Update, the next day (Wednesday 8th July)
Dad stayed overnight in the hospital. They were hoping to do some more tests and an MRI scan but another lady got rushed into A&E and took the priority spot. She had fallen off her horse and the horse had fallen on top of her (oof) so Dad got bumped down the list.
Mum made him a package (books, toiletries, change of clothes, phone charger etc), our family couldn’t bring it to him because only one person is allowed in to visit at a time, so my aunt took it in instead. My sister gave him her little fox teddy, and I drew a picture which I emailed him later.
At about half-past one my dad went for a walk down the hospital corridor to stretch his legs and had another funny turn like the one he’d had yesterday. The team took him in and observed him, and gave him another CT scan (don’t ask me, I have no idea what that is). They put dye in his blood so they can see it moving through his veins (ew). This time he didn’t recover as well as the first - his speech is still a bit sloppy and hard to understand but nowhere near as bad as when he had the first episode yesterday.
They don’t know exactly what the problem is, it’s probably nothing seriously wrong but they’re still working it out. Dad’s been really stressed because of pressure from work during Covid (he works in a university, so he had to rewrite, mark and remark all the exams etc) and homeschooling us (I’m not easy to handle). He’s been advised to be more active and eat a bit healthier, and to relax more.
They are exploring his migraines - they think that is the main cause of it. Mum had a look through my files and medical letters (I get awful migraines) to see if she could find anything relevant. I am very proud to say that I have a whole two binders dedicated to me and my headaches! Anyway, it turns out my dad has way more frequent and severe migraines than he had told the doctors previously. He also has low potassium levels. He and my mum and I gave DNA samples to the doctors to find out the cause of my migraines and then for childrens’ migraine research, so they might have to reevaluate the gene research and findings with this new information. When I was a baby and I got migraines one side of me would go all paralysed and floppy and the other stiff and curling over, so much so that they couldn’t straighten me up - just like my dad. They’re looking into that as well.
Now the doctors are giving him medication and he’s not allowed to eat or drink anything. His mouth is very dry, which is contributing to the speaking problems. He’s staying overnight in the hospital again. Mum didn’t say whether he had had all the tests and MRI done yet. I think they’re doing them tonight.