On Monday Dad had his appointment with Dr. Gee. I brought in the most recent report from Dr. Lichstein and he agreed with all the medications that had been prescribed. He suggested in general we see him every 6 months, starting in 4 months (to line up with Dad's last appt with Lichstein and do bloodwork at that time, etc.) Dad was friendly, but not that aware...couldn't say that he was in California. Brought up being on a ship for 12 months. He weighed 147 (with shoes on.) His temperature was low (95.) His blood pressure was a little high, but the doctor thought that could have been the effort of getting into the office, on the table and being somewhere new. The doctor mentioned that with many of the dementia patients he sees, many are doing fairly well physically, like Dad. I didn't inquire further, but wondered later if he meant as opposed to Alzheimer's or exactly what.
Earlier in the week, Dad got agitated one night about money (same day we had CNN for some time talking about the stimulus package.) He started to get angry with me telling me I had to put my money in that fund. This is the hardest part for me, when Dad gets upset with me for something he doesn't understand. I have to work on trying to divert his attention I suppose. I tried saying that I was talking to all of you and that his money was safe, etc, though at one point I was a little upset and had to ask him not to yell at me (it's so hard not to take it personally!) Later he even said "you're taking my money". I had to walk away to the kitchen. He got up from the dinner table and just stood for awhile. Eventually he said "well I hope the bank turns you down" but then calmed down after that. However, the next day, he asked Lois for his wallet so I believe it is still on his mind.
One other quirky thing I noted...when sitting on the toilet, I noticed Dad always would take the toilet paper and "roll" it over the back. I figured out that he thinks the toilet roll should unfold to the back, not the front, so I changed it around and now he doesn't do that.
Dad had his usual berries/fruit with a dab of whip cream for dessert tonight, but I also gave him a small chocolate heart candy Dylan had gotten for Valentines. On the way to bed, he worked his way to the counter to grab the other piece of candy that was there. He certainly doesn't seem to have any problems with his eyesight!
Dad will head to Ken & Judy's tomorrow afternoon.
3 comments:
I always had a candy dish available for Dad. I ended up eating most of it though. Don't forget the nuts, Dad really enjoys food that crunches, he doesn't taste it much he says. He might also like some gum to chew as well.
It wasn't so long ago that Dad was saying I was taking all his money! Bettie came over one time (about 4 months ago) when Dad was wide awake at midnight and Bettie was worried I was getting too upset (I was but I knew I was leaving soon!).
I gave him the printout of the bank statement and he spent quite some time looking at it. He didn't want to spend $100,000 a month! Well, maybe you can mention that his expenses have gone down and how the money market account has now increased instead of decreasing as it has in the past!
Maybe they should watch something other than channels that might focus on the economy (tough to find, probably), especially lately!
Maybe he and Lois shouldn't watch the shows that focus on the economy, though that can be tough these days!
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