.png)
I was taking care of my dad in his home (which is his current home and my childhood home, and I'm living with him). It was also an old building with other apartments and a meeting area as well. His apartment looked like a combination of his current living room/bathroom with an opening to the main part of the apartment building. It was older and somewhat rundown.
A young caregiver had come in to help my dad with his meals and cleaning. I came home, set my purse down and began to interact with one of the managers of the building. The caregiver expressed that everything had gone well. She had a few minutes of time left, so I asked if she could finish some dusting. In the meantime, I stopped in the bathroom to get something.
I immediately noticed that the bathroom floor was starting to collapse! instead of being level, the entrance sloped downward. Cracks were formed in the floor. The bathtub was still full of water from my dad's bath. I was surprised that the caregiver had not noticed anything unusual after helping my dad with his bath.
I was dismayed and began to problem-solve. The manager was out of the office for the evening, but I needed to find immediate help for this situation as it seemed dangerous. At the same time, my dad came into the bathroom to use it. I warned him about the floor, but it was too late. He lost his balance and fell forward - fortunately, he landed right on top of me and was not injured. He did have much difficulty getting back up though. Since he had fallen on top of me, I had to be very careful in helping him up. He was brave and assured me that he would be able to stand up by himself. I was very concerned though because the floor was not level, so he would need more help. Someone came into the bathroom and was able to help him to safety.
It was hard for me to know how eminent the danger of the bathroom floor collapsing would be. I was able to pull the drain the bathtub which would alleviate the extra weight on the floor. A handyman was nearby so I went to find him. My dad was safely resting in the living room when I left.
I ran through the main level meeting area to find help. No one who could help me was in that area. When I walked back through, I realized I had interrupted a children's story hour when I ran through. The teacher and children continued the story without acknowledging me which was a relief. I remember that the room had beautiful dark blue walls and was well-lit. I saw Jennifer and Abby (mom and young daughter who is signed up for Dare To Believe's kid's supernatural ministry club; I've been asked to lead worship this fall) walking in, but they did not see or recognize me at all. I snuck back out to find the handyman.
As I was looking for the handyman, I remembered that I had left my purse on the sofa. Our apartment was open and a few men had been there when I left. I was concerned that my purse and or the contents could be stolen! So I rushed back up to the apartment to find my purse. When I arrived, it was still on the sofa. I didn't have time to see if anything had been taken from it.
A handyman who was not part of the apartment team explained to me that it was uncertain as to whether or not the floor would be OK till the morning. I began to think through where I could take my dad for the night where he would be safe and receive the care he needed. I was dismayed to think that we would need to completely move out because the bathroom would be non-functional while the floor was being fixed. It was a stressful situation, and I was struggling to find the help we needed to make sure my dad would be safe.
