Delirium

 

My 90-year-old grandfather recently experienced a blood pressure spike. I’m not sure of the specifics, but I know that it scared both him and my grandmother enough to immediately take him to the health center in their CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community)…where he was promptly sent to the emergency room.

My grandfather, already in the early stages of dementia, stayed at that hospital for 3 nights; my cognitively-normal grandmother spent most of that time at the hospital, too, either in the waiting room or at his bedside.

By the time they returned home, things were bad.

My grandfather, who used to be forgetful-but-can-still-do-things-for-himself, was now bedridden, depressed, and confused.