My father-in-law is in the hospital. Mark took yesterday off from work and we went to visit him.
It was the first full-blown case of hospital psychosis I've witnessed. That happens when removing the patient from familiar surroundings causes extreme disorientation. Wow. It's both scary and heartbreaking to see what happens to a person whose brain has gone that route.
The good news is that a return to familiar surroundings brings relief of the psychosis symptoms. The bad news is he can't go home until the medical issues for which he was admitted are resolved. As of yesterday, he still had excess fluid, ankle swelling, shortness of breath when breathing "room air" unaugmented by oxygen. There is no way in creation they can send him home like that. He doesn't currently use oxygen at home, but yesterday's visit left me wondering if that will be added to his medical regimen when all is said and done. Yesterday, he declared that he isn't a heart patient. Maybe he WASN'T a heart patient, but if that was the case before now, clearly the circumstances are changing.
Yesterday's visit was just tough, all ways round. It's hard to see someone so ill AND so utterly disoriented into the bargain. :-(
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