Last night I called my brother's house to see why the last few times I've gone to see him, he's slept through the entire visit, only waking to eat the lunch I buy for him. I spoke with the supervisor at his home. She told me that he's not on medications that should make him sleepy, and she said he's been sleeping well at night. The only explanation she had for me is that "he's declining due to his age". I don't buy it. He's 63. It's not that he can't be, but I find it more likely they're giving him some sort of tranquilizer to make their job easier. I had told him the last time I went to visit that I wouldn't be making the almost hour drive to visit in 2 weeks, but would try in 3 weeks instead. I was feeling frustrated at the fact that he just wanted to sleep, but then I found myself teary later, at the fact that maybe I had hurt his feelings or made him feel less than in some way, and I don't want him to feel unloved, so today I went. It was 2 weeks since I last saw him. I arrived at about 11:30, about 15-20 minutes before they're given lunch. I could hear him complaining about something when I walked in the door. 
As soon as I walked over to him and talked to him, he stopped complaining, looked up at me and grabbed my hand. He let go of me so I could sign him out, but quickly wheeled his chair over to me so we could escape out the nearest exit.
I wheeled him out to the car, helped him get in, and gave him some trail mix and an apple I had brought. I turned on my dad's music, and off we went for a drive through the towns. I took a new route this time, writing down my turns so that I didn't get lost. He stayed awake and alert the whole time, really seeming to enjoy his time away from home.
4 comments:
That sounds like a fantastic visit!
That day with your brother was a wonderful blessing for him and for you, a long drive but well worth it. I hope he stops being so tired, he is young for that in my opinion.
Love that you had a good visit!
I love this picture.
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