Borrowed time.

My Dad had 4 strokes last year.

The first one was on New Year’s Day.
He lost his sight.

He complained to Mum that he couldn’t see the tv.
And then he couldn’t read the newspaper.

Mum didn’t call the ambulance.
After all, he had no facial droop, no speech impairment and no hemiparesis.

Call 000.

The second stroke occurred on the night of the first State of Origin game for 2017, on the 31st May.
We were in the car on our way to watch the game at Mum and Dad’s when my sister called from the hospital.
This time there was a facial droop and Dad couldn’t speak.
His left arm and leg were very weak.
He was admitted to hospital.
Incredibly, he bounced back from this stroke and was discharged home 2 days later.

Call 000 again.

The third stroke was the one that had the greatest impact on his functional ability.
This stroke had the same symptoms as the last one.
This stroke occurred on July 22nd.
Dad spent 2 weeks in hospital this time.

Dad’s speech was slurred, he required full assistance to reposition and transfer from the bed to the chair, he needed to be fed (a pureed diet due to swallowing difficulties) and the strength in his arm and leg remained very poor.
Dad also became delirious.
So we stayed with him for the duration of his hospital admission.

I stayed overnight, most nights, with my sister relieving me every 3rd night.
My Mum came every morning and then went home for a nap and then came back later in the afternoon.
And when my sister wasn’t relieving me at night, she stayed during the day when Mum went home.

Inner strength.

It was tough.
On all of us.
But mostly, it was tough on my Dad.

And we knew we had to get him home.
So we did.

And that’s where we kept him, for the next 6 months. The last months of his life.
At home. Where he needed to be.

And then the 4th stroke happened early November last year.
We kept him at home.
And we knew we were on borrowed time.