With my dad still very poorly in Medway, I’ve been making more hospital visits than Noel Edmonds does over Christmas. Every visit has become more unpredictable and bizarre as dad’s become more delusional.
When I visited him yesterday, he told me he’d been to Norway that morning.
I checked with the nurses, he hadn't. Next, he'll be telling me mum's gone to Iceland. Surely, you can't get that delirious on a saline drip?
This was a man who, 3 weeks ago, could watch a film and painstakingly, recite it back to me, scene by scene, taking longer than the actual film.
Now, he can barely remember who I am. What the hell is happening here? It’s like one of those weird episodes of Star Trek where Kirk looks like Kirk but he's not Kirk. I hope I don’t find a jelly looking alien inside. That'd be weird - even in my life of bloody weirdness.
I could understand him getting physically weaker but this Dad Version 2.0 was baffling me.
Experience has taught me not to Google search any medical conditions because it always diagnoses Cancer or gives a strange alternative.
Sore Throat? “Throat Cancer.” Runny Nose? “Nose Cancer.” Bruised Knee? “Did you mean Bruce Lee?”
Doctors and friends have since told me his delusional behaviour is a combination of the infections he’s acquired and the medications he’s been taking to cure them.
But if this behaviour continues today, my first question will be ‘Who are you and what the hell have you done with my dad?’ Followed by ‘Can I have my dad back please...? I'll pay you. I've got biscuits.’
I know my dad is in there somewhere but at the moment it’s easier to find Nemo or Wally.
It would be great to have a normal conversation with him again otherwise the visits are very painful. It’s definitely a roller-coaster of emotions but all I can do is remain calm and hope his physical and mental condition improves over time.
