When Superman Crashes
How do I deal with this? My dad has been my hero for as long as I can remember. From the earliest days of my life I remember wanting to tag along with him. He has always been my steady, guiding light - the person I would turn to in times of trouble - the person I would laugh with and who was always up to some kind of mischief. He was the one who would entertain my friends endlessly with card tricks and magic and who never met a stranger.
That man is gone.......and in his place there remains a shell of what once was. I've never seen anyone losing their memory as fast as he is -- or who is as delusional.
In just the past few days he locked his keys in his truck and my brother told him to stay leaning against the truck while he ran into the restaurant and called a locksmith. When he came out, my dad was gone. A quick search of the parking lot didn't find him, so David called the police and my stepfather to come help look for him. A bit later they found him -- when a kind couple found him in their car, just sitting.
He told my brother that they had to go to the store because he had no food for the animals or drinks for himself. In his truck, my brother found, 2 bags of 25 pound dog food, 23 cans of cat food, 10 2 liter bottles of soda and 2 cases of cokes. Yet my dad insisted he had none.
My aunt called yesterday and he told her yesterday that I was in his basement all day doing the laundry and I wouldn't ever go upstairs and talk to him -- and then I just left. He also told her my mom was there washing his dishes for him. I wasn't there and my mom has never even been in his house.
Thankfully, he finally agreed to drop the selling price of his house, so there is hope that it will sell now. Carly and I are going over there tomorrow to clean it and check on him. I'll fix some meals and try to get his medicine organized for him to take it, because it is obvious he isn't taking it now.
He needs to quit driving. NOW. Friday he drove the 6 miles to town and on the way, drove off the road so many times he broke both mirrors off his truck. Both mirrors -- on both sides. What if he had hit a car full of kids? That thought just keeps going through my mind.
So Monday morning my brothers and I will talk to an attorney to explore our options for making sure he is taken care of and people are protected from him.
Even Superman needed help every once in awhile. But I never wanted to be Lois Lane and it breaks my heart to have to do it.
That man is gone.......and in his place there remains a shell of what once was. I've never seen anyone losing their memory as fast as he is -- or who is as delusional.
In just the past few days he locked his keys in his truck and my brother told him to stay leaning against the truck while he ran into the restaurant and called a locksmith. When he came out, my dad was gone. A quick search of the parking lot didn't find him, so David called the police and my stepfather to come help look for him. A bit later they found him -- when a kind couple found him in their car, just sitting.
He told my brother that they had to go to the store because he had no food for the animals or drinks for himself. In his truck, my brother found, 2 bags of 25 pound dog food, 23 cans of cat food, 10 2 liter bottles of soda and 2 cases of cokes. Yet my dad insisted he had none.
My aunt called yesterday and he told her yesterday that I was in his basement all day doing the laundry and I wouldn't ever go upstairs and talk to him -- and then I just left. He also told her my mom was there washing his dishes for him. I wasn't there and my mom has never even been in his house.
Thankfully, he finally agreed to drop the selling price of his house, so there is hope that it will sell now. Carly and I are going over there tomorrow to clean it and check on him. I'll fix some meals and try to get his medicine organized for him to take it, because it is obvious he isn't taking it now.
He needs to quit driving. NOW. Friday he drove the 6 miles to town and on the way, drove off the road so many times he broke both mirrors off his truck. Both mirrors -- on both sides. What if he had hit a car full of kids? That thought just keeps going through my mind.
So Monday morning my brothers and I will talk to an attorney to explore our options for making sure he is taken care of and people are protected from him.
Even Superman needed help every once in awhile. But I never wanted to be Lois Lane and it breaks my heart to have to do it.
