Mr Dancy Update Saturday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived this morning. I had a really difficult time getting him up this morning. He seemed to not have sleep so well last night appeared to be very tired. He began his day with his regular morning care and later on he had breakfast and afterwards went to sleep in the chair at the table not wanting to get up to transfer into another chair to rest. He finally got up after barb talk to him and went outside for a walk and returned inside to his room to watch TV and went back to sleep again. He later on had lunch and was dosing off while trying to eat his lunch he did not participate in any activities at all today due to him being so sleepy today. He did take another walk this afternoon and came back inside and dosed back off again. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Upon arrival MrDancy was awake and ready to get up immediately. He began his day with his daily morning routine of showering etc. He then had breakfast and afterwards he dosed a little and then participated very shortly with a puzzle and then went outside for a short walk seemed to have a difficult time walking. He then returned inside and rested in the chair and later on had lunch and did not want to participate in another game justed dosing off and on. He later went on another short walk and came back inside and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake upon arrival this morning. He began his day with a shower etc. He then had breakfast and participated in a card game. Afterwards went for a hair cut and then returned home and played another card game and afterwards he had lunch and then began to talk a lot about his wife and then asking several times what is Cathys twins name he said the twins were a boy and girl and i told him that i did not know and would ask her the next time i speak with her. He did not want to get up and do anything after lunch. I would say that he had a great day. He would not go on any walks today.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived. He did not want to get after waiting a while he did. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He ate breakfast dosed a little and then participated in a puzzle game later spoke on the phone to Cathy and began dosing again. He did not want to walk this morning stating that he was too tired. He rested in chair a while and ate lunch and exercised both arms and legs while sitting. He went on his afternoon walk and after that he rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived this morning. He was ready to get up and get his day going starting with a shower etc.. He then had breakfast and drifted off to sleep and later i am able to get him to participate in a card game. He only played for a little while and went back to sleep. Later on i was able to get him to go for his morning walk and returned inside and went to his room and watch TV just a little and dosed off to sleep. He exercised his arms and legs with the ball while sitting up in the chair for a short time and later on went into the kitchen and had lunch and dosed again got up and went on his afternoon walk and returned inside and rested the remainder of the day. Other than the sleepiness he had a good day.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up and began his day with showering etc. He then went into the kitchen to eat breakfast and afterwards, he began dosing. He appeared very sleepy today as well as the last week. I offered him a card game to play and he did try for just a little and then would not participate at all. He did go out for his morning walk and returned inside and went to sleep again. I tried getting him to wake up and had a very difficult time to get him to wake up and he did not want to get up to eat lunch, just wanting to sleep. After waiting a while he finally got up and went to eat lunch and he ate little and fall back to sleep and so forth. He did not want to move from the chair so i had to wait a while to get him up and moving and he finally went for his afternoon walk and returned inside and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was sleep. He woke up and began his day with showering and other morning routine. He then went into the kitchen to eat breakfast he would eat and little and fall asleep and so forth. I had to remind him to finish. After eating he started dosing again. I offered him a puzzle game and he was not interested just wanted to sleep. Later i was able to get him to go outside for a walk he responded. After walking he came back inside and went to sleep again. Later i was able to get him to play catch with the ball and he did until he became tired and we stopped and then he went back to sleep. After waiting a while i was able to get him to go into the kitchen and eat lunch. He ate a small portion of his food and went back to sleep. He will be preparing shortly for his ride to kens house. He seemed more sleepy this week other than that the day and week went well.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived this morning. He did not want to get up after waiting a while he finally responded. He began his day with his morning routine of showering etc. Afterwards he had breakfast and then dosed off later on i offered him a card game and participated very briefly and then dosed off again. He did not want to get up to go for a walk and I waiting a little he responded. After his walk he came in and fell asleep in his chair. After resting i tried to get him up and he did not respond he was in a very deep sleep. I waited and tried again even calling him and he would wake up and fall right back to sleep so i waited for a while again until he decided to wake up and move. He finally did and went to have lunch and while walking he had a very difficult time moving. He sat at the table for lunch and fell back into a deep sleep and then i woke him up and told him to eat his lunch. He only ate one half of his sandwich and went back to sleep at the table. I decided to remove him from the table to keep him from falling out of the chair and he did not want to move still so i had to wait and finally i was able to get him up and to the couch where he continued to sleep. Other than that the day went ok.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. Hebegan his day with showering etc. He then had breakfast and afterwards he participated in a card game for about 1hour. Later he walked around in the home and then rested for a little. He then went to his room and watched a little TV and then ate lunch and afterwards fell asleep at the table not wanting to participate in anymore activities. He did not want to get up and go the the bathroom for his diaper change i had to wait a while. Finally he got up and went to the restroom and rested the remainder of the day. He had a pretty good day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was awake upon arrival. He began his day with his daily routine of care. He then had breakfast and afterwards participated in a puzzle for about 1 hour. Later on he went outside for his morning walk and returned inside rested a little and then played catch with the ball and afterwards held a conversation. He then had lunch and i offered a card game and he was not interested in playing he began conversating for a long time. I then took him to his room where he did participate with both legs and arm exercises in bed. He took a short afternoon walk returned to room rested the remainder of the day. He talked a lot today more than usual about different things continues to move around well. He had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was asleep. He got up and showered and did the rest of his morning care and afterwards he ate breakfast and then played with a card game for a short time and then began dosing. He wokeup and began talking about his wife and later on he went outside for a walk and returned inside. He fell asleep shortly and then later had lunch and from there he went to see the podiatrist and returned back home. He had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

When i arrived this morning Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up talking a lot about changing the world. He did not want to get up this morning i had to wait for a while and finally he responded. He began his day with his daily morning routine of care. He then went into the kitchen and had breakfast and afterwards participated in a puzzle game for 1 hour 30 minutes i was suprised he played that long this is one he have not played in a long time so i think he enjoyed it to the degree that he did not want to get up and move to go on his walk. After waiting he finally went for a short walk this morning and sit out side for about 45 minutes. He then returned inside and had lunch and after lunch he fell asleep at the table for a while. I later asked him to go on his afternoon walk and he did not want to move from the table this time either so after waiting a little while, he finally got up and took a brief walk and returned inside and rested the remainder of the day. He had a wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up and showered etc, afterwards he had breakfast and then participated in a card game for 1 hour and then played with the building blocks for about 20 minutes and afterwards he went out for his morning stroll and returned inside rested. He then ate lunch and afterwards he fell asleep i offered another game of puzzle and he just wanted to rest instead. Later on he went outside for his afternoon walk and returned inside and rested the remainder of the day. He had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep later waking up and began his day by showering etc.. He had breakfast and then play a card game and calling out the colors and words on the cards for 45 min to 1hr and later went outside for his morning walk. Returned inside and rested and later on participated in a ball exercise and then had lunch. After lunch i offered him a puzzle to work on but he appeared to be tired and would not work on it. He finished up day with a short walk and is now resting. He has had a very good week with taking his walks and participating in the games as well as moving around thank god for that. Other than that the day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was asleep upon arrival. He woke up and began talking and then got up to start his morning routine of showering etc. He ate breakfast and then dosed a little and i offered him a card game and he participated for a little and then went out for his morning walk, returned inside and rested. Later on he went to his room for exercises on both arms and legs and he participated with that and fell asleep afterwards for about 15 min. He then went to the kitchen to have lunch and afterwards he dosed again and then he got up on his own without me asking from the table and i decided to take him on his afternoon walk while up and afterwards he conversated a little more and that was it for the day. He had a great day today

