My dad has been back home for a day now, and while his insurance wasn't able to cover physical rehabilitation, he's doing a lot better than the doctors expected. To the point of them being utterly surprised at how well he's recovered.
He's not out of the danger zone though. He still can't walk without a walker, and his left leg has no feeling in it. He's on a myriad of medications to ensure he doesn't risk another stroke. This has caused lasting damage, but he can recover. They say if he has a nurse come by for in home rehab, he might be able to walk on his own again in six months, possibly.
But after being in the hospital for as long as he was, and having to give up a lot--no more alcohol or cigarettes or even most of the types of food he likes... It's a struggle for him. He was given medication for alcohol withdrawal and he says he's doing okay on that, but most of his daily life was spent bouncing around from drinking to smoking to drinking, and then eating heavily salted red meat. All those things aren't allowed anymore. (he's also not allowed coffee but I switched it to decaf and he hasn't noticed... Yet)
He loves football as well, but he says it's too tied up with drinking so he's wary of it now, as well. I feel so bad for him. He sits at home watching crappy soap operas, playing blackjack with me as we bet using M&Ms and Skittles.
He told me he misses being able to gamble. So I bought him a lottery ticket from the gas station near me. He won $10. Neat.
Except, that only made him want more gambling. Luckily for him, the gas station is two houses down. Counting it as his exercise therapy for the day, I said he could get another lottery ticket if he didn't get too tired. He made it to the store, about as excited as a kid would be for Christmas, literally singing to himself with absolute hype.
That's when he showed me that he didn't want lottery. He wanted to play the... Slot machine.
... Since when did gas stations have slots??? Am I crazy?
So he puts $30 into the slot machine and I'm rolling my eyes because clearly these things can't pay out real money right?
Uh, wrong. He tells the slots to be nice to h because he's sick. And apparently the slot machine listened. Because he proceeded to win $90, then another $50, and more and more and more. And now he has $210 in winnings on some weirdo random gas station slot machine.
He's very happy with his winnings. Obviously this can't be a habit, but I'm glad my dad could find some good luck following everything that's happened this last week.
He's not out of the danger zone though. He still can't walk without a walker, and his left leg has no feeling in it. He's on a myriad of medications to ensure he doesn't risk another stroke. This has caused lasting damage, but he can recover. They say if he has a nurse come by for in home rehab, he might be able to walk on his own again in six months, possibly.
But after being in the hospital for as long as he was, and having to give up a lot--no more alcohol or cigarettes or even most of the types of food he likes... It's a struggle for him. He was given medication for alcohol withdrawal and he says he's doing okay on that, but most of his daily life was spent bouncing around from drinking to smoking to drinking, and then eating heavily salted red meat. All those things aren't allowed anymore. (he's also not allowed coffee but I switched it to decaf and he hasn't noticed... Yet)
He loves football as well, but he says it's too tied up with drinking so he's wary of it now, as well. I feel so bad for him. He sits at home watching crappy soap operas, playing blackjack with me as we bet using M&Ms and Skittles.
He told me he misses being able to gamble. So I bought him a lottery ticket from the gas station near me. He won $10. Neat.
Except, that only made him want more gambling. Luckily for him, the gas station is two houses down. Counting it as his exercise therapy for the day, I said he could get another lottery ticket if he didn't get too tired. He made it to the store, about as excited as a kid would be for Christmas, literally singing to himself with absolute hype.
That's when he showed me that he didn't want lottery. He wanted to play the... Slot machine.
... Since when did gas stations have slots??? Am I crazy?
So he puts $30 into the slot machine and I'm rolling my eyes because clearly these things can't pay out real money right?
Uh, wrong. He tells the slots to be nice to h because he's sick. And apparently the slot machine listened. Because he proceeded to win $90, then another $50, and more and more and more. And now he has $210 in winnings on some weirdo random gas station slot machine.
He's very happy with his winnings. Obviously this can't be a habit, but I'm glad my dad could find some good luck following everything that's happened this last week.
