Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dad today

I stopped by to see Dad around 5:30pm. He was sitting at the table after finishing his dinner. They were planning to give him some strawberries and whip cream for dessert. Mamie, the 105 gal was sitting at the table too. Apparently her son, who visits frequently makes a point of talking to Dad because he was also in the military (marines). Mamie told me that her husband (deceased) was in the army and another son, who has also died, was in the Navy. making the point of covering every branch of service.

Dad was responsive when spoken to but then would put his head down and look down in his lap. When I asked him if he enjoyed his dinner, he said "I haven't had my dinner yet" which is something he used to say to me a lot as well. He was also mentioning something about "8 days" as well as mentioning that "he (referring to Al) gets it all set up for him." I also spoke to Anna who is the gal who fills in for Al on his day off and she mentioned that she had cared for Dad yesterday on Al's day off. She said everything has been going fine, and also that Dad's bowel movements have been coming daily for the last few days.

Laura, who is back in town having been gone for a few weeks, is planning to visit Dad tomorrow. Perhaps Ken will come up this weekend, and I will certainly try to get by there on the weekend as well.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Dad update

Hi everyone,

Got a call from Chris (administrator at Emerald Isle) yesterday morn... apparently Dad got up the night before a couple of times. Not sure of the exact chain of events, but Al heard Dad come out of the room (approx 2:30am?), walking without a walker, and holding his shoes from his closet. Al got him back to bed for a little while, and then when he got up again, Al let him sit in the recliner in the living room. Al sleeps on the couch in the living room by the way....at some point, Dad had walked over to the couch and apparently "hit" Al on the head while he was sleeping!

Chris mentioned that up to that point, Dad had been doing great...eating and sleeping well, conversing with others, etc. I had previously mentioned to them about the night time incidents, and certainly it is something they know can happen and are willing to deal with (to a point...if it persists, they may request additional night time care/support). However, she did raise the concern, which I share, about the physical aggression...not sure what Dad might have been thinking. Hopefully as he becomes more familiar with everyone, it won't happen again.

I stopped by yesterday and spoke to Al, who didn't seem shaken by the incident nor express concern. Dad was enjoying his lunch, but not very talkative. Al said his approach, in general, is not to force Dad to do anything he doesn't want to (giving him "time" and space when needed, for example), which is something I had discussed with him before (noting that Dad will sometimes get angry if forced when he's not ready.)

This morning I spoke to the other gal there and she said Dad slept fine last night and was doing great.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Transition weekend

I stopped by to see Dad Saturday afternoon. He was relaxing in a reclining chair that was in his room. The bedroom is quite nice...it's at the back of the house and has a fireplace and couch, along with a dresser, cabinet style closet and the recliner they put in there. I spent some more time sharing Dad's routine and various things with Al while there. I took Dad for a stroll around the outside of the house and he was moving well. Went to the great room table (two other ladies were in the sitting area watching TV during that time.) I shared the beach house family photo where Dad immediately recognized himself, and when I pointed to Mom he said that was me. I corrected him and went through the rest of the family. He seemed in good spirits, but was quite sleepy. Started to initiate a puzzle but he kept looking down and closing his eyes, so we walked back to the recliner in his room and I let him rest. It seems as though that's sort of a common "siesta" time at the house (after lunch). Al says he has a half hour break around that time. Al reported by the way, that Dad had slept well the night before, and also that he was a little surprised to hear Dad say "aw shit" when Al was helping him pull of the t-shirt for the shower n the morning. I have previously heard Dad use that term before, though not that often.

Today I just made a quick stop by on my way back from the Farmer's market...I dropped off a pint of strawberries and a tangerine for Dad. He had just finished lunch and Al was about to take him to the bathroom (in hopes for a bowel movement...didn't have one yesterday.) Dad gave me a big bright smile when I said Hi. I asked him how he was doing and he said something to the effect of "this guy's going to help me out" (referring to Al.) Al said he has named him his "captain" and I told him I thought Dad would like being called that, though Charlie was fine too. Am hoping to make a longer visit later this afternoon. I'll try to remember to get my camera out to take some photos that I could post.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Move to Emerald Isle

Dad moved over to Emerald Isle today. I had been talking to him about it the last few days, and his response had actually been quite positive when I mentioned it. For example, last night when I mentioned "tomorrow you'll be moving to the new house", he responded with a big smile and said "That sounds good."