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep, he woke and began talking and was very energized and ready for the day. He began his day with his morning routine of care and continued to carry on conversation appeared to be in a very happy mood and moving around great today. After breakfast he dosed just a little and then woke up and participated in one of his puzzle games for a while and later stopped to go outside and take his morning stroll without any difficulties and later returned back inside and started up his puzzle again and later worked on another puzzle was very into it with continued for approximately 1 hour or longer until he fell asleep. Later on he woke up to eat lunch and afterwards he went on his afternoon walk and returned inside and rested a little and later played catch with his ball until he became tired and rested and later i showed him some family photos and he remembered Cathy and Justin and began to talk a little about the USS New Jersey. He really enjoyed his conversation this morning with Cathy. He had a wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived today. He woke up and showered along with his other activities of daily living. He was in such a happy mood this morning very talkative and seemed to be more energized. He ate breakfast and afterwards he went outside for his morning walk and then sat outside and exercised with the ball and played the card game and later came inside and played catch with the ball until he bacame tired and then fell asleep. Later he ate lunch and i tried to get him to go walk again and he did not want to walk or do any other activities so he just rested the remainder of the day. Today was a good day.

Mr Dancy Update friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up and showered and ate breakfast and afterwards he went on his morning walk and after walking he conversated a while. Later on he returned inside and had lunch and then began to prepare for his ride to kens house. He seemed interested when i told him that he was going for a ride. He had a pretty good day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up and began his morning routine with showering etc. He went into the kitchen and ate breakfast and afterwards i offered him to play a card game and he participated for a short while and began to dose off later barb was able to get him moving to go outside for a short walk. He went for his walk and then sat outside at the patio table and dosed off and later i was able to get him to finish up with the card game and he played more. I then offered him to play catch with me using the ball and he refused and dosed back off. I tried on several occassions to get him to get up and go to the bathroom for a diaper change and he would not move. I then tried to get him to come inside to eat lunch and he would not move and we had lunch outside at the table. After a couple of hours had passed i asked him again to go to the restroom and he got up right away and it was because he had to go to the bathroom he started groaning as he was walking and afterwards we went into his room and he began to talk a lot about different things and is now resting. He had a pretty good day.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Upon arrival this morning Mr Dancy was asleep. He did not want to get up this morning i had to wait for a little while and he finally got up. He began his day with his daily morning routine of care. He then had breakfast and afterwards he went outside for his morning walk he moved around better today and was able to complete his regular walk without struggle. He then came back inside and begin looking through a magazine. He dosed off and napped a little and later on i offered him a card game and he played just a little and dosed off again. Later he ate lunch and afterwards he began dosing again. I asked him to go for a walk and got up right away. He would not get up to go to the bathroom for a diaper change around noon so i had to wait until he walked the second time and then was able to get him into the bathroom. After the bathroom he went into his room and I showed him the picture of him that was sent by Cathy and he immediately was able to identify himself not sure of where the picture was taken but he know he was on the picture. He talked a little bit more today. I would say that he had a wonderful day.

Dad Relaxing on his Ship

Here are some pictures of Dad, working as well as relaxing on the Ship while he was in the navy, taken probably in the early 50s.

It sounds like he is resting a lot at Barb's home.

I hope he is doing well!

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. After waking up he showered etc. He then went to the kitchen to have breakfast and afterwards he appeared to be really tired today and sleepy. He did not want to participate in any activities today at all nor did he want to go walking. He sat at the table and dosed off and on throughtout the entire day and would not move from the table sitting from 9:30am to 3:00pm again. He ate lunch and continued to sit and finally i was able to get him to go with me to the restroom at 3:00pm and asked him to walk with me outside for a little and he did but seemed to have a hard time walking so we returned inside and he is resting in the chair. I think maybe sometimes he gets his sleeping off by sleeping in the day and maybe not to much at night. Other than that the day went ok.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He did not want to get up at first after waiting a little he finally got up. He began his day with showering along with his other morning routine. He ate breakfast and dosed off and later played a card game for maybe 15 minutes. He began dosing again and later on he ate lunch and afterwards played another game only a short time did not seem to interested. I was able to get him to go on a short walk after coming from the restroom since he did not want to move or walk around this morning. He talked a little and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

Mr Dancy was asleep upon arrival this morning. He started his day with showering along with his regular morning routine. He then had breakfast and afterwards dosed off and later i tried to get in involved with a card game and he participated a little and continued to dose off and on. I was able to get him to go on his morning walk and he returned back inside and then he had lunch. After lunch i tried another card game and he told me that he was tired so he did not play. I tried to get him to go outside again but he did not want to get up so later barb came and asked him and he responded. I tried to see if he wanted to participate with playing catch with the ball outside but he told no. Today was a little better than yesterday at least he did move around a little. Other than that i would say that the day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived for work this morning. He did not really want to get up this morning but he did and showered along with his regular routine. He ate breakfast and afterwards he slept throughout the entire day not wanting to get up and move at all. He would not participate in any activities or walk today at all. He sat at the table from 9:30am to 3:00pm refusing to do anything. Maybe he did not sleep well night. I did have to opportunity to speak with Haidy the other caregiver yesterday in regards to him having difficulties with walking and she said that he has a very difficult time going on his walks. She stated that sometimes she fears that he may fall because he legs seems to get weak and he has a hard time completing the walks.I wanted to make sure that this was not just occuring with me. I told her that i have began to shorten the walks and forgot to mention to her that there is a wheelchair in the room to take with her and push it behind him as he walks in case a problem occurs. I will start doing the same. As you can see there was not too much that went on today. Hopefully tomorrow he will be more active.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived. He showered along with his regular routine of care. He ate breakfast and then began dosing off and on. I offered him a new card game and he seemed interested and played for a little this morning. He went on his morning and afternoon walk he complained both times of being tired so i shorten the walk. He ate lunch and afterwards he did not want to move out of his chair he said he was tired and sat there for about 3 hours until he became tired and then i asked him to go with me to the restroom and he did. He talked a little this morning and more this evening . He did not want to do any activities this afternoon . He had a great day

