It's a hard rain that's gonna fall
I've been trying to think of something witty for my title. There's nothing witty about what happened. I haven't told Ethel or B.J. about this. The weekend started innocent enough. Another last minute trip for Fred to go to the doctor. I had no problem with it. I put a book in my bag, got dressed, and went to the car. I should have known I was in trouble when I reminded Fred that he forgot bring his notebook to the car. He said he didn't feel like going back to get it.
On the drive there, Fred gave me a different route to get to the office. Driving with Fred, is like having your own GPS system, except it stays on high volume for the entire trip.He's memorized every route number on the roads for the state.For some reason, he wanted to go get me coffee before we went inside. I thought this out of character considering how picky he is about coffee. He wants to go to the local McDonald's near Dr. Cousins office. He gives me directions and I follow them exactly. Ten minutes later, there's no McDonald's to be found anywhere. He insists I turn into a strip mall and wind around it. It's still not to be found. I get back on the main road to get back to Dr. Cousins' office. He doesn't tell when to turn and I miss it completely.
When I realize this and tell him, he just loses it. He lashes out and starts screaming at me that this is my fault, what a screw up I am, etc... How if I hadn't of wanted coffee we wouldn't be in this mess. This is where I lose daughter of the year award. I yelled back at him. I tell him that it's not cool to yell at me while I'm driving. I didn't call up the home office in Oakbrook and ask them to hey please move one of your franchises so that Fred can look like an jackass.He swears up and down that he'll never drive with me anywhere.
When I drive up to the entrance,I tell him to get the hell out of the car.I sat in the parking lot and it hit me.This is the first time,I've had a Alzheimer's episode with him. Before I start getting flamed for making a mountain out of a molehill, his mother died of it.Genetics don't lie. What's worse is that he and his doctor don't want to do the test for the Alzheimer's gene. Fred doesn't want to know. I'm beside myself with grief.
In the waiting room, Fred is on.He's chatting it up with the other people in the motherland tongue. He's quite the charmer to anyone in public. It's behind closed doors where his dark side comes out. When it's our turn to see Dr. Cousins,I'm the fall guy. The visit is pointless because Fred did not bring his insulin measurements like he supposed to. The last time I tried to make him do it, he threatened to throw me out with just the clothes on my back. I know he's cheating on his diet. The numbers fluctuate and I know that consistency is the goal. Because he has a waiting room full of people in to see him before he takes off for Thanksgiving break, I can't tell him what happened without Fred minimizing it.
The fingerpointing to me continues when he asks about Ethel.He seemed annoyed that I couldn't remember the amount of dosage that she took for a particular medication. I wasn't aware that I needed a pencil for the scantron test. I have it written down and it's on the fridge for easy access. Dr. Cousins order that bloodwork is in order for Ethel.
At least the ride home was decent.I tried to shake off the bad day,by watch Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason. I can't believe Helen Fielding approved of such a crappy screenplay that caused this film to be such a stinker. The lesbianism replacing the mean girls mind games was so out of character for Bridget Jones. They should have stuck to the book. There was a reason it sold ookabillion books. You can't really blame the actors. After all, there wasn't much there to begin with.
On the drive there, Fred gave me a different route to get to the office. Driving with Fred, is like having your own GPS system, except it stays on high volume for the entire trip.He's memorized every route number on the roads for the state.For some reason, he wanted to go get me coffee before we went inside. I thought this out of character considering how picky he is about coffee. He wants to go to the local McDonald's near Dr. Cousins office. He gives me directions and I follow them exactly. Ten minutes later, there's no McDonald's to be found anywhere. He insists I turn into a strip mall and wind around it. It's still not to be found. I get back on the main road to get back to Dr. Cousins' office. He doesn't tell when to turn and I miss it completely.
When I realize this and tell him, he just loses it. He lashes out and starts screaming at me that this is my fault, what a screw up I am, etc... How if I hadn't of wanted coffee we wouldn't be in this mess. This is where I lose daughter of the year award. I yelled back at him. I tell him that it's not cool to yell at me while I'm driving. I didn't call up the home office in Oakbrook and ask them to hey please move one of your franchises so that Fred can look like an jackass.He swears up and down that he'll never drive with me anywhere.
When I drive up to the entrance,I tell him to get the hell out of the car.I sat in the parking lot and it hit me.This is the first time,I've had a Alzheimer's episode with him. Before I start getting flamed for making a mountain out of a molehill, his mother died of it.Genetics don't lie. What's worse is that he and his doctor don't want to do the test for the Alzheimer's gene. Fred doesn't want to know. I'm beside myself with grief.
In the waiting room, Fred is on.He's chatting it up with the other people in the motherland tongue. He's quite the charmer to anyone in public. It's behind closed doors where his dark side comes out. When it's our turn to see Dr. Cousins,I'm the fall guy. The visit is pointless because Fred did not bring his insulin measurements like he supposed to. The last time I tried to make him do it, he threatened to throw me out with just the clothes on my back. I know he's cheating on his diet. The numbers fluctuate and I know that consistency is the goal. Because he has a waiting room full of people in to see him before he takes off for Thanksgiving break, I can't tell him what happened without Fred minimizing it.
The fingerpointing to me continues when he asks about Ethel.He seemed annoyed that I couldn't remember the amount of dosage that she took for a particular medication. I wasn't aware that I needed a pencil for the scantron test. I have it written down and it's on the fridge for easy access. Dr. Cousins order that bloodwork is in order for Ethel.
At least the ride home was decent.I tried to shake off the bad day,by watch Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason. I can't believe Helen Fielding approved of such a crappy screenplay that caused this film to be such a stinker. The lesbianism replacing the mean girls mind games was so out of character for Bridget Jones. They should have stuck to the book. There was a reason it sold ookabillion books. You can't really blame the actors. After all, there wasn't much there to begin with.
posted by Starla Spaulding @ 11:50 PM
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