Dad fell again yesterday. It was the same as the time before where he was left in the bathroom unattended. In previous falls, he has injured his hip - so much so that it's fractured and causes him pain. Now he's hurting in his chest from this fall. The staff there usually takes him out of his room for meals and activities but these injuries have confined him to his bed all day today. That kind of immobility is concerning because (1) it's just not Dad and (2) immobility is what could slow his body down to the point of having other health complications that could ultimately take his life.
We visited Dad tonight just as Susan and Joan were there also. Dad had just choked on a piece of food and Susan was in a panic. Susan pleaded with Dad to cough so that the food could be dislodged and Dad resisted saying that he was fine and that it hurt to cough. The staff helped him clear the food as best they could and then left when they were confident that he was okay. But Susan insisted that he needed to cough more and when he didn't, she left the room in tears.
Alicia was able to catch Susan on her way out of the building to comfort her. Alicia hugged her as Susan expressed her fear of Dad health declining even further - ultimately to death. Through this all, Dad is keeping his optimism (for the most part) that he'll improve but in Susan's view, he keeps taking one step forward and two backwards.
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