Claire - my theory was that if I was up already in the night for one child - I may as well be up for 2!!!! Lol!!!
I may be free on Sat 22nd June if you are? After that may be free on 22nd July?
Well the back story is that my Nan went to have her knee replaced on Friday 19th April and he couldn't take her as he felt dizzy. Nan said she'd noticed him shuffling his feet when he walked and sleeping a lot. The next day he clipped a car with his, so my uncle marched him off to the opticians who referred him to the hospital (Incidentally we've still not heard regarding that so they obviously weren't that worried??). The hospital discharged my Nan into the care of my Granddad on Wednesday 24th April.
Then on Monday 29th April he fell and hit his head and knocked himself out. An ambulance took him to hospital where they admitted him and treated him for concussion, dehydration and a severe urine infection. He was very confused and saying the most random things and couldn't tell past from present, which they said was down to urine infection and concussion, and they carried on doing loads of tests.
Fri 3rd may, would have been my mother's 56th birthday, and they called my uncle in and told him that he has lung cancer and a large secondary brain tumor, both of which are inoperable. Bizarrely, he has no symptoms of the lung cancer at all? The tumor on his brain had started making itself apparent because of the location of it, and the bang to the head did further damage to his memory, which is why he can't tell past from present. His memory isn't affected too badly, as he keeps asking how Alex is, and how my Dad is after he retired in April - but then in the next sentence he will ask where my Mum is and why she hasn't been to visit (she died 10 years ago this month!), and say his parents walked past but haven't visited (they died 35, and 29 years ago). As well as the cancer, he has blocked arteries and a bubble in the main artery to the heart, which if it bursts or reaches the heart, he will die instantly. They explained they could operate but explained it would be much kinder to leave it, as it would be quick and painless, as opposed to what will happen with the cancer.
On that day my uncle asked how long he had left, and explained I lived in Surrey (they are in Cardiff), and the Dr said days rather than weeks, and I should get down ASAP.
Aside from this all going on, we were worried about my Nan, as she was completely immobile from her knee replacement, and couldn't even go to the loo on her own, and had been discharged into Granddad's care - but now he was in hospital and not coming home. So I hurtled down there and spent 10 days down there looking after her (and Alex!) and visiting Granddad. My Nan wasn't allowed in a car, so I borrowed my other granddads wheelchair and hired a disabled access taxi and took her to the hospital to see him for the last time......heartbreaking!
Then, they gave him steroid treatment, which reduced the swelling on the brain and helped a lot, but he is still saying some mad things! But - it extended his life expectancy to weeks/months, rather than days. Mixed feelings on this really, as it's like waiting for a bomb to go off?
They said he would need to go to a care home, then a hospice when he deteriates and we arranged a meeting to plan it - but The Mcmillan nurses, and the consultants twice didn't turn up for our care plan meeting, meaning myself and my uncle wasted 8 hours waiting around for them! Then on Wednesday 15th may, my Nan received a call to say they were sending him home the next morning and were discharging him in to her care - when she can't even walk or dress herself?!?!?! When she phoned me to tell me she said she was scared and she can't cope physically with him, and she hoped he died that night in his sleep as it would be kinder on everyone :'(
It's been one long nightmare! He is now home, but my uncle is going in 4 times a day to get them out of bed, do meals, and get them back to bed in the night. We have to lock the outside doors and hide the key (telling Nan where they are) as he tries to go out in the middle of the night. We had to take away the deep fat fryer as he wanted to cook chips at 2am. We had to have a remote controlled fire installed as he kept trying to turn the old one on and kept leaving it on and Nan can't turn it off.
He is starting to deteriate fast, and sat there yesterday having a crying tantrum as he wouldn't work out which feet his slippers went on
Their GP is going once a week to check on his progress, and a nurse twice a week - but other than that we've been left to deal with it on our own. He has no idea what is wrong with him. In hospital he was on a cancer ward and kept hearing the tumors and kept telling me he had cancer and crying - but nobody has told him that - he was just assuming. Now he's home he thinks he's all fixed but the dr's say it would frighten him too much.
The 20th June is the anniversary of my Mum's death. I have a real hunch he's going to go then. Kind of gives me comfort they will be able to look after each other again. He was never the same after my Mum died...
Sorry for the long depressing post. Not really spoken to anyone about it all, even my OH. I've just plodded on. Feels kinda good to get it all out.
I know this is going to sound weird, but it's my Nan I feel sorry for the most - and not for the reasons you'd think. My Granddad has always been very restrictive - not wanting to go out and travelling, so therefore my Nan hasn't had a social life for the past 15 years. When she phoned me to tell me he was dying, she said 'But it's ok - I'm getting the house all tidied and adapted and I can start going to church and come to visit you etc'. She went and said her 'goodbyes' thinking that was it, started making arrangements - and then everything was reversed and he was back home? What a rollercoaster of emotions? My Nan isn't an emotional lady, and I have never seen her cry, even when my Mum died. But one night when she thought I was asleep I heard her crying and talking to the cat saying 'Oh storm, what are we going to do? It's the end of an era. I don't know how id have coped this week without Gemma and Alex. Thank god they came down. I wish they didn't have to go home'. Arghhhhhhhhh I live 135 miles away - I hate letting her down
Sorry for the rambling
, but I'm still 
about the new baby. I definitely have to get my butt in gear and see what I can do about my terrible sleeper...lol!
sleep is marginally better as in most nights we at least have a 3hr stretch at the beginning of the night, but then it's totally hit and miss. last night he was up every 3hr (which for us is really good 
) but a few weeks ago he'd spend all night glued to my nipple 
It's weird, he would talk about his (deceased)parents in a similar way. I wouldn't be surprised if your grandad died on your mother's aniversary. 
