Dad drives for a living, well he did. Although he's still employed its doubtful it will be for much longer. He drove til that first day in hospital without any trouble but hasn't driven since, the cars been sold.
At my granddaughters birthday party my dad had a headache. Unusual for him but not really something to worry about. What I didn't realise was that my dad, who lives alone, went home and spent the rest of the weekend in bed.
I didn't speak to him for a couple of weeks which is normal. He works shifts and plays golf. My uncle called me to say that he'd left messages for dad on Facebook and he hadn't answered the phone and no answer machine was switched on. I realised I'd called him earlier in the week and text him and not had a reply.
You do that cold feeling thing that his non existent German shepherd was eating him, but when I sent him a message he called me straight back... but it was weird.
My dad is an eloquent man, well read and well spoken. He's also the most gentle soul (mostly) and everyone adores him (which annoys me). He wasn't any of those things, he sounded angry. And then he told me that he wasn't taking right and he knew what he wanted to say and it wasn't coming out. He had one word which seemed to be his default. 'Value'. He'd say it anywhere in a sentence where he list the word he wanted. And he sounded down, not at all right.
We had a very circular conversation where he was persuaded that was it, doctors was in order and he went the next day. We'll never know what he said to the doctor as she sent him for an X-ray and a blood test. I still have no idea what for. A week later he tried to get another appointment of results, got the usual doctors receptionist treatment where he says he told them to piss off and walked out.
My uncle who is a habitual attendee went back and made an appointment with a 'good one' and went with him. I thought it was stress, very worst a mild stroke which obviously hadn't impaired him much. He was sent to hospital for tests in the assumption it was a stroke. A few hours later we were sat in the in the staff room with two consultants being told there was a growth surrounded by fluid, and it was something serious.
