My lovely 80 year old Dad was fine up until a week ago, and then got quite bad flu (despite having had the vaccination this winter). We speak about once a week as he lives in Italy, and the first I heard of it was about 3 days ago. He said he was so weak that he had had a couple of episodes during which when he was trying to get out of bed, he slid to the floor, and one of those times he couldn’t get up at all, and had to wait for his partner to come home to get him up.
That was really frightening news, but he is apparently on the mend. Is in bed most of the time and is a bit unsteady on his feet when he stands up. I spoke to him on Sunday and he sounded alright. He is coughing a lot and is taking antibiotics.
Then yesterday, while I was out shopping, I get a phone call from him and though he phoned me, he seems very brief and there is no real point to his call on his part - I asked him how he is. I thought he was going to see the doctor so asked him about that. He said his partner had been to ask the doctor questions. So I said yes and what did the doctor say. “About this question of the votes” he says. I had no idea what was going on at this stage, and tried to clarify - I kept on saying “no, what did the doctor say” and he kept on talking about the votes. He rang off a couple of times and talking to him again he said some unintelligible stuff.
It dawns on me that it is not me who is completely hard of thinking, and that there is in fact no connection between the European elections and the doctor.
Then, a series of phone calls later, with my sister who has also spoken to him and his partner, and also with his partner, confirm that:
- he still has a low temperature at some points in the day
- he has a UTI and cannot make it to the toilet - his partner tries to take him but he slides to the ground - so he has had wetting himself accidents and they (his partner and partner’s son) have gone to get him nappies
- he had one really bad moment of disorientation yesterday when he was in the wrong part of the flat doing/putting something in the wrong place
- he had been refusing to carry on with his antibiotics so his partner had to cry to make him carry on
- he had stopped taking his heart and blood pressure medicine but has started again
- he is irritable (understandably)
- he is weak.
Does this not sound to you like someone who should be in hospital? Not least because his partner is tiny, and about 78, and he is not able to make it to the toilet on his own.
She put me on the phone to him again last night, as the moment of confusion had passed, but though he was putting words in the right place and sounded calm, he was oddly detached and not himself. He was not at all convinced he should finish the course of antibiotics he said.
My sister and I were pressing Dad’s partner to call an ambulance, but, having called her son over to help, they decided the following:
- not to take him last night as his “crisis” had passed, and he would be left to wait all night in horrible conditions apparently (he lives in Rome)
- this morning his partner is going to give details of everything that is going on to what I think is his doctor and based on her recommendations they can apparently call an ambulance, but with a letter from her that can speed up his getting to where he needs to be in a hospital OR, she might recommend that he has an MRI scan - since his partner thinks that his disorientation yesterday might be due to a mini stroke (??).
I am not at all reassured. The first thing that sprang to mind is that the UTI had caused the disorientation. His partner did not seem to know that that was a thing, and when I told her hardly listened, because she never really listens.
I am also not reassured by the fact that they are treating hospital as only an option. She seemed to think that he would really hate the fact that she had organised that - but surely that’s not the point and he needs to be in a place where he is on a drip (he is eating and drinking little), has a catheter attached, is being given his antibiotics and other medicine, is being looked after and can rest?
Do they know about the link between UTIs in elderly people and disorientation in Italy? She wants him to have an MRI scan for a stroke but surely his symptoms are usual in someone with his infection?
Not to say they shouldn’t cover all bases, but I think he should be in hospital. He sounded weak as well.
Either me or my sister will be going out today.
Not sure what my question is - I wanted to ask about UTIs and disorientation.
Thank you.