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What’s that feeling when you are working hard on self-care, and then something happens to someone you love and your immediate thought is, “that happened because I was being selfish”?
Oh, I know what that feeling is: stupidity and magical thinking.
My dad had a grand mal seizure earlier this week while sitting in his chair in the living room. My mom was terrified. She called 911 and the paramedics transported him via ambulance to the hospital in the next town 45 minutes away.
He’s back home and okay now — all tests proved inconclusive — and he’s following up with his care team. Apparently seizures can be common in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients for a variety of reasons, including dehydration, low blood pressure, and changes to medication. And also the fact that his brain is destroying itself — in hindsight, a seizure response is not surprising. He had just started a new medication the day before, so that’s our current theory. Mom had him stop taking that one for now.
Hopefully a grand mal seizure does not recur for my dad, but it’s not like things are going to get any better from here on out. Aging sucks. I know that some of you reading this are also dealing with, or have dealt with, a parent with Parkinson’s or Alzheimers. I guess we’re in a club together. I hate that we are in that club but I love you dearly and hope we can continue to support each other.
As a very wise person once said to me, “The answer to your question is vanilla bean ice cream with caramel sauce.”