Dad's fall at Ken's on Sunday Morning

HI everyone,

Ken called me this morning at 6:30am to let me know that Dad had apparently gotten up out of bed and then fallen, and hit his head, which was bleeding. Ken had called 911 and they took him to the hospital. He got some "staple" stitches on the left side of his head above/behind his ear. Ken said they also did a CT Scan and EKG with nothing of concern revealed. THey finally returned home around 11:30am. and Ken said Dad was ready to eat and did fairly well the rest of the afternoon, apparently walking around the house quite a bit. Ken brought Dad back to my place around 5pm. I noticed that Dad definitely seemed like his balance was more out of whack then usual. He also really seemed to be having trouble with his right leg, not moving it much when he was walking. He ate a hearty dinner but the final trip to the bathroom/bedroom was rough for him/us (without his shoes, walking seemed even more difficult for him and he required a lot of support from behind to keep him from falling backwards.) He's also not gauging his position well (next to the bed, or a chair for example) and will attempt to start sitting even though nothing is below him, at which point I have to hold him up to prevent him from falling.

Perhaps this will mean something to Ken, but tonight Dad was talking about "camp," "boy scouts" and "girl scouts." Ryland was working on a jigsaw puzzle at the table while Dad was eating dinner and Dad kept asking him about the "camp." He also asked me how many campers we can hold. He also mentioned someone named "Johnson" that he needed to call to ask him how much it would cost. Later he implied that Johnson was in the navy with him.

Dad has a doctor's appt this Thursday, at which point we will follow up on the stitches. Also, Lois had taken Dad in to the urgent care clinic early last week (doctor was on vacation) to have a look at the large mole on his chest that he had been scratching and had gotten red and filled with pus. The clinic doctor gave Dad antibiotics and cream and it appears to be healing. I will also have the doctor look at Dad's ear wax again. It may or may not be a factor, but Dad really seems to be having problems hearing right now. At our last physical, the doctor saw ear wax but when he tried to remove it, Dad squealed and said it hurt, so the doctor said to use over the counter Debrox. Lois had done it back then, but I will ask her to use it again this week once or twice daily before the appt in hopes that it can help soften it and make it easier for doctor to remove it. Hopefully it will make a difference in the hearing...we'll see.

In closing I just want to reiterate my concern about Dad's (lack of) balance...Even with the walker he seemed to have lost his understanding of leaning forward on the walker and tended to lean back. Perhaps it was just a long day and he will do better in the morning.