Veterans Home Care
It’s a tough situation. Your father, who is a veteran, is refusing to get to the hospital. He’s been experiencing a number of symptoms that lead you to believe he just had a heart attack. He’s sitting in his favorite recliner and doesn’t want to move.
You called emergency services, but he was ranting and raving about not allowing complete strangers into his house. You believe he is not in his right mind.
What can you do in this type of situation?
There may be very little you can do at the moment. Your father may be dealing with the effects of the heart attack or some other medical emergency that is impairing his ability to think rationally. You want to make sure he’s safe, and your instinct is to forcefully move him, but he’s fighting you and that concerns you about another attack ocuring.
Monitor the situation closely.
Professional emergency services personnel have a lot of experience dealing with similar situations. They understand the frustration, fear, and anxiety a person will be going through, especially in the midst of a medical emergency.
If your father is yelling, screaming, and ranting from his favorite recliner not to let anyone into the house, you may believe that by doing so you’re inviting an even more difficult situation forward.
Sometimes that can happen, but if you honestly believe he’s had a serious medical emergency, the sooner he gets to the hospital, gets checked out, and gets proper treatment, the better it’s going to be for him. This is where you may need to trust in those emergency personnel.
They deal with these situations often. They deal with belligerent, frustrated, and frightened people.
Ultimately, it comes down to fear.
Your father may be extremely anxious and fearful about what has just happened. He isn’t feeling well, he may be weak, feeling defenseless, and is just lashing out.
As long as you don’t counter with aggressive behavior, including yelling at him, but rather keep things calm, it will help him calm down as well. When the people around elderly individuals are panicked during a medical emergency, it’s going to increase the likelihood that those seniors will also panic. That doesn’t help anyone.
Keep calm, rely on the emergency personnel’s experience, and your father will likely realize they truly are there to help him. As a veteran, some of those emergency personnel may have something in common with him, especially if they served as well. Common ground is a great place to start the healing process.
For more information and to learn about veterans home care, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.
