All Cried Out

Finally bade farewell to dad in Worthing Hospital and made ready for the long drive home. Melly has been brilliant and drove up a day early to help out and to drive us home. Dad hasn't improved much since yesterday (still mumbly, fragile and yellow/orange) but at last he is getting the attention he needs. It seems that he was told to come off his drugs for diabetes (which he has always controlled by diet or by drugs) for the duration of his radiotherapy and of course it snook up on him (and us) when no-one was looking, and explains his rapid and shocking decline over the past few days. The fact that he was eating only complan and iced coffee cant have helped. We should have seen the signs when he became thirsty all the time and got confused, but everything screamed Radiotherapy! and Cancer! at us.

Now he is on Insulin for the first time and mum has to be taught how to find a vein etc. At least the hospital now know how seriously ill he is and with mother in her attack-dog mode, they wont be sending him home without a MacMillan or until he can get himself to the toilet. I dont think the District Nurse office realised how quickly he had gone downhill, or how difficult it was for mum to get a drowsy, fragile, incontinent 6ft tall man to the toilet every hour, 24 hours a day. She can now get a full night's sleep and have a break from changing beds and washing, and changing soiled pads. The sense of relief she felt when the ambulance came was palpable. Now the professionals are in charge. And he wont be pumped full of morphine while she is watching, just diabetes treatment until his CT scan comes through and the consultant makes a decison on what course of action to take. To brighten my mood, I took some pictues of the garden which it has been my privilege to help maintain. Get those sheds!

And the greenhouse stuffed full of tomatoesIt really brings home how quickly he has gone downhill as the garden is still so smart (with the help of neighbours and brothers-in-law, I ought to add)
The strawberries are just ripening. They made dad's eyes light up when he saw them. He even ate one.

Me, I have come home so I can go to work for a rest. No more tears for now.