I do really, really want to thank the people who commented on yesterday’s post about Dad. I appreciate it a lot, especially since I haven’t been as active on LJ / DW lately (I have been trying to be better about keeping up lately, though.)
I talked to Dad this morning; his voice wasn’t as raspy but he sounded like he had no energy at all. The thing is, his health has been declining pretty much since before I left home – he had his first TIA at not much older than I am now. Now he has diabetes, Parkinson’s, bipolar depression, and a whole host of other stuff, and was treated with radiation within the past year. So with all that going on and all the meds that sometimes get out of balance, it’s hard to tell, this could be a blip or … not a blip. Honestly I don’t think he expected to live this long – his own dad died at 50. I credit my mom’s care (to be honest, that translates as “constant nagging”) for keeping him around. But he’s never sounded this bad, and he’s been saying for the past month he doesn’t think he’ll last long. I tend to believe people who say things like that – but on the other hand with all those meds plus the bipolar who knows?
He’s worried about Mom. I’m not. My mother has what I think of as a classic mother-characteristics (at least, among the better moms): she might fall apart sometimes over little things, but when it comes to big ones, she’s always a rock. She’ll fall apart afterward, whenever “afterward” comes, but I can also depend on constant support for her from my brother and SIl. Mine over the phone seems to help her too. And just being around her toddler grandson will help her a lot.
Not much I can do from here, I guess, but stay in contact, and be ready to go in if I need to.