Aging

Just as I was finishing up the kid's bag lunches at about 9:30 pm my cell phone rang. My mother in law was crying on the other end. "Come quick." My in laws live about 30 seconds away if I run. In our cul de sac, one house away, is a path through the woods to their house on the next block.

My father in law had pretzeled over his walker. He was literally folded in half. And not so coherent. I wrapped my arms under him, but rather than stand he just tipped forward onto me, with his legs folding in the wrong direction. He only weighs about 140 now, but his dead weight was too much for me. I asked my mother in law to call Anna.

Sweet Anna came running over and helped me to fold his feet under as we got him to kneel against his walker. His face smashed against the seat - he did not have the strength to hold it up. I put a pillow under his head, and we called 911. I knew his knees could not take it for long.

Two paramedics got him standing and then sitting. My mother in law was completely out of breath -she had struggled with him for 20 minutes before calling me. She had her third heart catheterization in a month last week. This was just not good.

She said he had taken his sleeping pill in the family room, and then gotten distracted, and then basically fell asleep walking. He is very weak and disoriented even on a good day.

My heart is heavy. I felt helpless. I can't fix anything.

Frank is in Turkey - if he had been here it would have been better. But that is not really a solution either.

I've been down this path before. It seems surreal to be going down it again.

Growing old is not for sissies. Neither is caring for aging parents.