This morning my Dad was rushed into hospital. The initial fear was that he'd had a heart attack - but then it appeared that he had heatstroke and dehydration, and then things became more serious with a suspected burst stomach ulcer. It has been a weird day.
Because Dad broke off contact with me as I went full-time, I've not been able to follow my natural inclination and turn up at hospital. This has led to a feeling of detachment. There's this assumption that he'll simply get better. Hopefully he'll realise that I do care - but without me there, I don't know how that's going to come across. It's meant that today has been substantially less focussed than it needed to be. So while there was a "moment" early on in the process (while the heart prognosis was current), I feel as though it was some celebrity who is ill and I'm watching it from afar. People have been very nice - although lots of people outside my immediate contacts must assume that I'm closer to him than I actually am.
Will it be a wake-up call? Sadly, I think it's probably not serious enough for that - although a burst and bleeding stomach ulcer is fairly serious!