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake. He began his day with a shower along with his regular morning routine. He ate breakfast and afterwards dosed a little then participated in a puzzle it took him a while to get involved. He then went outside for his morning walk and sat outside a dosed again. After waking up he asked who turn is it to play so i gave him the puzzle again to start working on. He worked on it some more and dosed off for a longer time. He came inside to eat lunch and afterwards he conversated a little and i asked him to come with me to do exercises and he did exercise both arms and legs until he became tired. I told him that he could rest the rest of the evening. He was too tired to walk this afternoon after the exercise. He did have a very pleasant day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake. He began conversation but did not want to get up. I waited a little and tried again and he then responded. He began his day with his morning care and afterwards ate breakfast and then participated in a care game for approximately 1 hour. He then went outside for his morning walk and returned inside and then napped on the couch, later waking up to eat his lunch. After his lunch he dosed a little. I offered him a different game in which he was not interested in so we went out for his afternoon walk. I offered him to play catch with the ball and he responded and began to play he rested the rest of the day. He was pretty much alert today. The day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived this morning and began to conversate with me. He got up and showered etc. He then ate his breakfast and afterwards he began conversations again he was very alert and talkative this morning he even participated in a puzzle this morning by naming the majority of the pieces to the puzzle. He then went outside for his morning walk he did not want to walk very far. Afterwards he sit outside and then began talking again and naming the pieces to the puzzle which went on for a long time. Around noon i offered him another puzzle and he played only a short while and then we came inside and he ate his lunch and after eating his lunch he began to drift off to sleep. He continued leaning to one side while sleeping and i tried several times to get him to get up and move to another chair so that he could rest comfortably without falling and he refused everytime. I then tried to get him to go to the restroom for a diaper change and he did not want to move for that either this went on for almost two hours. He continued to tell me that i took all of his men/crew and seem to be upset about that. Finally at the end of the day he got up and went to the restroom and continued to talk about me taking his men from him. Other than that the day went well.

Mr Dancy Udate Friday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake. He began his day with a shower along with other morning care. He ate breakfast and then dosed off a little, i tried to see if he would play with the puzzle today and he played very little did not appear to be interested. Later on we went for a walk and afterwards we sat outside at the patio and he fell asleep he told me he was tired from the walk. Later on i brought the ball outside for him to do exercises with his arms and we then played catch until he became tired. We went inside and he ate his lunch and looked through his navy book and then prepared to leave for his sons house. He had wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived. He began his daily routine of showering etc. He then ate a nice breakfast and dosed off afterwards. I attempted to get him involved with working on a puzzle, he just did not seem to be interested. We then went outside for his morning walk and then sit outside at the table. He dosed again i then offered him the card game and participated in that one. Lately he seems to be more interested in the card games. He then ate lunch and dosed a little and began conversation with me. Later i was able to get him to participate in the range of motion exercises today using the ball to exercise both arms and legs and he did a good job no complaints today pretty alert and not to sleepy. I would say he had a wonderful day.

Phone Call with Dad

I set up a time to call when it is convenient for Dad (about 10 am Pacific Time). After Dad got on the phone he seemed very cheerful. He asked me how Jennie was doing. I said she was out riding her horse, along with Faye, "little Faye", [to make sure he knew it wasn't his sister].

I said I was doing well, that it was raining outside, so I was hoping that all the azalea bushes that had been pruned to the ground would start to "leaf" again. Dad said he "would follow me". I said I used to follow him!

He thanked me for cheering him up. I said I hope he would have a little "spring in his step" now, then realized that maybe his knee might be too sore for that, so then I said that well "you could twirl your finger around in the air" Ha Ha.

Then I said do you want to hang up first or second. He said yes, then started to making chewing noises [maybe eating]. Well, I said I don't want to hang up first. So I waited a couple of minutes, then said I really have to hang up now, I have to do my yoga exercises. Then I finally did hang up the phone!

It was nice to talk to Dad.

What did I do to deserve such a nice Dad!

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived today. He talked a lot this morning about his daughters Jenny and Justin calling them by name on several occassions during his conversation about them handling his financial affairs even as he preparing for his shower and afterwards. He then later ate his breakfast and while eating he was still talking about going to the bank to get his accounts his order. Later on he fell asleep at the table so i suggested he go for a walk to get fresh air and he responded. Upon entering the house he fell asleep in the chair and i really had a difficult time afterwards getting to do anything else such as go the the bathroom or eat lunch, i had to eventually get barbs asssistance to get him up and moving. I think maybe he did not rest very well last night he appeared to be extremely tired. After he ate his lunch he fell asleep again, i once again had a hard time getting him to get up and go to the restroom. Finally he did get up and afterwards he went back to sleep again. He had a pretty good day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was awake when i arrived this morning. He started talking immediately as i entered the room and continued for a while. Afterwards, he got up to shower and continued with his morning routine. He then ate breakfast and then he began to participate in a card game for a while and then talked a little. He then went outside for his morning walk and afterwards he decided to sit outside on the patio and stayed out there for a long time not wanting to leave he said that he was enjoying the view of the ocean and ate lunch there. After his lunch he began talking again and then participated in a puzzle and afterwards the later played catch with the ball until he became tired. He was very alert and awake today i do not remember him even dosing today so he must have rested well last night. He did not want to go on the afternoon walk he complained twice today about his legs bothering him when he walks, not really sure of what is going on. I would say he had another great day.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was asleep upon arrival. He did not want to get up this morning i waited a little and tried again and he responded. He appeared to be very tired today and sleepy maybe he did not rest to good last night. He showered and ate breakfast and afterwards dosed off. I attempted to get him involved with some morning activities but he just was not interested this morning or afternoon. He did however go on both morning and afternoon walks. He has been moving around much slower lately every now and then he may move a little faster. If he continues to move at this pace he will have to leave extra early for his doctors appointments or use the wheelchair because there is a lot of walking that takes place with his doctors appts even with the handicapped sticker most of the time the handicap parking spots are full. he also has been complaining how difficult if is for him to move around for him i have been continuing with his legs exercise which usually helps him to move around better but so far i have not noticed a change nothing to be alarmed about i just thought i would just mention that. I would say his day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

