Neurodisney

As I type this 

I am sitting in a waiting room

In clinic D

Which is the Motor Neurone Disease clinic

In Beaumont hospital

On the north side of Dublin

I think I mentioned that my Dad was diagnosed with MND a few months ago

Which affects his lower limbs 

His hands are pretty much crippled

He can't open or close buttons 

Pull his zips up

Has trouble eating 

Opening bottles and jars

His legs are also affected

And he now walks with a stick

At one point today 

Dad came out of the bathroom holding his trousers up

And I had to zip and fasten them for him

Not that I mind doing it at all

It's just sad that he can't 

It was a real shock when he was diagnosed 

And we were all very upset 

But we are told his particular illness is slow progressing 

So 

Every couple of months 

Dad visits the MND clinic in Dublin

Where he is seen by the top neurologist in the country 

Professor Orla Hardiman

Amongst others such as the physiotherapist, the psychologist

And various other specialists 

This time 

Myself and my sister have made the trip to Dublin with my Dad

To give you an idea of the journey 

Dublin is on the east coast 

We live on the west coast 

And Dad lives right in the middle between the two

It's a three hour journey each way

Which makes for a very long day 

I really wanted to come today though 

To support my Dad 

And also support my sister who drove today 

I wanted to experience the clinic 

And meet all the specialists that Dad talks about 

My sister and left home at about 9am this morning 

We hit the road in good spirits 

Prepared for a long and possibly stressful day 

We arrived at my Dads at about 11am

Which is the house I grew up in

I don't go back to my home town as a rule 

As it is just one big trigger for me 

We drove through the town itself 

Some things hadn't changed 

Others were unrecognisable 

Being back in my childhood home is always very strange 

Every time I visit there it seems to get smaller 

Or maybe I'm getting bigger

I took a walk around the living room while waiting for my Dad 

So many ghosts and memories 

Mostly not good 

I could almost hear the shouts of arguments 

Feel the tension

The bad energy that lingers 

Truth be told 

I don't like being there 

I never did 

Anyway 

We hit the road to Dublin

I decided not to take my meds until I got home 

As I wanted to be as alert as possible

We arrived in Dublin at lunch time 

Found the hospital with relative ease

Parked in the disabled bay

Getting out of the car and in to the hoSpital 

Was akin to getting a child ready 

We had to put his jacket on 

Get his bag with all his bits and bobs

Get his stick 

Fix his clothes 

All the time watching that he doesn't trip or fall

The my sister accidentally knocked Dads disability parking disc down the front of the car 

Which with the use of a handy credit card 

We managed to retrieve 

And headed in to the hospital

As I walked through reception

I saw a sign for ST. Michaels ward 

Where I spent time when I was 19

In the detox unit 

Detoxing from heroin and methadone 

I was just a kid 

In a locked ward with hardened addicts

It was there I was first told that I had anorexia 

Bad memories 

We found clinic D

And took a seat in the waiting room

My sister and I went to get teas and coffees and sandwiches 

Which we had while we waited 

Looking around 

There were people in all states of MND

Some like my Dad walking with sticks 

Some in wheel chairs 

It was a bit of an eye opener to see the way things could possibly go

We weren't waiting long 

Before we were called to see the first doctor 

Dr. Amina Coffey

She was a young Muslim doctor 

Very pleasant

And very thorough 

As she carried out the examination

My sister took rough notes of things we would need to remember 

Then professor Hardiman saw Dad briefly 

They seemed happy that things were going relatively well

And there was no great deterioration

Next we saw Niamh

One of the physiotherapists 

Whose area seemed to be a closet off the waiting room 

She went through a questionare with Dad

Now we are back in the waiting room

My sister is dozing 

I am blogging 

And Dad is looking pensive  

In with the doctor 

Dad mentioned that his appetite has been effected 

And later on admitted to me that when he is hungry 

He can't just make something easily 

So he just has a cigar and a cup of tea 

This worried me some 

So the doctor weighed my Dad 

His weight was 76.9 kilos

I asked what it had been at his last check up 

She told me that it was 78.9 kilos 

So he has lost a little bit of weight

Not enough to be alarmed 

But it's something to watch 

It's now just after 4pm

And we are all starting to flag a bit

Waiting around like this is pretty exhausting 

And we still have the drive home to look forward to 

It's a real role reversal though

My Dad used to bring me to Dublin

To appointments 

To treatment centres 

And now I'm bringing him 

I can really see him getting old 

And it's not nice 

My Dad was always active 

Coached basketball teams for years 

And to see him deteriorate is tough

But that's life I guess 

Anyway 

I'll leave you here 

And hopefully we'll be finished her soon

I'm sure some of you can relate to parents becoming ill and old 

I was wondering how you all deal with it ?

Right 

I'm off 

See you on the next post....