Lois reported that Dad was pretty up and about this morning, but by lunchtime was a bit tired and dozing. He had lunch and we got him in my car to go over around 2pm. After arriving we went to the couch that is in his bedroom and Al(fred) sat down with us and asked questions about Dad, family, background etc. Chris, the administrator arrived around 2:45 and I moved into the kitchen with her to review all the paperwork. Meanwhile, Lois stayed back with Dad and Al in the room to give "tips." Together they took Dad for a little walk and to the bathroom.

Unfortunately I was fighting a migraine this afternoon so wasn't feeling that well. Once I finished the paperwork I returned home (to greet Dylan from school.) Paul came home early so I could rest. I had arranged with Haydee to have a shift at the new place tonight, and was originally going to go over with her, but instead Paul took her over. Took an Excedrin and rested, and am feeling better now. Spoke to Haydee this evening and she reported that she liked the house and the caregivers there, and that Dad seemed to be doing fine, though was tired. I think they will start to have Dad adjust to their schedule, which is about an hour or more earlier (to bed and to wake) than what he did here at my house.

Will be stopping by tomorrow to check in and see how things are going.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was awake but did not want to get up. I tried several times then just waited until he was ready. He went back to sleep and slept until 9:30am after getting up he began his day with his regular morning routine of care and then had breakfast later on he participated in a ball exercise both morning and afternoon. He viewed his family photos but was not able to identify anyone other than himself. He had lunch and while eating he began throwing his food from his plate with his spoon on the table several times as i was preparing the rest of his lunch. I had to move it out of the way until i sat at the table with him. He did not seem angry while doing it but it was done out of confusion because he tried to pick up his walker and throw it twice when he first got from his chair to go and eat. He did stop after i told him not to toss the food and that he had to eat it and he did not through it anymore. He rested the remainder of the day.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake and ready to get up. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care and then ate breakfast and participated in a puzzle game for both morning and afternoon about 45 mins to 1hr. He walked inside due to rain both morning and afternoon he went to his room and watched tv and participated in a ball exercise for a short time. He rested the remainder of the day.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake and began conversation and ready to get up. He did his regular morning routine of care and had breakfast. He participated in a card game for about 30 to 45 mins and walked around in the house due to rain. He went to his room and watched TV for a while and later on had lunch and then participated in a puzzle game for about 40 mins and went to his room and viewed some family photos and then relaxed the remainder of the day.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was awake and was in a good mood. He began his day with showering etc. He then ate breakfast and participated in a card game and went outside for his morning walk. He returned inside and went to his room and exercised with the ball and then dosed off and later had lunch and prepared for trip to kennys house. He had a good day.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Friday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was awake and appeared to be in a good mood and began conversating and ready to get up. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care and ate breakfast and after breakfast he partcipated in a game for 1 hour. He seem to be very interested in the game. He went outside both morning and afternoon for his walks and he returned inside and rested and later on he had lunch. He was not interested in partcipating in any activities for the afternoon so finally was able to get him to participate in a ball exercise and he just wanted to rest afterwards. He had a good day and moved around great.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived and was happy to get up and get his day started. He began his day with showering etc and then had breakfast and participated in a card game and later went to the doctor to get his tb skin test read. He returned home and had lunch but was very tired and fell asleep at the table i had to continue to tell him to eat his lunch finally he did and he told me that he was tired. He had a long walk at the doctors and i am sure that is why he was tired. He did look through his navy book and did a little exercise with the ball until he became tired again and stopped. He rested the remainder of the day.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was up when i arrived. He already had breakfast and i took him for a walk and he went to sleep for about 2 hours. He did not want to get up finally he did and did not eat his lunch very very tired and continued to sleep at the table. I had a very difficult time getting him to move after about a hour he finally got up and went to his room and continued to sleep again. He did not want to get up for supper. I was able to get him to do some ball exercises and afterwards he still would not move and became very upset so i had to get barb to assist me with getting him up. Finally after getting him to the dining table he had supper and then went for walk and then prepared for bed and is now sleeping.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was up in the restroom. I was informed that he had gotten up prior to my arrival and was moving around without his walker. He began talking a lot about getting ready to go golfing but stated he did not feel like so i told him not to worry about it. He tried to get up as i was gathering his clothing, i told him to stay seated until i returned and he did. He showered and had breakfast and earlier before i arrived. He sat in his room and watched tv and was asking a lot of questions which i tried to answer as best i could and then he looked through his family photo pictures and was able to identify barb,cathy,his wife,kenneth and wife and jenny by calling names. He seemed to have a hard time seeing things out of his left eye he seem to strain that eye to see things. He later participated in a ball exercise until he became tired this was the longest time i seen him play and dosed off immediately after he finished. He was told that by barb that he needed to go to doctor for his tb shot and wanted to know why he was going there and why he had to get one and who set this up and was i getting one and the questions continued throughout the entire ride there and during the office visit and questioned the nurse. He became extremely tired upon returning home to the degree i was able get him to move for several hours he did have to walk a pretty good way so maybe that along with the ball exercise triggered the tiredness. He did eat lunch and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Monday night/Tues Morn