Mr Dancy was sitting upright on the floor when i arrived this morning. I assumed he got and began to walk and perhaps lost his balance and fell on the floor, he did not appear to be in pain or hurt he began talking immediately as i walked into the room he was sitting up against the bed on the floor. I asked him what happened but of he was unable to tell me, I then asked liz if she heard any noise or movements and she stated that she heard him yell but only once and since he do that all the time she did not think anything was seriously wrong. She assisted me with getting him off the floor and he began to fight us as we were trying to remove him from the floor and later calm down after realize that we were not trying to harm him. He sat in the chair for a little while and later he started his regular morning routine of care. He moved around great i did not notice any bruising and appear to be fine.
After breakfast he and dylan entertained one another dylan noticed him playing with his game and took some of the pieces and Mr Dancy began to play with dylan for a while and once dylan decided to give him back the pieces to the game he continued playing for maybe 15 or 20 minutes. They entertained each other again until dylan left and then Mr Dancy dosed off a little and later on he went on his morning walk. After his walk he came inside and rested then he ate lunch and i tried to get him involved in another game but he did not seem to have any interest. Later he went outside for his afternoon walk and returned and went into his room and looked through his USS New Jersey book and that was the end of day. He had a wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy was asleep upon arrival. He woke up and showered along with other morning routines. He then had breakfast and afterwards he participated in a puzzle for a short time, dosed off and later played the card game. He then went outside for his morning walk and dosed again and then conversated a little later returning back inside. He ate his lunch and and talked a little and later went to his room for his afternoon range of motion exercises with his arms and legs. After he finished he was tired and rested a little then went for his afternoon walk came back in rested again and later ate his supper and talked afterwards. He saw the garage door open and noticed barbs car and got up from the table and said it was time to go for a ride this was around 7:00pm. I decided to take him for a walk outside, if he still wants to go for a ride i can take him tomorrow. I noticed that he was moving around much faster when we walked tonight he got up from that table very quickly once he saw the car. Other than that i would say that he had a wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake this morning when i arrived. Upon entering the room he began clapping his hands and saying there she is and was in a very happy mood. He begin talking right away about different things which continued for a little while and said he was ready to get up. He started his day off with his daily routine of care. Later on, he went into the kitchen to eat his breakfast and afterwards he participated in the card game for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. He then went outside for his morning walk and rested outside. Later on, he decided that he wanted to play the card game again this afternoon for about 20 minutes and then he came inside to eat his lunch. After lunch he rested again and then went on his afternoon walk and returned inside and went to his room and looked in his navy book and talked about the USS NorthHampton as he looked through the pages. He was very alert today and conversated a lot today and moved around a little better. Other than that i would say he had a wonderful day.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was awake upon arrival this morning. He was ready to get up and shower and then he ate his breakfast later he participated in a puzzle for maybe 20 minutes. He dosed off just a little waking up and then went outside for his morning walk and after his walk he participated in another puzzle for about 20 minutes and conversated with me outside. He came inside and ate lunch and dosed then played with the puzzle again and talked very briefly he did not want to get to walk this afternoon he just wanted to sit there at the table. He was not sleepy much today and appeared to have had a pretty good day.

Dad's Phone Call

When the phone rang I saw that it was Barb's number. But the person talking I didn't recognize! Finally I said who is it? I thought it might be Paul! But then I realized it was Dad!

Seems he has changed his voice just slightly! (Or my ears are full of wax.)

Dad seemed very positive and caring as he usually is.

There was a lot of press about how strong Ronald Reagan was, but I daresay that Dad was even stronger. All those years of exercising his body with yard work, etc and mind with puzzles and helping me balance my checkbook have really paid off!

I realize he is getting at the end of his life, but he seems to have something that is helping him cope with whatever life throws at him. I hope I can do the same.

Charles Dancy UpdateTuesday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived this morning. He did not want to get up. After waiting a little he finally and began his activities of daily living by showing etc.. He later went into the kitchen to eat breakfast and then went to sleep at the table. I woke him up and offered him a puzzle to work on and he did participate a little, later he went outside for his morning walk and sat outide and worked just a little bit more on his puzzle. He came inside and ate a small lunch dosed off and again. He later went outside for his evening walk and returned inside, went to his room and did some range of motion exercises on both arms and legs in which he participated very good and later dosed back to sleep after exercising. He still appeared to be very sleepy today. I would say today was a little better than yesterday.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was awake upon arrival this morning. He got up and showered along with other morning routines and then ate breakfast. Afterwards he fell asleep at the table appearing to be extremely sleepy today and moved around slowly. I attempted to get him interested in a game but he did not respond due to him being sleepy. Later on, he went outside for his morning walk and sit outside for a long period of time asleep. I attempted to get him to gethim up twice and he did not move. Upon the third attempt he finally responded and then came inside the house and later ate lunch. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Other than that the day went fine.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake upon arrival. He did not appear to want to get up so i waited a few minutes and he finally responded. He started his day with a shower, ate breakfast and afterwards looked through the newspaper showing more interest in the Bernie Madoff story. Later on he got up and walked alone without the walker again from the kitchen table to the dining room table in the dining room when i left the room to take his clothes into his room and put them away he was seated at the dining table reading the paper there. We then went into his to gather his things to away for the weekend and i told him that we would be going for a ride shortly he appeared to be happy asking when are we leaving. He is more alert today and seem to want to m0ve around more. Today has been a good day for him.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was sleeping upon arrival. He woke up and showered and ate breakfast and participated a short time in a puzzle and later dosed off and on for a long period time, when waking up from his dosing asking me each time who turn is it to play and wanted to know why i had more parts to the puzzle than he did, also why was it always his turn to play instead of mine. I think he really wanted to play but the sleep continued to come upon him. I asked him a few times to go out for a walk and he asked me what for so i assumed that he was not interested in walking this morning, as a matter of fact, he would not get up from the table he sat there for almost four hours. I figured soon he will get tired of sitting and when that happens he will either get up on his own or you will only have to ask once and he will respond which is exactly what happened after lunch. He got up and went outside for a walk and returned inside and participated in the animal puzzle for one hour until he became tired and conversated the rest of the afternoon. He moved around slowly today other than that he had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived. He got up later and showered, ate breakfast and then participated in a puzzle and afterwards a chess game totaling about one hour. He continued seated at the table until i went into the laundry room to check on the clothes and then he got up from the table and walked in there alone and begin telling me fold the shirts and sat them on the washer and put all the socks together on the dryer and continued with that for a few minutes and later i asked him to come with me to sit and he did not want to so we went for a short walk outside. Later he came inside and sat down so i brought some laundry to him and asked him to fold them and showed him how to do it and he participated. After he finished i gave him a newspaper to look at while i put the laundry away just in case he decided to move around again. He looked through the paper and later ate lunch and then came into his room and conversated a little and looked through his navel book and told me that was him in the book. I asked him the name and he told me his name. Later on i showed him a family picture and he identified himself again by name as well as his wife and Jennie,kenneth and kathy and that was all he could remember at the time. He was very active today and alert and took a very short dose did not walk this afternoon. He had a great day today.

