Back to Houston

So I am back at the airport and on my way back to my parents.

Funnily enough, we are experiencing a repeat of what I talked about in March. My father has had more fluid taken out of his abdomen and is still down and out with the mystery infection that he can't seem to kick. There are various theories as to what could be going on, including a possible parasite. But we have to wait to find out.

In the meanwhile, though, I am hoping that my advice is going to finally be taken and my father will get a brain scan. Why? Because his mental state has been fairly rapidly deteriorating over the past month or so and I don't think that merely stress can account for it. He doesn't know how to do simple tasks most days, he forgets words and his memory is shot. The symptoms seem quite similar to dementia, but obviously, with the speed at which the decline has occurred, something else must be going on.

And his cognitive problems are part of the reason I am on my way there again. The second is that, in about April, my parental hired a nurse to keep an eye on my dad, give him medication and just be around when my mum needed a break. He was wonderful, but unfortunately his father got unwell and he had to leave. So my mum became the sole carer again. Sucks.

And it's hard. It's hard when my father thinks he's fine and starts talking utter crap to work colleagues (potentially an expensive problem). It's hard when he is in hospital the whole week and my mum has no one to relieve her for a couple of hours so that she can go and have a shower and change clothes. It's hard when everyone is far away and there is no one they can call if the shit hits the fan. So I go, and I just wish I could stay without reprecussions in my own life.

I wonder if my mum ever has time to sit and wonder about where her life has taken her. She has now spent almost two years doing nothing but caring for a man that is increasingly less able to be independent. I am not suggesting that she is either a saint or a fool, only that it would seem very odd to me. Then again, if I look at where I have ended up, I wouldn't have dreamed such a thing. Again, not in a bad way. Just unexpected.

Must check what my flight is up to.

More soon, I promise.