Things I Learned During Applications

As I was preparing to move Dad from the Garden to the new place, I needed to gather various medical notes and documents from the Garden. Because of their assisted living status they did not have as detailed notes as the new place so they gave me their nursing notes as well. 

I sent them onto the new place, but also read them as well. 

I learned that they had diagnosed him with mild depression and had been treating him with Zoloft for that. He was unhappy that mom was not with him, but he was also unhappy because she blamed him for her current status (absolutely true, I had tried to get her to understand that if she wanted to blame a family member, she should blame me, but she was sure Dad could break her out). 

It shocked me because at no point had anyone contacted me to let me know any of this was going on with Dad. I was his medical power of attorney as well and they had all the paperwork on that. 

I am pretty sure I would have gone along with treatment especially if it had been started in the first month or so, but it appeared in the paperwork that it had started more recently than that. The only thing I can  think of that might have triggered an evaluation was the one event when I was moving my oldest out of town. 

Further, after we got the cognitive evaluation I had been told they would start him on a medication for that. There was no indication this had been done. 

I also cynically observed that if lack of sleeping and a racing mind were symptoms of depression, I was depressed too.