Cashmere and Laura, I offer commiseration on the Oh My God, Families front. And Laura, I'm glad Skinner is okay!
Hec, it sounds like JZ and her brothers are catching a little bit of a break on the house, so that's a relief for all of you.
My brother went to my dad's follow-up doctor appointment this morning, and his clinical knowledge was an enormous help. When my brother related what kind of behavior he had witnessed from Dad, and the things Dad told him (like auditory hallucinations and thinking the hallucinations are real), apparently the doctor reacted with huge cartoon character eyes. Dad hadn't really explained it very well at his appointment 2 weeks ago (and also, it seems things have gotten worse in the past 2 weeks).
There's a strong chance this is all caused by the Zoloft (as it turns out, the doctor absolutely had NOT ruled that out as a cause, and Dad misunderstood her). But he can't just stop it cold turkey, so the upshot of the appointment is that Dad's doctor referred him to a geriatric neuropsychiatrist, which is exactly who he needs to see.
My brother and SiL are headed back to Colorado tomorrow, so I will absolutely go with Dad to the appointment with the geriatric neuropsychiatrist. This immediate situation needs to be resolved before I take a gigantic step back from caretaking, and that's fine. Or, it's not *fine*, but it is what it is. I can do this. I have support and a really good therapist.
My brother said he'll help me sort everything out with the Council on Aging and possibly a medical advocate, because he can do a lot of research and make a lot of calls from Colorado. And I really, really appreciate that.
So the next step is that I'll call Dad tomorrow and see if he made an appointment with the geriatric neuropsychiatrist. And, you know, get through this.
And I'm a little bourbon-drunk right now. God bless Wild Turkey 101.