Last night, Dad was doing a lot of independent moving again, and asking a lot of questions, like where is his office, and who lives in the house, who was the man that was here earlier, etc. He couldn't believe that Paul and I had been married for 19 years, or that I was 50 (I'll take that as a compliment!) I told him I was born in 1959, and immediately he said, well it can't be 2009, to which I said it is 2010, and showed him today's newspaper. He kept complaining about his back (I'm not going to be able to do much with this back") and saying he couldn't walk, yet kept getting up on his own after sitting for short periods of time. He wasn't seeking the walker much, and was moving fairly well, reaching out with his hands to hold things when needed (and of course I was watching him and helping if needed.) He kept asking about where his car was (which I explained he didn't have one here) and he kept saying we needed to go to the car so he could show me something. So I walked him to the garage and showed him my car, and that seemed to settle that.

I suspected he would get out of bed if I put him too early, so after going to the bathroom (during which he also got up), and geting his PJs on, I got him in his room in his chair to watch TV, while I was trying to get Dylan to bed. Of course, he wanted to get up again. Ryland helped me out by tossing the ball with him while I got Dylan to bed. Then I took over and he seemed to be getting a little tired, and a little more distracted from the discussion. Then I gave him a back/shoulder/head rub in the chair to try and relax him...eventually got him to bed by 10pm or so.

At 1:30am Ryland alerted me on the intercom that Dad was up and I came down the stairs to find him in the living room, walking with the walker. I took him back to his bedroom, took him to the bathroom (where his instinct was to pee standing up, which he did somewhat successfully), removed his wet diaper and was able to get him back to bed. He kept asking if we were "downtown" and making reference to sleeping in a bunk with people all around him and being lost. He was saying he didn't know how he got here...I told him I had brought him here a year ago. I reiterated, I'm your daughter Barbara, to which he responded, "Oh I understand you're my daughter Barbara." I explained he was safe here in my house. I decided to tie a tambourine to a string on the door so that if Dad came out again I would be more likely to hear (I do have the monitor, but he is so stealthy!).

