Take one for the team

Of my father's two brothers, only one is still alive, his brother two years younger. His oldest brother passed away in September 2020.

My grandmother and the "boys'" mother passed away in December 2020 and since my uncle had no children of his own or a partner, my dad is his next of kin.

My uncle was not as lucky in the gene lottery as my father. Unlike my mom and dad who are currently driving around America, my uncle is waiting to get a place in a nursing home. He suffers from senile dementia, severe epilepsy and cannot walk without his walker.

Yesterday, the home care service called me and said that they found my uncle unconscious after an epileptic seizure and that they suspected he had also suffered a stroke. My younger sisters and I went to the emergency hospital that the ambulance took our uncle to. Luckily there was no stroke this time.

Within a day or two he will be transferred to an infirmary for rehabilitation for a few days. After that, he must either go home to his apartment or be placed in a nursing home. I contacted the city of Stockholm today and was told that my uncle is on queue number 4 for the specific nursing home that my dad queued him up for just 2 days before they left for America.

I can understand that my father has hesitated to make this decision. Making the decision to place your younger brother in a nursing home is not easy, even if it is the best decision in the long run.