He had a fall coupla days ago when he tried to go out for a walk without his walker, and his hip was still sore today so I got a doctor's appointment. Verdict: nothing broken, a bit of soft tissue damage; keep up the painkillers and get x-ray if no improvement in a few days.
It wasn't the bloke we usually see. This lady last saw him when he was very sick in hospital last year and nearly died. She shocked me by saying, 'Oh, so you've still got him at home', asking what services we have (answer Home Care) and then suggesting I think about respite care.
Why wouldn't I still have him at home? I guess she remembers him as incontinent, raving, and scarcely able to move! Thank goodness he is entirely recovered from all that. His arthritis bothers him a bit, and he is more or less forgetful depending on his medication and blood sugar levels. At present his medication has been changed as his blood pressure was a bit low, causing dizziness and falls, and also making him a bit woolly-minded, but he is already stabilising. Luckily, according to the chiropractor, his bone density is better than the average 65-year-old's (he's 82) so he falls without breaking things.
Yes, respite care would be nice occasionally — if someone would be here to help him when he gets mixed up about operating his computer, and would let me sit and get on with my own computer operations uninterrupted. But I don't need someone to free me up to go out. I can go out and shop, or visit a friend, and he's fine. He naps or reads, or watches the 24-hour news on telly.
His mind is sharp enough for us to enjoy seeing a movie together, and it's both cheaper and more comfortable to do that in our own home. He's still a damn good writer, and is putting together his autobiography. We converse as usual about most things. He comes to the writers' group with me and knocks them out with the work he produces.
