The Beginning
On Christmas Eve I traveled to Antigua with my family and my closest friend. A few days before our trip, my mother's caretaker messaged me to let me know that she was concerned that my Dad kept falling. I was surprised to hear this as Dad told me that he had fallen ONCE during Tropical Storm Gonzalo. He told me that he slipped on the wet porch, hit his head and had to receive stitches. Apparently he had multiple falls after this but....being an old school West Indian male, he did not want anyone to know that something was wrong.
December 24, 2014
MJ, EJ, Yaya and I arrived in Antigua. It was an uneventful trip and the kids were well behaved. We traveled with a Christmas tree, decorations and gifts so that my 2-year old MJ would have "presents." I picked up my rental car from a company that I use all the time. The rental manager pulled me to the side and said, "Spence, talk to your Dad about his driving. He's all in the middle of the road and when he goes to Sammie's its like he can't judge where the entrance is." Concerned was one of the words that came to mind. I drove home and Dad was sitting on the sofa. His left foot was a bit swollen. He welcomed us and hugged his grandchildren but did not get up from the sofa. I did not notice it at first and we went about unpacking. Later that evening, Yaya was going to boil water for the children to take a warm bath. (The house has not had hot water for years after a hurricane blew the solar heater off of the roof.) She came to me and asked if there was something wrong with the stove. We found out that we were out of gas. I told Dad and he said that he had a spare. He called my cousin Reggie and a good friend, Carl to assist. They were able to hook up the new 100lb propane tank but did not know how to re-light the pilot light. I was in my bedroom at this time and heard a crash. I thought Dad fell again so I came out to see what happened. He did not fall but had knocked some items off of a table as he tried to walk with a walker that we had at the house. He did not know how to use the walker properly so I tried to teach him by saying right foot, left foot, walker. He could not walk. I was so scared. We managed to get him back to the sofa. In the middle of the night. He asked me to bring him a "Po." I was now concerned that he was not even getting up to use the bathroom.
December 25, 2014
Yaya and I woke up to make Christmas Breakfast for the family. Dad was still on the sofa from the day before. MJ was busy opening her Christmas gifts and was "helping" her baby brother open his gifts. We made a simple quiche, home fries, turkey bacon and toast. The table was set and dressed up with Christmas colors. We let Dad know that breakfast was ready. He said, "Ok, just bring a plate for me." I knew that he needed to walk because all this time, he was telling me that it was his back and arthritis in the knee that was causing him trouble. I told him, "nope, you are going to walk over to the table and have breakfast with us." Once again I had to direct him in using the walker. He was able to get up from the sofa and walk with the walker to the dining table. We had breakfast and reminisced about Christmas' past. My mother was still sleeping at this time. We cleared the dishes and I directed him back to the sofa. He asked me to get mom ready. Mom has late stage Alzheimer Disease. Usually, Mom's care taker Cheryl is there to bathe, dress and feed Mom. This day was interesting. Mom is not familiar with our voices so it was difficult to get her out of bed. It took both of us to lift her into a sitting position so that we could stand her up. Eventually, we were able to coach her to get into the bath tub where we bathed her, and then dressed her. We placed her in her wheel chair and brought her out to the living room.
Later that afternoon, Dad asked me to help him get to the bathroom. He was unable to get up from the sofa. Yaya tried to help him up but I think he was afraid that he would hurt her. I told him that I was going to get him up and that he just had to follow my directions. After about 7 attempts, he managed to get up from the sofa. I had him hold on to the walker and began to direct him. I started to say, right foot, left foot, walker. After the second step. I noticed that he was now dragging his left leg. We managed to get to the bathroom and he asked me to help him with is pants. Now I knew there was something wrong. Dad is a very proud man and to ask his daughter for help indicated that something was really wrong. While he used the bathroom, I called my aunts Peach and Gweneth. I told them that I was very concerned and that Dad was not walking. I told them that i wanted to get him to the hospital. I began to plan the logistics of getting him to the hospital when Auntie Gweneth called back to say that calling for EMS would probably be better since they would be able to get him on a gurney and transport him directly to the hospital. I helped Dad out from the bathroom and told him that he was going to the hospital. Of course he did not want to go and told me that it was "just a little arthritis and that he was tired." I told him that it was more than arthritis and that we were going. I called 911 and a great friend of mine answered. I told him the situation and he dispatched an ambulance right away. I called my cousin Reggie to come over so that he and Yaya could be in the house with the children while I went to the hospital. Reggie directed the ambulance to the house and the EMTs assessed the situation and took Dad to Mount Saint John Medical Center.
