!

This is a very hard time for so many people. Where I am at the moment, many of the shops in the main street are closed, and local artists are painting the glass inside with huge ‘murals’ (‘glass-als?’) to make it all look less depressing. It’s such a good idea to come up with innovative options!
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my mom is in rehab with a broken ankle. she has dementia. I'm talking with her on the phone but sometimes she will not pick up or someone will move her phone. Im in search of a home health for her because we are not getting our calls answered back. her mental health is important to so is your dads. what about home health or hiring a aid in.? i'm right there with you worried about going backwards instead of forward.
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