I’ve had a tough few days. It’s therapeutic for me to share/rehashing the last 22yrs. It’s challenging & helpful but hard…
I left off saying my dad collapsed the day after our son got married & ended up needing a full bypass but they ended up only being able to pull off a triple bypass. He suffered a stroke that affected his frontal lobe during surgery. We were able to bring him home which is where the REAL caregiving came into play.

I look at this rehashing of the last 22 yrs & have realized how beneficial expressing oneself can be.

I/we took care of my dad for the next 3-4 yrs where it became obvious that this wasn’t going to work. We live in a GREAT neighborhood even though we all have property 2+acres. Everyone looks out for each other.

It really showed when we started getting calls letting us know that my dad was walking down the middle of the main road before the entrance of our street talking on the phone. He wanted to pull weeds around the house but he decided to take a walk & then would just wander off. Even when we moved him upstairs from the Mother-In-Law apt downstairs.

Anyway, after a few years of that we came to realize that it would be safer for him to be in a controlled facility. That worked for about a year but he found ways to wander off even with an ankle bracelet on. Unfortunately we had to put him in a more secure facility (Brookdale). He lasted a few more years & then passed.

Life went on a few more years before my hubby was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I need to stop again because it’s time to get eye drops in 3 different times & give him his evening meds. 😔