On Christmas Eve I traveled to Antigua with my family and my closest friend. A few days before our trip, my mother's caretaker messaged me to let me know that she was concerned that my Dad kept falling. I was surprised to hear this as Dad told me that he had fallen ONCE during Tropical Storm Gonzalo. He told me that he slipped on the wet porch, hit his head and had to receive stitches. Apparently he had multiple falls after this but....being an old school West Indian male, he did not want anyone to know that something was wrong.
December 24, 2014
MJ, EJ, Yaya and I arrived in Antigua. It was an uneventful trip and the kids were well behaved. We traveled with a Christmas tree, decorations and gifts so that my 2-year old MJ would have "presents." I picked up my rental car from a company that I use all the time. The rental manager pulled me to the side and said, "Spence, talk to your Dad about his driving. He's all in the middle of the road and when he goes to Sammie's its like he can't judge where the entrance is." Concerned was one of the words that came to mind. I drove home and Dad was sitting on the sofa. His left foot was a bit swollen. He welcomed us and hugged his grandchildren but did not get up from the sofa. I did not notice it at first and we went about unpacking. Later that evening, Yaya was going to boil water for the children to take a warm bath. (The house has not had hot water for years after a hurricane blew the solar heater off of the roof.) She came to me and asked if there was something wrong with the stove. We found out that we were out of gas. I told Dad and he said that he had a spare. He called my cousin Reggie and a good friend, Carl to assist. They were able to hook up the new 100lb propane tank but did not know how to re-light the pilot light. I was in my bedroom at this time and heard a crash. I thought Dad fell again so I came out to see what happened. He did not fall but had knocked some items off of a table as he tried to walk with a walker that we had at the house. He did not know how to use the walker properly so I tried to teach him by saying right foot, left foot, walker. He could not walk. I was so scared. We managed to get him back to the sofa. In the middle of the night. He asked me to bring him a "Po." I was now concerned that he was not even getting up to use the bathroom.
December 25, 2014
Yaya and I woke up to make Christmas Breakfast for the family. Dad was still on the sofa from the day before. MJ was busy opening her Christmas gifts and was "helping" her baby brother open his gifts. We made a simple quiche, home fries, turkey bacon and toast. The table was set and dressed up with Christmas colors. We let Dad know that breakfast was ready. He said, "Ok, just bring a plate for me." I knew that he needed to walk because all this time, he was telling me that it was his back and arthritis in the knee that was causing him trouble. I told him, "nope, you are going to walk over to the table and have breakfast with us." Once again I had to direct him in using the walker. He was able to get up from the sofa and walk with the walker to the dining table. We had breakfast and reminisced about Christmas' past. My mother was still sleeping at this time. We cleared the dishes and I directed him back to the sofa. He asked me to get mom ready. Mom has late stage Alzheimer Disease. Usually, Mom's care taker Cheryl is there to bathe, dress and feed Mom. This day was interesting. Mom is not familiar with our voices so it was difficult to get her out of bed. It took both of us to lift her into a sitting position so that we could stand her up. Eventually, we were able to coach her to get into the bath tub where we bathed her, and then dressed her. We placed her in her wheel chair and brought her out to the living room.
Later that afternoon, Dad asked me to help him get to the bathroom. He was unable to get up from the sofa. Yaya tried to help him up but I think he was afraid that he would hurt her. I told him that I was going to get him up and that he just had to follow my directions. After about 7 attempts, he managed to get up from the sofa. I had him hold on to the walker and began to direct him. I started to say, right foot, left foot, walker. After the second step. I noticed that he was now dragging his left leg. We managed to get to the bathroom and he asked me to help him with is pants. Now I knew there was something wrong. Dad is a very proud man and to ask his daughter for help indicated that something was really wrong. While he used the bathroom, I called my aunts Peach and Gweneth. I told them that I was very concerned and that Dad was not walking. I told them that i wanted to get him to the hospital. I began to plan the logistics of getting him to the hospital when Auntie Gweneth called back to say that calling for EMS would probably be better since they would be able to get him on a gurney and transport him directly to the hospital. I helped Dad out from the bathroom and told him that he was going to the hospital. Of course he did not want to go and told me that it was "just a little arthritis and that he was tired." I told him that it was more than arthritis and that we were going. I called 911 and a great friend of mine answered. I told him the situation and he dispatched an ambulance right away. I called my cousin Reggie to come over so that he and Yaya could be in the house with the children while I went to the hospital. Reggie directed the ambulance to the house and the EMTs assessed the situation and took Dad to Mount Saint John Medical Center.