My dad’s just a little better, but it just gets worse with the doctors. After a big family conference yesterday, attended by my mom, brother and sister-in-law, as well as dad’s doctor, a nurse, and a social worker, we came up with a plan. The details aren’t important for here, but his doctor agreed to hold off on any further blood pressure meds, and that he’d contact my mother and/or me if he wanted to prescribe something. He didn’t keep his word, as I found out this morning that he prescribe two new drugs and didn’t tell her. My mom said she didn’t want to confront the doctor, so I said I’d do some research on these drugs and then call.
What I read scared me, but it occurred to me that getting a second opinion from a geriatric specialist would be a better route to go. I got some names but it being Friday afternoon, I couldn’t get ahold of anyone. The social worker suggested another doctor in the same clinic who happened to be the on-call doc this weekend. I left a message to request a Saturday morning meeting since the guy would be doing his rounds at the hospital but he called my mother and refused to meet with us, saying flatly that my dad was in good hands with his colleague. Aaarrrgggghhh, the miserable bastard! I don’t expect him to undermine his colleague but at least he could meet with us to hear our concerns.
So if my dad doesn’t improve much over the weekend, I’ll try to get him seen by a doc from a different clinic on Monday. If that fails, I’ll probably have to orchestrate moving him to a different hospital if Mom will go for it. I’m getting an education, that’s for sure. AFOG, big time.