Here we go again...hospital round four.

It saddens me to tell you that as I write this month's blog, Dad has been readmitted back in to hospital as from Monday evening.  We have been advised that he will be staying in hospital until at least Tuesday next week.

A lot of the goings on I was planning to tell you about have therefore been excluded, otherwise this entry would go on forever!

So here we go...Dad has yet another water infection. Mum and I spotted the signs around the start of the month and Dad promptly started a course of antibiotics. A sample was tested last week after he finished the course and the infection was still there. The only way to get rid of the unwanted infection was for antibiotics to be administered through an intravenous method in hospital - which is where Dad is now...but more about that later.

The month started quite positively when we took Dad for his 12 month review with the Stroke Consultant - two months late due to the May appointment being cancelled by the NHS. Anyway...Dad was quite alert on the day. We made sure we allowed ourselves plenty of time to prepare Dad for the visit and we kept reminding him where we were going and who to see. Dad was very engaged and showed a definite respect for the Consultant, listening to what he had to say and responding quite well to the simple questions he was asked.

Once again the Consultant, who we saw in August last year, referred to Dad as a miracle and was extremely impressed with the progress he has made. He informed us that 50% of people who suffer a bilateral stroke, such as the one Dad endured, die within the first week...the other 50% die in the first month. This proves how fit and healthy Dad was and still is according to all the tests and observations that were carried out on his organs. 'If only Alan had come to see me two years earlier I could have lasered the clots out of his heart and he could have been back at work within three hours like Tony Blair'. A lesson to us all...if you think you don't feel right, go and see your GP as the consequences of not being checked could prove fatal as we have found out.

As we know, Dads frontal lobe which controls memory and behaviour in the brain, was damaged by the blood clots. We were told that it is unlikely new connections in the brain will be made, but that we should never give up hope. The other parts of the brain that were damaged are finding new pathways and connections which is why Dad is able to process information and respond appropriately, follow simple instructions and can read, speak and write. Obviously he can't do any of these things as well as he could before the stroke and the fact he can't retain any information makes it even more difficult. The Consultant informed us that positivity creates new brain cells and negativity kills them.  He said that the worst thing to happen would be for Dad to get in to a state of depression after the positive progress he has made...another lesson for us all - 'positivity'.

We were praised as a family for the daily input and efforts we have invested in to Dads rehabilitation, which gives us the determination to keep going and the belief that Dad will continue to benefit from it.

During the 45 minute appointment, the Consultant also checked Dads left arm sending us for an x-ray straight after as he believes Dad is suffering from a frozen shoulder. His left shoulder is very tight and the muscle tone painful, I was surprised how far Dad actually allowed him to stretch his arm - such was the respect he showed the Consultant. We are still waiting for the results of the x-ray. Following the appointment, he contacted the consultant who administers the botox injections to recommend further botox be considered. Dads GP also wrote to the botox consultant chasing the three month review that should have been at the start of the month and I have been phoning his secretary regularly...but still we have not heard.

The appointment ended with Dad reciting some A E Housman to the Consultant and saying to Mum 'Wend - put him on the Christmas card list'. The Consultant was most impressed that Dad knew that at Christmas you send cards! He wrote in his report that Dad had been 'very pleasant'.

Also at the start of the month Mum celebrated her birthday - Dad wrote in her card 'Happy Birthday Sweetheart' a name he has always called her! The day coincided with a musical event at the care home. I went along this time to support Mum and I've got to say it was quite emotional seeing Dad interact with the music and come alive. He sang with such emotion and intensity it was good to see him so happy. I lent him my hand so he could clap in time to the music - his right hand against mine.

Dad attended his dental appointment at hospital this month. It proved more successful than we thought it would be. The dentist and nurses were very good at putting Dad at ease. After tidying up the filling that had come away, the dentist decided he didn't want to put Dad through the trauma of being sedated whilst work that wasn't a necessity was carried out. What a relief!

So back to Dad being in hospital...its been pretty stressful for us all but especially for Mum. After 17 hours of waiting in the Emergency Assessment Unit Dad finally made it onto a ward at midday on Tuesday. Mum and Dads brother were with him till the early hours and I took over Tuesday morning. 

Disappointingly there were no beds available on the stroke rehabilitation ward, so Dad has been placed on a ward for the elderly. No handover was given, which is why I ensured I was with Dad to explain and advise the nurses about Dads condition. But straight away the first nurse that came to see him started bending his left leg...well you can imagine the reaction from Dad - or maybe you can't if you haven't seen Dad post stroke - but he certainly let rip at her about the pain and for not being careful!

Unfortunately it is Mum that has been with Dad on the three or four occasions when the Doctors have tried to insert the cannula. Dad has sworn so loudly effing and blinding at the top of his lungs and spitting at the Doctor.  He doesn't understand what is going on - even though we explain slowly, Dad can not retain the information.  After trying to insert the cannula in both hands on different occasions, the decision was made to anesthetise Dad's foot and insert it in to his ankle.  Again it was Mum who witnessed the nurses receiving a few right hooks from Dad when they were changing him - as the swearing and shouting started and three more nurses ran in behind the curtains to help, Mum stood there alone mortified.  Dad has no recollection of the shouting or abuse - yet we, especially Mum, are left distressed by it all. 

Whether there is added confusion caused to Dad by the UTI or whether this is how he is due to the brain damage from the stroke, I don't have the answer - but this reaction might be why the botox consultant no longer wants to help... This is a completely different side to the 'very pleasant Mr Skett' the Stroke Consultant referred to in his report at the start of the month!  

Although Mum has borne the brunt of Dad's anger, I rather unfairly have experienced some calmer visits this week.  To prevent Dad from going backwards in his rehabilitation, we have arranged with the ward to attend at meal times to ensure Dad continues to eat as well as he has been recently. With Dad having laid in bed for 48 hours, we had concerns that his leg would begin to seize up, so I have attempted to do his leg stretches and transfer him in to his wheelchair to take him for some fresh air. A pleasant surprise was to bump in to the Sister that looked after Dad for five weeks when he had his stroke in May last year. I explained to Dad who she was and he gave her a big welcoming smile as he asked her how she was as though he remembered her and she gave him a big hug and a kiss! Of course, a few moments later Dad had no memory of seeing her.

Before Dad went back in to hospital, reports were being written about discharging Dad back home. That is still our goal, as how can we let my Dad spend the rest of his life in a care home, especially as apart from the damage the stroke has caused, his body appears to be so fit and healthy? There are so many things that will need to be done and put in place beforehand and we will start to work through this list shortly - although we have been informed that all we need to get Dad home is a bed downstairs!!

As I've said before, if things go well, it is Mum that will become Dads full time carer and the biggest impact will be on her. I think after this last hospital episode she is exhausted and probably having doubts about coping with Dad at home. But we will be there to support her as I'm sure you will too in any way that you can.

As always, thanks for the read - to my supporters on Facebook that sent messages in my time of need...they meant the world thank you. Let's see if we can have a month of positivity in August?! Around the same place, same time - I'll see you next month.

Love you Dad x

Mum and Dad on Mum's Birthday 5/7/13

Mum and Dad enjoying the weather 10/7/13

In Dan & Sue's garden - Dad chilling with the Ladies 21/7/13

Getting Dad out of his hospital bed 31/7/13