Ok, so Friday was my day off work this week and at 8.30am as O and I were having breakfast I noticed a message on the answerphone from my mum from Thurs evening so I phoned her back.
Transpires she'd phoned me to ask my advice as to whether she should phone for an ambulance for my dad (although she didn't say that in her message). Dad had been out for the day with a friend and arrived home about 5.30pm. He managed to get up the steps to the front door and once in the hallway fell rather dramatically and then dragged himself into the downstairs toilet.
Mum was sitting in the lounge and saw all of this from her chair but decided he must be drunk so didn't go to him for about 15mins! (To be fair - don't know if I've ever mentioned - my dad is an alcoholic so this would be an understandable assumption. However he is not anywhere near as bad as he used to be 10yrs ago when he was sectioned for a while because of it).
Anyway, he was down on the floor and couldn't get up and was being sick. At this point mum phoned me to see if she should call an ambulance (I'd have said yes!) but I didn't answer so she didn't as Dad didn't want her to. After an hour he managed to get upstairs on all fours and he went straight to bed but still couldn't stand and was being sick every so often.
The next morning when I phoned, he was still struggling to stand but thought he didn't need to see anyone as he could walk 3 steps holding on to his Dad's old walking sticks! Mum couldn't decide what to do so I told her to phone GP or hospital. In the end she got a home visit from GP who phoned 999 as she was concerned he was being sick due to a GI bleed. They've done a load of blood tests at hospital and he is having an endoscopy tomorrow. They also x-rayed his foot and he's fractured the bottom of his tibia at his ankle - I guess when he fell - and will need to be in plaster for 6 weeks!
What I struggle with is my mum's reactions. Why didn't she just phone for an ambulance on the Thurs evening? Friday, she didn't think that my brothers would want a phone call to let them know what was happening until the evening. Also yesterday, first of all she didn't phone the hospital at all in the morning before visiting at 3pm to see how he was and she told me she's glad he's in hospital as it's easier without him at home.
Oh also, in the middle of all this, she was saying how the stress of it all was giving her angina and she's self-diagnosed ehrself with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Now I'm sorry, I know angina can be severe but no-one in the family ever believes her after the time she said "I'd been having an angina attack for about a week and I was in the opticians when it suddenly got worse. I finished choosing my glasses and then went to the doctor" Sorry, true angina would mean you were unable to think about choosing glasses!
I know they've not had an easy marriage - mainly because of his alcoholism but he has been so much better the last 10yrs and they do seem to enjoy eachothers company. He loves her very much too - just struggles to show it.
I went and saw him with O on Friday afternoon and if O wakes up before 4pm from his nap, we may go this afternoon.
I'm rambling now, sorry!
I guess we'll wait and see what they say after the endoscopy...