Dad normally watches the news from 5-6:30pm every night. He sits in the same chair. I walked in at 6:15 and he was in a different chair (highly unusual), sound asleep. I woke him up and he has no idea what happened. It's been an hour. In that time we decided he should sleep in the guest room (close by), but every time he tries to get up to go there, he goes in the wrong direction and keeps saying he doesn't know where he is. His legs are too weak for him to walk to that room, so we agreed he should rest on a sofa along the route. He is there now. What might be happening?
He has slowed down a lot (he's 90!) but still lives more or less independently, engages with friends every day, stays up on current events.
I don't think he had a stroke - he can smile and lift his arms and follow conversation - though his legs are weak and he's having trouble getting words out, which happens at times in the evenings.
In these instances you do NOT GUESS. You call 911 at once.
My partner just on Oct 24th had a massive clot in the MCA M-1 curve and without the administration of clot busters within an hour would likely not be where is is now (perfectly back 100%)
This is no time to guess.
If your father is a DNR and if this is a stroke, minutes count.
The chances are good that this is not a stroke as he can walk, but this isn't something you gamble with.
I hope you will update us that all is well.
Differences in pupil diameters,
drooping on one side of his face,
slurred speech,
one side of the mouth won't smile,
one hand not working right or no grip strength,
etc.
Take his vitals.
Do you have a blood pressure cuff and a finger oxymeter?
If you don't have those things, get them, they're cheap ~ $25 a piece.
Don't be afraid to call 911 and let the trained professionals access if he needs a trip to the hospital.