Charles Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was awake upon entering his room and was ready to get up immediately. He was rested from his trip and moved around very well today. After his shower he ate breakfast and then played a card game for about 45 minutes and later went outside for his morning walk. He then went to his doctors appointment with the dermatologist things went pretty well, she examined him from waist down and discovered two warts. Afterwards we left and returned home and he then had lunch and dosed off very briefly. He was awake the majority of the day and pretty much alert today asking where was everyone at and wanting to know what was going at the doctor in which i explained and he fully co-operated. He had a great day.

CharlesDancy Update Sunday

Mr Dancy was sleeping upon arrival, he later woke up and began with his daily routine of care. Appeared to be very tired from his trip, moving around a little slower today. He ate breakfast and later lunch afterwards he began his day dosing throughout the day not able to participate in any activities today nor going for his walks. He told me he was very tired in which i could tell and therefore he just wanted to rest today which he did, maybe he may be a little more energetic tomorrow, just have to wait and see. Other than that the day went ok

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy was asleep this morning upon arrival. He woke and showered, ate breakfast and participated in a card game outside after his morning walk. He then came inside and rested a little and then later ate his lunch and afterwards dosed off for a while later waking up to go for a afternoon walk. After his walk he came inside and then began to participate in a ball exercise of throwing and catching until he became tired and rested the remainder of the day. He moved around very well today and had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy was awake in bed when i arrived. He started his day with a shower and later on ate breakfast then dosed a little and participated in a puzzle game and went out for his morning walk looked through the USS New Jersey Book. Later he prepared for lunch and after eating he conversated a lot about living in Washington DC and talked a lot about a Aunt Jenny was also able to identify Barbara on the picture in the living room. He did not want to partivcipate in any other activities or walk this afternoon, he just wanted to sit at the table and talk about things of the past especially Aunt Jenny whomever that may be. He moved around pretty well today and was awake more today than sleeping just very talkative a lot this afternoon. Good Day today.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy was up upon arrival this morning. He did not have his daily shower this morning due to hemorroids flare up. He was very uncomfortable due to his hemorroids. I administered a suppository and had to lay down and allow time for the med to reduce the inflammation which he did and later own he was able to go to the restroom, as a matter of fact he went three times today and appeared much calmer later on during the day. He ate all of his meals and participated in morning and evening walks and also participated in ball exercise, read the headlines of the newspaper and worked on a puzzle. After things calm down the remainder of the day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy started his day with his activities of daily living. He then ate breakfast and afterwards started dosing off and on and participated very shortly in a puzzle and then dosed again and went on his morning walk. He later came back inside the house and and later prepared for lunch. After lunch he appeared to be sleepy not wanting to participate in any activities nor get up from the table. Finally he decided to get up and take his afternoon walk, returned inside and conversated a little and began dosing again. He did move around a little slow today. I would say that he had a fair day today.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Upon arrival, Mr Dancy was asleep and then got up to start his daily route of care with my assistance. He later ate breakfast and afterwards he participated in setting up his weekly medications with assistance, then he participated in a puzzle game and ended with a exercise game of throwing and catching a ball. He went for his morning walk and then came inside to rest for a while and afterwards, he ate lunch and dosed off and on did not participate in any afternoon activities and later went for his afternoon walk, returned inside and rested the remainder of the day. He moved around pretty good to day and had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy started his day today with his daily routine care. Afterwards, he ate breakfast and participated in a card game activity for short time. He talked a little more today than ususal and later went for his morning walk and sat outside for a little while. Afterwards he came back inside and ate lunch and talked more about being a captain on the New Jersey ship going into details about his assignment as a captain. Later he prepared to get ready to go and visit with his son this weekend. Overall i would say that he had a great day today.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy started the day off with his daily morning routine. Later he ate a large breakfast and dosed off and then participated a little bit in working on a puzzle. He went on his morning walk and sat outside for a little while and then went inside and dosed again. He participated in his afternoon range of motion exercises with his legs did not want to exercise his arms today. He ate lunch and participated in another activity for a short time and walked a little and that was it for today not too much talking today. Overall the day went well.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was sleeping when i arrived this morning. He got up and showered and ate breakfast this morning and then fell asleep. He has been very sleepy throughout the entire day, probably a little tired from the doctors appointment on yesterday. He did not participate in any activitities today when asked. He just wanted to rest today, he did go on his morning walk but refused the evening walk. He also did not want to move around today once seated, when asked to move around he refused and sat for long periods of time today. His conversation was very limited also. Other than that the day went ok.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was up sitting in the living room when i arrived today. I walked with him to his room to assist him with getting a shower. After his shower he ate breakfast and dosed off later waking up to assist me with preparing his medications for the week. He went out for his morning walk and then sat outside for a little and played a card game, in which he dosed off and on again. Later he came inside to eat lunch. After eating lunch he prepared to go to the doctor and was very talkative especially at the doctors office and talked a lot about his hair cut that he got on yesterday and my car and barbs car and talking to the doctor about his foot. He did say also that he did not sleep last night, that he was just lying in bed and that was the reason that he was very sleepy today. He did move around pretty good today even at the doctors. Other than being a little sleepy today i would say he had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He woke up and showered and ate breakfast and dosed off to sleep then participated in a card game for a short period of time and then dosed off and on and later went for his morning walk. He began asking where is everyone at i told him they were gone but would return shortly. He sit outside on the patio for a while then came inside and participated in range of motion exercises for him arms and legs. Afterwards he ate lunch and then dosed off to sleep again and later he went for his afternoon walk, after the walk he participated in a throw catch ball exercise for a while. He read a few headlines in the newspaper and worked on a puzzle a little until he became tired. He went to sleep again off and on and later finished up the day with a evening walk and ate his supper and conversated a little and when asked you ready for bed he said yes and stood up immediately and was ready to go to bed he said he was tired. I put him to bed shortly after. He had a very good day today.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy had a pretty good day today. He participated in his activities of daily living and ate a nice breakfast and lunch. He worked on a puzzle this morning for about 30 minutes and then he conversated with me asking continuously where were everybody else at assuming he was talking about the boys, i told he they were gone but will return later on today. He wanted them to join us with the puzzle. He did walk this morning and this afternoon. However, he did not participate in any afternoon activities. As i brought him to the room to type in on the blog he has asked me to put his name in the report so i am responding to his request maybe he wants to tell everyone hello. He had a very good day today and moved around a little better and i was able to get him to drink more water and he ate all of his breakfast and lunch even licking his fingers after he finished his lunch.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy started the day out by showering etc and then ate breakfast. Immediately after he finished eating breakfast he went into a deep sleep and did not participate in any morning or afternoon activities, neither did he go for his morning walk. I assume that he was pretty tired from the doctors appointment he went to on yesterday. He woke up for lunch ate and then fell back to sleep again and about one hour later he went for his afternoon walk and sit outside for a while, conversated a little and that was all that went on today.

