My brother knows of my personal , non-medical, opinion that General Anesthesia would be hard cognitively on my Dad. I agree that we need to walk this next step and should have this discussion with his primary care doctor.

We can’t get into to see my Dad’s doctor until next week. She is part of a practice, so I explain the situation and ask her to get me the first appointment with ANY doctor in the practice.

We get in the following day and the appointment is a disaster. None of my Dad’s records are correct and the Doctor is aggravated that he doesn’t have any specific orders. He comes in to sit with my brother and I and we walk him through our goal.

During this visit, my Dad has fallen asleep on the examining table. The doctor tells us he needs to do an EKG and review his blood work. The EKG reveals some irregularities and now we are referred to a Cardiologist.

My Dad isn’t eating or drinking much and is very weak. As we are leaving the doctor’s,  I grab his hand to help him walk.

I haven’t held hands with my Dad since I was a small child. My 49-year old hand fits easily into his 81-year old hand and we comfortably stroll back to the car to go home. Loved.