Morris Weltman

Welcome to Dad's CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Dad was suffering from Dementia over the past number of years.  He had a fall in February 2020 and was sent to the Queensway Carleton hospital for assessment.  They sent him to the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus for brain surgery following evidence of a concussion and blood pooling on the brain, putting pressure.  He waited 48 hours in Emergency and then had surgery.  Then he was released to the Post-neuro surgery ward at  the Ottawa Hospital.    A few weeks later, released to Queensway Carleton hospital's ACE unit (acute care for the elderly). 


Unfortunately, he contracted C-difficil (a highly contagious, horrible infection) in the unit and could no longer walk up and down the halls to rehabilitate after his brain surgery,  due to having to remain in isolation. 


Also, Covid 19  started causing a lot of dangers and visits were curtailed...staff was minimized, and he was moved from ACE to a smaller and less comfortable unit in the hospital for patients awaiting placement into long term care homes.  We were not going to move him due to the high number of deaths happening from Covid in the homes, so he has remained in the ALC unit (alternate level of care) at the QCH.   He is on the list for one home, however many other homes are not properly staffed to this day, and we have been advised by the hospital social worker that they do  not offer more care than he currently receives.  


Visits to him over the Covid year were curtailed multiple times, for months at a time, preventing any family members to spend time with him.  Dad remained alone in the care of the hospital staff, confused, unhappy, and uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings.  His condition worsened.  We visited from the outside of the hospital or via phone calls, insisted in video calls, etc....all in all, it has been a huge disaster.  


Due to staff shortages and lack of care, Dad was unable to be rehabilitated and eventually went from walking, to walking with a cane, then a walker, then a wheelchair....and now he no longer self-propels nor can he sit up straight in a regular wheelchair (they had him sitting on a chair for 12 hours every day...eventually, he was just slumping over).   He can no longer stand, not having used his legs for a year, and having his spine unsupported and without physiotherapy.
 
Now, he is in bed most of the time, or they move him with a two-person mechanical lift to a reclining non-mobile chair and he gets placed in the hallway.   They change the chair position a bit and sit him up to eat.  He can't use his arms very well so they feed him.   His life consists of living in that chair or in bed, with patients screaming all around him, and very little attendance from the unit doctor.  


Dad is in and out of awareness, sometimes makes conversation that makes sense, often peppered with incoherent speech or ideas.  He recognizes me and Mom and sometimes even people he has not seen often.  It's possible to a have a quiet, slow, peaceful visit with him, but he is not his energetic self anymore. 


I was informed that the ALC unit is under-staffed, and has been for much of the past year.  


I am finally putting Dad's story on this platform, Caring Bridge, because I did not know of this before.  Unfortunately, he has already been a year and 9 months in hospital and has had very few visitors, or people calling in.  I am not sure if Caring Bridge is only for those who will recover, but I wanted to offer the possibility for more people who know my Dad to have the chance to hear about him, and possibly also get in touch, or even visit.