Unfortunately Dad has not developed good habits
Looking at Dad, it does not feel like he is suffering from Dementia and his brain has stopped thinking mostly. He is still able to move and do his own stuff when absolutely fine, but a little change to his parameters makes him imbalanced. I went to my native to plant some flower pots, so that it gives them smiles in winter, but suddenly we had to rush to hospital as he lost his control over his movements, excretory organs, because of fever. Usually, he barely catch cold and flu, and he was looking quite normal, but the fever was inside and he could not even tell what was going inside him. You ask him anything, his one answer for all question : nothing is happening.
For the first time we had to take him to the hospital without a formal dress, as it was quite difficult to convince him to wear dress. It even took more than half an hour just to make him sit in the car. The doctor who saw him earlier was on leave, so we consulted another Cardiologist, who prescribed some blood test and a brain CT scan.
Taking him through the CT scan was equally tough, but somehow we managed to convince him. The reports were about to come after 3 hours, so we were told to wait. Mom was with me, so we decided to go to the Canteen and have some food. Since he was on wheel chair, we called the transport to take him with us, as leaving him alone is not safe.
As soon as he saw people eating, his sensory organs seemed to work very actively and he also wanted to eat a non-veg (fish) meal. That's one good thing about him - he still has high interest in eating tasty foods which is normal at his age. Since we have the holy month going on, non-veg is not cooked at home, so he wanted to utilize the opportunity to eat fish outside. Look at the glow at his face, while eating - I still wonder, how a person at his age can have such cravings for non-veg !!
All the reports seemed to be normal, except his sodium level being little low along with the CT scan showing, age related diffuse cerebral atrophy with chronic small vessel ischemic changes. And when I told the doctor how happily he ate that fish meal and showed him the photo, he said, he does not have any new severe complications, apart from what he has which is related to his age. But this is where, I have problems - why do doctors think, after 80, what he does is absolutely fine !! In my native, I see people in their nineties, riding a bicycle and doing fine absolutely. Some are even more than hundred but they are fit and fine, only because they follow a routine life with must walk everyday, which Dad does not.
After 2 days of medicine and electoral powder with salt, he came back to little normalcy and was able to write a cheque.
The family barber was called in, to shave him, to feel better. I had to extend my stay, to make Mom feel comfortable. She is the one who runs the show, with me giving all possible help and visiting them often, as much as possible. They are still not willing to leave my native place and come and stay with us. But things are becoming difficult day by day. If Dad would follow only a simple routine to walk for 10-15 minutes in the morning and afternoon, he will be in a much better shape, but he never developed that to be fit philosophy in his entire life. All he knows is eat good food and sleep as much as possible.
We tell him every day that a little walk is very much necessary, but he is not happy to walk. He feels it's difficult to walk, even though he is absolutely fine and his body is still very strong. So that makes me think, is it because of lack of developing that habit ? He should have developed that long back, after he was fitted with a pace maker. The elderly people in their nineties that I see also have memory issues, but I feel their habits have taken over their life now.
Does habits take over life when brain stops thinking ? A friend on hive (@ericvancewalton) replied to one of my post saying, it's highly likely that I also may develop Dementia and advise to go through some tests. He also mentioned that diet and lifestyle can better my odds of developing dementia even if I have the gene (which is quite possible). So that makes me wonder, what would be my odds ? If you follow my posts, then you know a lot about my lifestyle and simple diet habit.
copyrights @sanjeevm - content created uniquely with passion for #HIVE platform — NOT posted anywhere else! #HIVE is my only social diary - my blog is my life.