A week ago, my ex-husband was brought to the emergency room because he was in bed screaming in pain and could not get up to walk. He had been complaining of back pain for weeks, seen his doc and been to the ER on 2 different occasions. This time, he was finally admitted.

He is 53 and a raging alcoholic. He has been since his teens. To say that he has gone through the DT’s while in the hospital is an understatement. But they are now over for him. What has now been left behind is a man whose mind is completely gone. He doesn’t know where he is at any given time. He doesn’t know what day it is, or how old his children are or who the doctors and nurses are.

Our oldest daughter has been the one to do most of the visiting and all the contact with the doctors and nurses for his care. Last week the social worker drew up a document for their father to sign giving them power of attorney so they can pay his bills and make decisions for him and his care. Unfortunately now, he is in no way able to make the decision to sign the form. So now, they are drawing up paperwork for my daughter to go to court to gain legal guardianship over him.

My question to you all is this……Have you or anyone you know gone through this mental incapacity from the DT’s and had it permanently, or recovered from it in some way? The doctor said there are enzymes that are now missing that his brain needed to function with while he was drinking. Now they are not there anymore and he is totally out of it. His back issues are that he has a compression fracture in L4 L5 and needs to do therapy to get walking again. His legs have atrophied and are painful to use also. They did have a neuro visit him yesterday for some testing to rule out other reasons for his loss of capacity. We should hear the results of that sometime today.

It certainly looks like the girls are in for a rough summer trying to get everything taken care of for their father. It’s already causing some grief between the two of them. Of course, I’m stuck in the middle as usual and not happy about having to play devil’s advocate here. While this man was abusive mentally, emotionally and physically to all of us over the years, for some reason or another I feel compelled to reach out and help in whatever way I can.

Oh well, thanks for listening to me rant and rave. We’ll get through this as we get through everything thrown our way.

Hugssssssss
J