Doctor's appointment

Dad had a physical appointment today with Dr. Gee. He had done bloodwork last week and provided me with the results today...all looked good regarding bloodwork, slight indication of dehydration, though could be because Dad had to fast for bloodwork (test at 8am, no breakfast.) I talked to Lois about being more diligent with getting Dad to drink more water...he often only sips it.

We reviewed Dad's medications and will continue with the same meds Dad has been on (Namenda & Aricept for memory, Metoprol and Norvasc for blood pressure, B-12 injection monthly, prozac for depression). Dad also takes a daily vitamin, baby aspirin, senna and colace for constipation.)

Dad has lost more weight...was down to 138. We do struggle sometimes to get him to eat everything in front of him. I asked about whether to introduce Ensure, and doctor said good idea, though could initially cause some diarrhea.

His blood pressure was a little high 150/70, though doctor didn't express concern.

I mentioned that it seemed like Dad's hearing had gotten worse...he checked his ears and found some wax...suggested the over the counter kits to soften and remove, which I will get.

He asked about other concerns and I brought up the skin cancers. Speaking of that, Dad had his upper body examined this past Monday...Lois said doctor identified 4 areas of concern, but doctor hasn't yet contacted me to tell me what they are. I called today but haven't heard back. Anyway, he basically said the decision about what procedures to undergo is certainly a personal family decision. He did say if it were his parents, same age and condition as Dad (93, relatively good physical condition and for the most part, comfortable), he would likely not do much about it, particularly if procedures are uncomfortable for Dad.

Charles Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy was already awake upon arrival this morning. Upon entering the room he spoke and immediately began to talk about a family member by the name of chip. He asked to set up the phone system so that he would be able to speak with chip. He then prepared for his shower and ate breakfast, afterwards he participated in a card game and was really into this game in which he continued nonstop for one hour and fifteen minutes. He constantly asked questions while playing the game showing a lot of interest. I asked him several times to go for a walk for exercise and he stated that he did not want to walk this morning that he wanted to continue with the game that was all the exercise that he needed today. Around noon he decided to take a break and rest a while. Later he went to his room for range of motion exercises on both arms and legs in which he participated for about 30 minutes. He later ate lunch and i offered to take him for a afternoon walk and he decline stating that he ate to much and was too full to walk. He decided that he wanted to just rest and chill for the rest of the day. He was very alert and conversated with me a lot today. He told me that he he moved here a while ago from the east coast to the west coast to live with Barbara and Paul calling there names and told me that he moved here from Winston Salem North Carolina. He moved around well today and stayed awake the majority of the day. He had a wonderful day.

Charles Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy did not want to get up initially upon arrival of shift. I waited for a while and later on he decided to get up moving slowly stating "this is too much for me" meaning going through his daily routine of showering etc. He showered ate breakfast and assisted me with a morning activity of setting up his medications for the week and afterwards he waited to go to the dermatologist for his upper body check up. He complained again about having to walk to go to see the doctor but continued on anyway. The doctor will follow-up with barb concerning the visit on today. He ate a late lunch and was in a good mood at the doctor and upon returning home. He talked a lot and was very alert today asking a lot of questions and wanting to know what was going with him today. Overall i would say he had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy woke up and showered and ate breakfast and dosed off pretty much during the day. He appeared to be tired because he was moving very slowly today. He tried to participate in a puzzle game but it was very limited assuming that he was tired. He later went outside for his morning walk and set outside a little and then went inside and had lunch. Later he waited for me to gather his belongings to travel with him to his son house. He did not conversate much today other than that he had a pretty good day.

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Mr Dancy had a good day today. He showered, ate breakfast and participated 30 minutes in a card game. He moved around well and was not sleepy today very alert. He walked both morning and afternoon participating in both legs and arm exercises. He held conversation off and on throughout the day. He ate lunch and participated in another game activity and that was pretty much the outcome of today.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Mr Dancy went to the doctor this morning for blood work. He returned home and ate breakfast and slept the majority of the day. I think maybe there is a possibility that he was tired from the trip to the doctor and just needed to rest. He later ate lunch dosing off and on after about an hour he finally finished. He did not participate in any activities today and conversations were minimal. Overall i would say that he had a fair day.

Charles Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy started the day off this morning not wanting to get up. After several prompts he finally responded. He showered and ate well for breakfast and participated in a puzzle game for about 30 minutes. He then went for his morning walk and set outside at the patio and dosed and then as i attempted to get him to go the restroom for a diaper change he would not get up. He stated that going to the bathroom is just to much for him. Later after waiting a while he finally responded. He then went back outside to sit at the patio table and had lunch he would take a few bites and then dose and had to be reminded on several occassions to finish his meal and finally he did. Later on he was asked to go to the bathroom for another diaper change and he refused to get up. I waited and waited and he never responded. I had to ask barb to speak with him to go and get his diaper change and he responded immediately. However, i would like to say that he did participate in afternoon exercises with both hands and legs and maybe he just may have been a little tired today from the doctors appointment on yesterday. Hopefully he will get rested tonight and will have a better day tommorrow.

Charles Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy had a pretty good day today. He was taken to the dermatology after eating a large breakfast and prepared for his stitches to be removed from the surgery of last week. He moved around pretty good at the doctors appointment, there were no problems noted. The doctor explained to both he and i about the surgery which took place last week and that he would be coming back in next Monday to check the upper body. We went back home he ate a late lunch and rested the rest of the evening.

CharlesDancy Update Saturday

Mr Dancy had a good day today. He showered ate a big breakfast and participated a little in a puzzle game. He went for a walk both morning and afternoon. He did not eat much for lunch today. He rested a little after lunch and then he participated in exercising with a small ball with arm and leg exercises until for approximately 10 minutes. He was very talkative today and spoke a lot about his wife today and other things as well. He did appear to become somewhat tired at the end of the day. Overall i would say today was a good day for him.

Charles Dancy Update Friday

Mr Dancy had a good day today. He showered and ate breakfast and participated in a card game for about 40 minutes. He walked both morning and afternoon and sit outside for awhile where he dosed off to sleep a couple of times. He later came in and prepared for lunch and ate part of his lunch and dosed off and finished it up later. He participated in conversation a little today. He viewed his war log book of USS New Jersey this evening and played the building blocks game a little. Overall i would say he had a pretty good day.

Dad's skin cancers

Wanting to catch everyone up with regards to Dad's skin cancers.