When I woke up at 6:50 am this morning and came down the stairs, Dad was in the kitchen, holding a throw blanket, no walker. I got him to sit at the counter and gave him some juice, cereal and muffin to occupy him so I could prep my kids' lunches, get ready for school. Still wanted to get up a lot, and at one point said, "I guess I won't be able to play golf anymore with this back." After getting Dylan off to school, walked with Dad to the bedroom, and got him to sit on the toilet in the bathroom. On the way I mentioned that he was 93 years old and he said "really...that can't be true". I told him he was born in 1916, and again, he quickly did the math and said, well that's 84 years, to which I said that's 2000, but now it's 2010. Got him to the toilet and then Lois arrived. I'm guessing at some point he's going to hit a wall where he becomes really tired like he did last week after the two anxious days following his fall at Ken's...we'll see!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake and began talking immediately. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He ate breakfast and then participated in a card game was very alert today and aware of his surroundings. He went outside for a walk and returned inside to his room and he began telling me that his picture was on the wall and the other picture was his wife suzie so i got the family photo album out and he was able to identify kenneth,barb,cathy,and jenny. He ask me where was kenneth at i told him probably working and he ask me who house this was i told him barb and he asked me where was she at and when did she buy the house and who lived in here before she moved here. He was very interested in watching tv today. He went to eat lunch but stated to me that he just was not to hungry so he did not eat very much. After lunch i asked him if wanted to play game and he said he just wanted to relax. I took him to his room and he asked to lay down and wanted to watch tv and that is exactly what he did. He asked me to turn to channel 3 and i did. He began asking me about his bank book and i told him that i did not know where that was that he would have to talk to barb about that and he continued to ask about his banking info so i told him to talk to barb about that when she gets home. He moved around very well today and rested the remainder of the day.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived. He got and began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He had breakfast and then fell asleep appeared to be extremely tired today moving around very slowly. He later went outside for a walk and returned inside his room and went to sleep in the chair. Later on i tried on several occasions to get up for lunch and he would not move so i just waited until he was ready which was about 2:00pm. He had lunch and dosed back off to sleep. He was not interested in participated in any game activities i was only able to get him to look through his navy book and after he finished he dosed again. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for him.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake and began conversating immediately continued talking while getting his morning care done. He went to the kitchen for breakfast after he was seated, i went to his gather his clothes to wash them and upon returning to kitchen i saw him up walking around without his walker. He walked to the other dining room table i tried assisting him back to the kitchen table and he did not want to sit down continued with talking finally i was able to get him seated after about 5 min. I went into the kitchen to fix his breakfast and while washing my habnds he got up again and began to walk so barb and i had to get him seated again. I returned to kitchen to make his food and he got up again so i had him sit in the chair facing me so he could see me and that worked a little and he got up again right as i finished. He started eating breakfast and got up twice again so i just took him outside for a long walk until he became tired. He returned insdie and rested for about 20 min and then tried to get up again and i began exercises with him with the ball until he became tired again. He rested for about 30 mins and tried getting up again and again but was unable to because he was too tired. He went to sleep and slept for about 2 hours and then i had a hard time getting him up for lunch. Finally after a few tries he responded and was moving a little slower still tired but ate lunch and participated in a card game for maybe 15 mins and did not want to go on another walk. He went to his room and rested the remainder of the day. He also did his leg exercises before getting this morning. He had a very interesting day.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Doctor's visit today

As Lois said, Dad was moving around well today. On the car ride over to the doctor's, he was very observant, pointing out the trees in the median and looking at the fog rising over the ocean.

Dad's weight is up to 160! I think it was 147 in August. I think that's pretty good, but is anyone concerned? Dad's blood pressure was a little high today (on arrival was 162/90, but down to 150/90 after settling down)...still a little high. Doctor said we can look at that again on his 6 month follow up from physical, which will be in February.

Doctor checked the mole on his chest (no longer infected) and removed the 5 stitches from his head. Nurse also cleaned out all the wax from his ears. In general, Dad's hearing was much better today, though you still have to speak a little loudly for him to hear. Dad commented that he didn't think removing the wax made much difference, in fact, when doctor asked him if he was hearing any better, Dad responded, "Well I'm not hearing any worse!" and chuckled quite a bit (as did we all.)

