Day 25: rollercoaster

Dad's day started very well today as he had an OT session with occupational therapist O. She's a tiny girl and I don't know where she finds the strength to support and help partially disabled people. Dad was wheeled to the other side of the hospital to a tiny kitchen area with fabulous views of London. He made me a cup of tea, himself a cup of coffee and one slice of toast. He did a great job.

However, O said that they were going to delay dad's departure by another week. This badly coincides with a trip to France I have to make but more importantly, dad is desperate to get out of the hospital. The reason for the delay was because they want his walking to be a lot better. And the previous day's mental tests had shown up some holes. Poor short term memory apparently. And 'safety' issues. The latter I can well understand as a habit of grabbing at things and an impatient demeanour are not assets when dealing with disability.

After lunch, dad urged me to get a young Chinese girl who's a doctor. He experiences bouts of dizziness, especially when he raises his head. The Chinese girl asked if I was 'BBC' i.e. British Born Chinese. Yes. So am I, she told me. She suggested my dad have blood pressure tests when sitting and standing. I'm pretty sure that's not the problem but far be it for me to contradict the expert. She was very nice and said to him, "You're just like my dad!"

I tried to tell dad about the delay in his departure but apparently he did not think I was serious. Later, when mum had explained, his mood plummetted. He refused to have acupuncture and refused to eat. To prove his ability, he got up and tried to take a few steps unaided to the window - despite our protestations. He almost fell down and we had to catch him. We were all - pardon my French - mightily pissed off with that.