At the initial visit with the new dermatologist (Justine attended with me), Dr. Iwasaki immediately identified 3 spots of concern on Dad's face. As previously mentioned, the 1st two were tested to be a melanoma and a squamous cell on his upper left cheek and forehead respectively. Dad was referred to a specialist and these cancers were successfully removed. The melanoma was considered "in citu" meaning that it had not spread. The 3rd spot around the fold of his mouth next to his cheek was identified as a basal cell. Dad had his appointment with Dr. Iwasaki this past Monday to have it removed in the office. It turned out that the cancer was quite deep, and in fact the doctor told me today that they were not able to get to all of it at the appointment on Monday. She was going to recommend referring him to the specialist to try and remove the remainder.

I raised my concern about the importance of continuing to have Dad subjected to these surgeries (certainly doesn't like all the needles in his face and he is usually quite tired the 1st few days following the surgery). Dr. Iwasaki mentioned that a basal cell rarely will metasticize, so that depending upon how much longer we expect Dad to live, it would not likely kill him. She did mention that it could possibly move to his gum, and perhaps cause some pain, but not necessarily. We also talked about the fact that she had previously recommended that after these initial 3 surgeries, Dad should have a full-body inventory. We have to split it up into two appointment (above waist, below waist), and I have scheduled the 1st appt for Monday, August 3rd. My thinking is it would be good to understand how much more we might be looking at having to address, before we make any decisions about proceeding with another surgery. Specifically, I think it would be beneficial to know if there are any more melanomas, or squamous cells, which have a greater potential to metasticize in the blood stream and adversely affect Dad's end of life.

Dr. Iwasaki also suggested bringing up the question of Dad's life expectancy with the doctor (he has an appointment next week) and to get his input on the necessity of the surgeries. It would be nice to have Dr. Lichstein's input on this since he knows so much more about Dad...did he ever offer and thoughts on Dad's life expectancy?

Everyone's input on this matter is greatly appreciated.

Dad

Charles Dancy Update

Mr Dancy had a very good day today. He started with showering and ate a good breakfast and participated in activities of exercising and putting the puzzle together. He walked both morning and afternoon and participated in legs exercises and worked on another puzzle. He moved around very well today and conversated a little today. He ate very little for lunch appeared to be somewhat sleepy. Overall i would say that he had a good day.

Moved better today

Dad was more willing to walk and move today. Appetite remains good. He was commenting about seeing Dylan in his casts..."looks like he has white socks on!"

Dad having a harder time transitioning

The gals and I are starting to see an increase in times in which Dad doesn't want to get up (not necessarily out of bed in the morning, but from say a seated position to go to eat or do an activity.) I hadn't seen it so much before when i'm with him, but now it's starting to happen to me too. Before Lois would sometimes need me to step in to encourage Dad to get up. Now I sometimes have to recruit Paul to step in to get Dad to get up for me! Tonight was one of those occasions. It also seemed like he was having difficulty knowing the right things to do with his hands. For example, going to the sink after toileting...usually knows when I show him the toothbrush to grab it and start brushing...instead reached for the soap with just one hand. When I placed the toothbrush in his hand, he treated it like it was a bar of soap and ran it under the water instead of putting it in his mouth (until I corrected him.) When I try to talk to him, I'll ask him..."do you want to have dinner"..."yes,", so you need to get up .. "I don't like that." Tonight, after Paul prompted him to get up, he did eat his dinner that was placed in front of him, (though needed a lot of encouragement and instruction for holding the corn on the cob...though then ate it all.)

It could be that this is just a "tired" day after the big outing from yesterday. It's also interesting because last night he actually woke up and got up in the room around 11pm (I could hear him over the monitor.) It was similar to what he's done before in that situation in which he's looking for his shoes, and/or confused and seemingly trying to get his bearings. Was also questioning..."where's my bedroom", and needed to walk around the house a little for me to convince him that was his bedroom. But anyway, the interesting thing is how in that situation, his physical capabilities seem better...he walks much more quickly and is anxious to try and get around (unlike today in which he won't move.) Makes me think that the lack of movement, slow walking has more to do with his mental state than physical. Just a thought.

I'll keep you posted. I also talked to Lois today about doing some blogging, so will try to get her set up soon.

Day at the park

Today, Haydee was here for Dad, and Laura was here for Dylan. The four of them went to a park in San Pedro (about 20 mins from my house) that is by the marina...nice flat area with lots of benches and walking paths Gorgeous day here. They recently returned and reported how much Dad seemed to enjoy the location. I noticed it earlier today, and they also mentioned that Dad was really talking very coherently. Apparently he was very talkative during their visit up until he woke from a brief nap he took while there.

Physically it seems that Dad has been putting up more of a fuss lately about moving. Not all the time, but at certain times he seems to get situated and doesn't want to get up. He continues to do a lot of scratching of his scalp and shoulder areas. He's also gotten into this mode of "screeching" or making shivering-type sounds. As I mentioned before, it seems like it started during the hemorrhoid episode (in reaction to the suppositories).

Justine asked, and i will follow through on asking Lois to start blogging on Dad's day... particularly now that he's got his computer and I have it set up on his desk in the bedroom (though it is a very small screen and keyboard.)

Dad is scheduled to go to Ken's house this coming Thursday thru Sunday.

Father's Day

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.

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.

Visit With Dad

It was difficult coming to see Dad, I was anxious to see how he was doing. I was relieved to see he was getting good care from Lois. Lois is very disciplined and has Dad on a schedule that helps him.

Things are more hectic at Ken's house, but Kenny seems very caring and helpful with Dad. Judy is very busy with her work and children, but seems very caring towards Dad as well. The only thing is that the change of coming to Ken's house makes Dad regress such that he only gets settled in by the time he has to go back! I recommended to Ken that he get a toilet seat riser that would help Dad sit down easier. They are on sale at the pharmacy near his home and also I have one that I could mail.

I really wish Dad was back in Winston-Salem! I go back and forth because obviously he would need to be in a nursing home and of course that is not as good as one-on-one care that he is getting with Lois and living in a home is also a better situation. When I asked him he said he wanted to go back to Winston-Salem, (but it would not be the same situation of course).

DAD is very much a part of my life; I still feel emotionally attached to him especially on weekends, when I normally spend a lot of time with him.

Anyway, this is the end of my Blog--it now belongs to Barb and Ken! Best Wishes and enjoy your time with Dad!

p.s. i might add more later when my thoughts start to gel about the week there.

Dr. Lichstein and Karen Beard

I talked to Dr. Lichstein about Dad. How he probably would be staying in California as he seems to be adapting to it. If he did come back I would have to put him in a nursing home (and Dr. Lichstein agreed with that.), which would not be as nice as the home setting he is in now.

I asked him what stage of Alzheimers Dad was. He said he would consider Dad in the moderate to severe range (though he hasn't given him a test recently). Because he probably would not know what year it was or where he was.