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was awake and began conversating appeared to be in a great mood. He hadbreakfast and then he went to the doctor. He returned home and had lunch and afterwards participated shortly in a card game and also did leg exercises in bed before getting up. He went to his room and watched a little TV and conversated again and rested the remainder of the day. Moving around great today.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake and rested and ready to get up immediately. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He ate breakfast and then participated in a card game and was really into this game for approximately 1hour or longer. He then walked inside the house very short distance both morning and afternoon. He seem much more normal than Monday able to move more quickly and stand up straight very well balanced in walking. Upon entering his room he went into a talking session still talking about this card game and money for about almost one hour continuously. He rested a little and had lunch and rested again and then i exercised his legs again and he rested the remainder or the day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep and would not get up. After trying a few times i just decided to wait until he was ready he finally woke up around 9:30am. He got and had his morning care done and then went into the kitchen and had breakfast. After breakfast he still appeared tired and would not participate in any activities. He did seem to move around better and a little more stable after exercising his legs and feet before getting out of bed. He did not eat his lunch was very sleepy. He was taken to the dentist but was not able to receive any treatment due to the tiredness and would not move into the dental chair. He returned home and rested the remainder of the day.

Monday, January 04, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was up and awake sitting in Dylans room. I assisted him to his room he seem to have a hard time moving his right leg and was very unstable. I was told that he had a fall over the weekend. He went into the bathroom and received his morning care and was talking a lot and yelling as i tried to assist him. Later on he ate breakfast and then began talking a lot about the stock market for at least 1hr and rested a little then asked for his magazines. I gave them to him and his navy book and he read through both of them for the morning. He ate lunch and then participated in a card game for about 20 mins. I assisted him to the restroom and it was very difficult getting him to stand up straight he leaned back and i had to try to hold him up to keep him from falling. He tried to walk back to his room and his right leg was barely moving so i had to hold him from the back to keep him from falling and had to grab top first chair i saw to get him seated because he started going down on the floor. I am sure that he is very sore from the fall and weak and unstable. Let hope tomorrow will be better.

Dad's fall at Ken's on Sunday Morning

HI everyone,

Ken called me this morning at 6:30am to let me know that Dad had apparently gotten up out of bed and then fallen, and hit his head, which was bleeding. Ken had called 911 and they took him to the hospital. He got some "staple" stitches on the left side of his head above/behind his ear. Ken said they also did a CT Scan and EKG with nothing of concern revealed. THey finally returned home around 11:30am. and Ken said Dad was ready to eat and did fairly well the rest of the afternoon, apparently walking around the house quite a bit. Ken brought Dad back to my place around 5pm. I noticed that Dad definitely seemed like his balance was more out of whack then usual. He also really seemed to be having trouble with his right leg, not moving it much when he was walking. He ate a hearty dinner but the final trip to the bathroom/bedroom was rough for him/us (without his shoes, walking seemed even more difficult for him and he required a lot of support from behind to keep him from falling backwards.) He's also not gauging his position well (next to the bed, or a chair for example) and will attempt to start sitting even though nothing is below him, at which point I have to hold him up to prevent him from falling.

Perhaps this will mean something to Ken, but tonight Dad was talking about "camp," "boy scouts" and "girl scouts." Ryland was working on a jigsaw puzzle at the table while Dad was eating dinner and Dad kept asking him about the "camp." He also asked me how many campers we can hold. He also mentioned someone named "Johnson" that he needed to call to ask him how much it would cost. Later he implied that Johnson was in the navy with him.

Dad has a doctor's appt this Thursday, at which point we will follow up on the stitches. Also, Lois had taken Dad in to the urgent care clinic early last week (doctor was on vacation) to have a look at the large mole on his chest that he had been scratching and had gotten red and filled with pus. The clinic doctor gave Dad antibiotics and cream and it appears to be healing. I will also have the doctor look at Dad's ear wax again. It may or may not be a factor, but Dad really seems to be having problems hearing right now. At our last physical, the doctor saw ear wax but when he tried to remove it, Dad squealed and said it hurt, so the doctor said to use over the counter Debrox. Lois had done it back then, but I will ask her to use it again this week once or twice daily before the appt in hopes that it can help soften it and make it easier for doctor to remove it. Hopefully it will make a difference in the hearing...we'll see.

In closing I just want to reiterate my concern about Dad's (lack of) balance...Even with the walker he seemed to have lost his understanding of leaning forward on the walker and tended to lean back. Perhaps it was just a long day and he will do better in the morning.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He got up and began his morning routine of care and then had breakfast and dosed a little and later on he participated in a card game for a little and went outside for his morning walk. He returned inside and is preparing to go to kens house for the weekend.