[ceejay58]

my dad is 84 years old and can no longer drive to his doctor's appointments to get weekly procrit shots. Are there any alternatives that he can take home? He will not be able to give himself the shots and I live over an hour away and am not able to go weekly to take him to the doctors. He is unable to drive because of his vision.
Please help
Ceejay58

[krakotoa]

do you know what the cause of his anemia is? i'm guessing since he's on procrit, it isn't your simple iron, b12, etc. deficiency. i'd have him speak with his doctor, and if he can't come up with an alternative, think of seeing a specialist (a hematologist) if he's not already.

another alternative is looking into local senior services, i know many of the council on aging have people that will drive the elderly to doctor's appointments free of charge. another idea would be possibly a visiting nurse, see if insurance would cover it.

[ceejay58]

spoke with my dad today. His primary is not really helpful and I suggested he come to visit some doctors near where I live. I did not think of a hematologist but that is a really good idea. I know he has a history of thalasemia ( spelling is not right)minor, he had prostrate cancer , he has had ulcers but says he has had stool test for blood that came back OK. He is diabetic and I know that with thinning arteries he bruises easily.
We are trying now to get intouch with visiting nurses and he should be hearing later today about this. I just wonder why he is on the shots and I hope he will consider visiting another doctor.
Thanks for your help and suggestions.