Dad had a nice day today. Haydee took him out for ice cream during the day. Tonight he had a turkey noodle casserole, which is a recipe I got from Mom who got it from Aunt Thelma (I substituted ground turkey for ground beef.) I just put Dad to bed...every night I put Dad to bed, I always tell him "I love you" and his usual response is either nothing or "ok". Tonight, he said "Same for me."
Friday night was interesting...Paul and I were up late watching TV...around 1:00am I heard Dad get up...he had made it out to the hallway in his walker and wanted to know where his shoes were. His walking and manner of speaking was more "normal" than his usual slower gait. I let him know it was the middle of night and starting directing him back to his bedroom. He made the comment "How did I get in this house?" He said he needed to pee, so we walked to the bathroom and he walked towards the toilet and pulled up the seat and starting pulling down his pants to pee standing up! Had never seen him do that before...I made sure he was close enough to the toilet, and sure enough, he peed! We made it back to his bed...he asked to keep the bathroom light on and insisted he keep on his slippers in bed, as well as his glasses. THe next morning I asked him if he remembered getting up the night before and he said no.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Dad's week
Last weekend, Dad experienced quite a bout of painful hemorrhoids. I first became aware of it last Friday evening after Lois' shift. During a trip to the bathroom I could see how inflamed they were (external, and quite large and protruding!) I applied Tucks pads that night and he seemed to sleep comfortably. On Saturday, with Lois, it was day 3 since he had a bowel movement...they tried a couple of times with no success. By the evening, I tried inserting a Prep H suppository while at the toilet, but he was really reactive and complaining, so I couldn't get it all the way in (to be honest, couldn't even see around the hemorrhoids where to put it!)...anyway, it dropped out in the toilet. I was able to apply Prep H cream all around the area. He went to bed that night and still slept OK.
THe next morning, fortunately, I had Lois (Haydee got the flu last week so had to cancel...Lois agreed to come in on Sunday, her normal day off...she had asked if she could take Dad to church with her, which I agreed to.) Anyway, they never made it as Lois stayed with Dad mostly on the bed and in his room that day. He was very uncomfortable and could hardly move. She was able to insert a couple of suppositories during the day. By the end of her day, they had had success with the bowel movement, so Dad was quite relieved as you can imagine. I have to say I was quite impressed with her demeanor and treatment of Dad throughout the day, not to mention her patience! Per California labor laws, since that day was her 7th day in a row of 8 hour or more days, she was to be paid double-time...she definitely deserved it in my opinion.
During this past week, Lois has continued to give Dad the suppositories to help bring the hemorrhoids down. His BMs have been fairly regular, so it doesn't appear they are as bad. He has however clearly become a bit traumatized...he's doing this thing of "screeching" or saying "Ahhh!" when you barely touch him, for wiping example.
I'm also a bit disappointed in myself and Dad's new doctor...he had an appointment with the GP, Dr. Gee, this past Thursday. My understanding of this appointment was that he was to do a full bloodwork for Dad...we had talked last time about following the every 6 months that Dr. Lichstein had done. I was planning to meet Dad and Lois at the doctor's office around 11:30 (appointment was at 11am), because I had some work to take care of at home first...I assumed I would have plenty of time to be there when the doctor was with Dad (assuming the nurse would be doing other checks first.) Well somehow the appointment was listed only as a "blood pressure follow-up", and when I arrived at 11:30, Dad and Lois were just walking back into the waiting room. I went into the back to ask to speak to the doctor, but apparently he was already gone. They sent the nurse out and she said he was probably gone for the weekend! Lois did say she asked about the hemorrhoids, though the doctor didn't examine him...he said to continue with the suppositories. I asked the nurse to have him call me this week and I suppose we'll get on the schedule again to do a more thorough examination.
Today Lois asked if she could take Dad to lunch with her at Red Lobster...she wanted it to be her treat, saying it was like a "father's day" gift for her. Dad is scheduled to go to Ken's next weekend (first visit since the full week when Paul and I were in Fiji.) He will be going to Ken & Judy's new house! Ken...does Judy deal much with patients and hemorrhoids at her job?
I haven't had a chance to try out Dad's new laptop yet, but it did arrive. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Ryland and Dylan both have "promotions' this coming week (8th and 5th grades), so lots of parties and events scheduled.
THe next morning, fortunately, I had Lois (Haydee got the flu last week so had to cancel...Lois agreed to come in on Sunday, her normal day off...she had asked if she could take Dad to church with her, which I agreed to.) Anyway, they never made it as Lois stayed with Dad mostly on the bed and in his room that day. He was very uncomfortable and could hardly move. She was able to insert a couple of suppositories during the day. By the end of her day, they had had success with the bowel movement, so Dad was quite relieved as you can imagine. I have to say I was quite impressed with her demeanor and treatment of Dad throughout the day, not to mention her patience! Per California labor laws, since that day was her 7th day in a row of 8 hour or more days, she was to be paid double-time...she definitely deserved it in my opinion.
During this past week, Lois has continued to give Dad the suppositories to help bring the hemorrhoids down. His BMs have been fairly regular, so it doesn't appear they are as bad. He has however clearly become a bit traumatized...he's doing this thing of "screeching" or saying "Ahhh!" when you barely touch him, for wiping example.
I'm also a bit disappointed in myself and Dad's new doctor...he had an appointment with the GP, Dr. Gee, this past Thursday. My understanding of this appointment was that he was to do a full bloodwork for Dad...we had talked last time about following the every 6 months that Dr. Lichstein had done. I was planning to meet Dad and Lois at the doctor's office around 11:30 (appointment was at 11am), because I had some work to take care of at home first...I assumed I would have plenty of time to be there when the doctor was with Dad (assuming the nurse would be doing other checks first.) Well somehow the appointment was listed only as a "blood pressure follow-up", and when I arrived at 11:30, Dad and Lois were just walking back into the waiting room. I went into the back to ask to speak to the doctor, but apparently he was already gone. They sent the nurse out and she said he was probably gone for the weekend! Lois did say she asked about the hemorrhoids, though the doctor didn't examine him...he said to continue with the suppositories. I asked the nurse to have him call me this week and I suppose we'll get on the schedule again to do a more thorough examination.
Today Lois asked if she could take Dad to lunch with her at Red Lobster...she wanted it to be her treat, saying it was like a "father's day" gift for her. Dad is scheduled to go to Ken's next weekend (first visit since the full week when Paul and I were in Fiji.) He will be going to Ken & Judy's new house! Ken...does Judy deal much with patients and hemorrhoids at her job?
I haven't had a chance to try out Dad's new laptop yet, but it did arrive. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Ryland and Dylan both have "promotions' this coming week (8th and 5th grades), so lots of parties and events scheduled.