OT - I'm back from snow country, and thank you all

[Guest guest]

for your kind words of support and understanding. Many of you wrote

to me privately, or on the board, wishing me well with my trip up to

Lake Placid to tend to my father. Thanks so much for your

encouragement and empathy.

I spent my birthday on the 22nd with my dad, my brother and his wife,

the latter two who were helping to talk and reason with Dad about the

things he needed to do to close down his legal practice. He admitted

that he needed help and was finally ready to retire from a business

that stopped supporting him 6-8 years ago. He'd been hanging on to

his business, paying his secretary's generous salary and medical

insurance out of his social security income. As it figured out, when

my brother and I added up the numbers, with him she was making more

money than he was, and then collecting her own social security to

boot! She's been on a gravy train, and apparently didn't care what

the sacrifice has been doing to my dad.

His weight was down to 131 from a former healthy 172 of his earlier

years. And at 83, his memory loss has become more pronounced each

day, with him often forgetting to take his medication or remembering

what he did the day or week before. It's horribly sad to witness

this slow destructive mental decline, yet I understand that it's

common for people his age. He's also practically deaf, in spite of a

hearing aid in one ear, and that impairment further isolates him from

becoming involved in what's going on around him.

I was able to take him to his doctors for a follow-up exam after an

x-ray found a change in size of a nodule he's had in his left lung

for the last 14 years, and I had to take him to the hospital for a

brain and chest CT-scan the following day. The doctor and I had a

heart-to-heart discussion about Dad's current health, state of mind

and recently increasing decline, and it was determined that he HAS

to close his business, curtail his driving to in-town day-light hours

only, and the question arose as to whether or not he was competent

enough to live alone by himself anymore. Although Dad doesn't agree,

both of my brothers, my sister, and my father's female companion, as

well as I, all agree that it isn't safe for him to continue living

alone. So we will be spending the next two months helping him close

everything up and hope to have him re-established with one of us

during the Christmas holidays. Chances are strong that Bob and I

will be the ones to take him in, since I don't work and we have

plenty of room, or my brother who lives in Virginia could also bring

him to his house. That's yet to be determined.

There is much to be done and I may have to go back up a couple times

in the next weeks to help, so please understand if my time here is

less than normal. I almost didn't make it back when I planned to.

We had a fantastic snow storm on Tuesday night that dumped over 12

inches of snow within only 6-8 hours. The Lake Placid area looked

like a magical winter wonderland, with heavily snow laden trees and

everything covered in white. I woke to find my rental car covered

with a heavy, 12 " snow blanket, and the route down through the high

peaks area was treacherous with snow laden tree branches bent over

the roads, fallen limbs and several snapped electrical wires laying

in the road. Fortunately, the road crews were out early and

everything was well plowed, once I hit the interstate 30 miles from

Lake Placid, it was fall again with brilliant autumn foliage on all

the trees. So I got to see fantastically colored bright autumn

leaves and Santa's country all within a two hour trip - quite a sight

for this Low Country adopted Dixie chick!! And I didn't even have to

go to Disney World to see this kind of magic!

Thanks for your support.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC State and SE Regional Rep.

PAI

Note: All comment or advice is based on personal experience or

opinion, and should not be substituted for professional medical

consultation.