Hello, This is my first post, but feel that I really need support or guidance. My 84 year old dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer this year. He is now in a local hospice. Since he was admitted last week, he has become increasingly confused and paranoid. His calcium levels are high, and the medical staff advised that this can cause confusion. I'm struggling to support my dad well, as he believes that there is a conspiracy against him, and that he is being scammed, and that an enormous bill is being run up on his phone. Dad had left his mobile phone with me when he was first admitted, and then he asked for it back. However, when I gave it back to him, he was making random calls in the night, and it was causing him some distress. I would find him stabbing frantically at the phone keypad, not knowing what he was doing. Under the support of the hospice staff, I told Dad that I'd look after the phone at home. He is now obsessed with me bringing it back to him. The confusion means that he is no longer being the gentle, calm, caring Dad that I have known, but is now an angry, fixated, and sometimes hurtful person, who I am struggling to know how to communicate with. Please can anyone advice how to manage this and to not take it personally? Thank you.
