Hey Dom

It's good to hear that your fathers surgery went well, *hugs* your a good son taking care of him, I think my dad and I would kill each other if I ever had to spend THAT much time with him.

-Mike

Glad to hear that your dad's surgery went well!

Him being high maintenance might just be him being stubborn, or he could be doing those things to keep you close by. A friend once told me "Sometimes bad attention is better than not getting attention at all".

When my dog's feeling neglected, she'll find a way to get me to pay her attention :-)

Aww. Yeah that's normal.. parents make the worst patients... because they know they're still boss.. lol.

Good to hear that your dad is recovering and that you are being the good son.

What you are going through is normal...and it gets worse as the parent/patient gets older. But it's part of life and we are civilized, so we do what we must. Stay with it...these are the things memories are made of.

Glad to hear your dad is okay.

When my dog's feeling neglected, she'll find a way to get me to pay her attention :-)

You do know you just compared your future father-in-law to your dog, don't you?

Glad ur dad is doing well. What your dad is doing is normal. Just before my dad died last November of cancer he pretty much had my mom waiting on him hand and foot even though they were no longer married, but they still loved each other so I think it didn't really bother my mom at all, considering she was really the only one who could handle him when he was being stubborn.. Anyways, best of luck to you, and if nothing else just slip the prescribed meds in a drink when he's not looking, won't know the difference

Jon

Totally normal. The role reversal happens sooner for some, later for others. But at some point you take a step back and really wonder who is the parent and who is the child in the relationship.

Hope your dad is doing okay.

Glad he's doing better, maybe mix the meds with his food. if you can grind it.

I have news for you. We all regress and become children again when we're sick. That's just human nature. Sadly, my dad died when he was 58 and I was 16 (I was a late life surprise, as my better half likes to joke), so I never got to experience the role reversal thing with him as you are with your dad. You'll experience periodic role reversal's throughout your life.

My mom, on the other hand, is turning 89 the end of this month, and is as spry as ever. She still lives alone, manages just fine, didn't even retire until she was 82, and the only help she asks of me is to change all the light bulbs every couple of years (compact fluorescent, or course) since at just under five feet, she can't reach. Two years ago, we thought we'd nearly lost her to a bleeding ulcer, and then she pulled through only to find a breast mass, but her oncologist says at her age, the cancer will probably outlast her by a mile-and-a-half. She's still sharp enough to rail against Bush and the disastrous war he led us into and the way he's wrecked the economy.

At 82, my mother-in-law is definitely not faring as well. With each visit, she needs more and more help and remembers less and less of what we told her from the last time. I'm not so optimistic about how much longer she can continue to live independently in her own house. Yeah, growing older is definitely sucks.