Asking for prayers

I haven't posted for a long time. I've asked for prayers before and you guys were awesome.

I'm asking again for my dad. He has Alzheimer's dementia and went into skilled nursing yesterday for rehab. He is 88 years old, in stage 6 Alzheimer's. Over the last few years he developed parkinsonian symptoms in his legs, shuffling, freezing in place. He uses a walker all the time and depends on it. He has fallen before over the last year and has recouperated from them. He fell twice last week and was having trouble walking after and getting off of the couch. Monday he couldn't move at all and I called an ambulance to take him to the ER for x-rays. Nothing is broken, they did labs and urine which were negative, chest scan negative. He was calm the whole time he was in ER. He failed the mobility test walking with a walker and I decided to have him brought home by ambulance because there was no way he would be able to get from the car to the house. As soon as the paramedics got him out of the ambulance and onto the street, he became extremely aggitated, grabbing at the paramedics and the tree limbs on the way into the house and in the house he got worse, breathing hard and fast, they couldn't leave him in that state. They called 911 and had another ambulance take him back to ER where he returned to being calm. Since he failed mobility test he had to go to Skilled Nursing for rehab. Again, he became extremely aggitated and combative in the ambulance to the rehab place and was like that all day yesterday, very anxious and afraid, kept touching the wall like he wasn't sure if the place was real. Today, he was a lot calmer and they did some OT and PT which he did pretty good and he fed himself. My goal is to get him strong enough to bring home where he will have a lot of care. He just needs to get through the next few weeks. He has never acted like this before, he is the calmest, gentle person you'd ever meet, never gets mad. I need my dad to get strong and come home, where he is familiar with everything, he has lived there since 1972. Thank you all for your help.

NegrilIrene,

It is so hard to deal with our parents health issues. I lost my Mom this year and we are currently dealing with multiple family health problems.

Please don't feel like you are alone, many of the people reading this thread are experiencing their own terrible situations.

We all wish you all the best and prayers, but at times like this there is really nothing anyone can write to ease the pain.

We are all thinking of you and hoping for the best, and please keep a positive outlook as often that is the best medicine.

Hang in there...

You and your dad are in my thoughts. My dad also spent some time in a nursing home this year after he lost his foot. One day at a time...hang in there and don't forget to take care of yourself!

I wish you and your dad calm days ahead. It’s so hard to watch our parents health decline as they get older. I have spent the last two afternoons with my mom as she has cancer. As excited as I am to leave sat. I’m feeling guilty. Special prayers for you both.

Prayers for you and your family!
My mom passed away in a nursing care facility several years ago, at the age of 95. She had Alzheimer's as well, and I learned a lot about the complexity of it... a strange and difficult condition that causes anxiety and paranoia. I guess when you live in one world and much of the time, your parent lives in another, it's not easy to communicate. Imagine being told that you are going into a beautiful garden but all you see is being led into a raging fire.
The saddest days for me was when Mom was lucid and realized what her life had come to. She would cry and feel miserable, and then slip back into the Alzheimer's world.
I pray for peace for your father and for you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NegrilIrene

I haven't posted for a long time. I've asked for prayers before and you guys were awesome.

I'm asking again for my dad. Thank you all for your help.

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i'm sending prayers for your father to gain strength and find peace to eliminate the agitation. i'm sending prayers for you and your family to get through this trying time with grace and poise. also sending love!

I Pray that your Father will regain his peaceful heart, his strength, and is able to return home as soon as possible. IJNIPTT

Sending prayers for your family. My mother is 80 and has dementia. It is very hard watching this disease progress. My dad has had open heart surgery a few years ago also. You will be in our thoughts.

Quote by Georgia...

"The saddest days for me was when Mom was lucid and realized what her life had come to. She would cry and feel miserable, and then slip back into the Alzheimer's world. "

Going through this with my father now. Just so very sad indeed!

NegrilIrene, I hope the future will bring peace to your dad and yourself.

I hope your father improves enough for you to have him at home where where belongs. Sending prayers your way.

Prayers sent to you and your father. Hope he gets to come back home to familiar surroundings.

Irene,
We too have dealt with parental health issues, and we know how hard it is. My family will pray for your father to regain peace and mobility. We will also pray for you and your family to stay strong during such a trying time.

Thank you all for your prayers! The agitation is there mainly when he is lying down in bed awake (arms flailing, legs moving fast). When they put him in a wheelchair to eat, the agitation is only there a very small amount. They have been doing PT/OT and today he was able to stand up from a wheelchair holding onto parallel bars and is doing good with the stationery bike, but he is still really weak and not able to walk with the walker without assistance. I was told today that my father is going to be discharged this sunday because the Alzheimer's will prevent him from improving a lot. The facility is setting up physical therapy, wheelchair, bedside toilet, home care nurse, and I will set up the caregiver to come in. I want him home, but I am freaking out because we can't afford 24 hour nurse or $3,000.00 - $4,000.00 a month facility, and I am not physically able to move him around without help, or take care of diaper changes as I am his daughter. My sister was supposed to watch him very closely when I was away, I told her that it was imperative that she is there when he wakes up and goes to bed and watch him closely throughout the day. That fact that she didn't do that and that this was all preventable, is really p****** me off. And now I'm left with doing all the work to get him taken care of and to deal with the damage that's been done due to her inability to watch him correctly. I talked to his primary care physician tonight and he told me that I need to talk to them before this happens if they can keep him longer and am I going to be able to handle taking care of him, what am I going to do? He said once he's discharged it's very difficult to get him back there if needed. This is very overwhelming.