He asked me to record [if and when] Dad starts talking in Latin. A year ago we talked and he mentioned how the old memories stay the longest. I wondered if Dad's memories of Latin would possibly come out!

He said the end stage starts when Dad stops eating and drinking. (I don't think that has happened yet, but occasionally Dad does not eat too well).

Anyway, he thought Dad would not have issues with traveling, such as lung or heart issues.


I also talked to Karen Beard and she would be glad to help look up geriatric psychiatrist for Dad if needed, though she said he doesn't seem to have any behavioral issues.

Response to Barb

I know you mean well, but please do not say that Dad remembers me because he recognizes my picture. (It sounded like I was complaining but really I was just expressing my thoughts.) And that is all the thoughts are.

The truth whether he remembers me or not is what it is. Nothing that I can't deal with.

And certainly when I see him, the memories are what they are, and the time I am there will become memories as well during the time I am there visiting.

More and Melanoma

There was one other thing I forgot to mention in prior response....I guess I don't feel that Dad's alzheimers/dementia has deteriorated since his arrival here. To me, he is more talkative, responsive, and uses more complete sentences than what I recalled, but I'm sure it's a much different perspective when being with him every day versus seeing him on an occasional visit. I'll be very interested to hear what Cathy thinks when she sees him on her upcoming visit.

Dad had the "Mohs" Surgery on his melanoma yesterday (right cheek.) The process involves cutting the area, sending Dad back to waiting room, testing the margins to ensure they've taken enough, and repeating until they have. In Dad's case, it took two times. He came home with a big bandage on his right cheek. Today, the bag under his right eye is bruised, which according to the paperwork is normal. The big bandage has been removed, and there is tape-type bandage on the sutures/cut. He doesn't seem to be experiencing any real pain, but was certainly very tired yesterday, especially considering he had to wake up at 6am in order to be at the office by 7:45. He got to bed around 8:15pm last night, and slept well. He has a follow up next Wednesday, and then we will see when they want to schedule removal of the squaemous cell cancer (right forehead). I think they've said that surgery is more complex, probably because Dad has such tight skin in that area.

Response to Cathy

I just wrote a long response to Cathy's post and it must have crossed paths with Justine's post or something, but it got lost! Anyway, will try to recreate. I said...

I think Dad remembers you and all of us. Lois reviews our pictures with him regularly...sometimes the names don't come, but I truly believe he knows each of us. If anything, yours is the name he does remember! In fact, I just went to remind Dad about your upcoming visit. He responded " I DEFINITELY want to see her," with an emphasis on "definitely"!

Regarding brushing teeth, Dad brushes his teeth by himself for me every night! I have tried to encourage Ken to have Dad do as much for himself as possible...pulling pants down, getting up and down from sitting, getting into bed, etc. It's really a mind-set and requires patience...it's natural to want to help when he's struggling, but for sure if you do it for him, he will do it less and less, which ultimately makes it more difficult for everyone. I have the same expectations with the caregivers and feel that they're doing a good job in this regard. Cathy, if you can assist Ken (assuming he's willing) by modeling some of your approaches, that would be great.

I also feel strongly that keeping Dad active (as much as possible) is good. As I've said before, Lois takes Dad for at least a 5 minute walk around the house twice a day, as well as engaging him in puzzles, reading and other. Ken has said that Dad doesn't do much at his house. This last trip (and on previous visits) Ken reported that he had trouble with Dad waking up in the middle of the night and not going back to bed, and also not eating. I would propose that activity might help to alleviate this. Of course I realize it's easier for me since Dad is here more regularly, and there may be other factors affecting Dad's behavior at his house.

Dad Remembers Me.

I don't get the impression from reading the blog that Dad "remembers me". I suppose he will recognize me when I see him soon. And I think he knows who I am when I call.

I just wonder what stage of Alzheimers he is in now.

I do think changes are hard for Dad now (but I might be so inclined myself to not like changes either), so I wonder how his memory is doing at this time--is it causing more frustrations, or just resignation?

Kenny mentioned that he brushes Dad's teeth now. I wonder if Dad forgot how to do it, or whether it is easier to have a caregiver brush them? I miss Dad brushing his teeth.

Bed time

Just put Dad to bed. I reminded him that he would be visiting Ken and family this weekend. He responded..."It's always nice to see Kenny".

Up Day

Dad had more of an "up" day today. I got him to bed relatively early last night, and this morning when I asked him how he was doing he said "Very Good!". He also showed more energy in his outside walks (We had "dueling walkers" with me and Dylan in his walker, and Dad with Lois in his walker and we crossed paths a few times. It was a nice day here today (high 60's, clear.)

Lois does have Dad read daily...today outside he was reading articles in the newspaper (she points to what he should read and he reads it...so he's not trying to process it, but clearly can still read). It's true that I haven't noticed him lately watching much television, but it was something I've noticed him doing before since he's been here in California.

I purchased a couple of puzzles at TJ Maxx today to add to Dad's repertoire...Lois utilizes these most days. They are the juvenile type that involve matching...one has about 75 pieces, and it takes 3 or 4 pieces to make one complete rectangle which has a picture and a name on it (e.g. "frog" or "sun"). The other has numerous pieces also, and you have to find the matches (e.g., horse hoof with picture of horse). Other suggestions are welcome.

Chip, Jennie...It would also be great to get the Navy discussion video and/or the paper that Faye wrote. Lois still goes through the U.S.S. New Jersey War book we have and if there was more accurate info that would be great.

General observations with Dad

I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time with Dad and see how he is doing. He is getting really good care and in general seems to continue to enjoy relatively good health. He mostly eats well and gets exercise every day.

I do think he seems a bit weaker overall since I saw him last, though he still gets around. I didn't observe any times when he wanted to walk without his walker though (which I had seen before on 'good' days). He is not quite as quick to recognize people, and does appear to be confused most of the times I talked with him. He did easily recognize Mom's picture, and us as well. I was showing him older photographs for the most part (when we were kids up to the early 70s). I tried to get him to talk about Navy experiences without too much luck. He mixed up the stories with references to me or other things in the room. He doesn't seem to respond to the television much at all any more - certainly doesn't talk about anything. We watched the Final Four basketball and he wasn't interested. I tried to work with him with a card game based on dominoes (but using pictures), but he said it was too hard to try and match the pictures, so I stopped. I didn't get a chance to try scrabble. He still reads well, so perhaps making words or reading words from the letters would be a good activity.

Barb and I started talking about arrangements for getting Dad to the beach this summer. I'm wondering if it might be his last opportunity to be together with a larger group. I think he could still have years left, I'm not sure such a big trip will be possible much longer.

Dermatologist - update

Barb and I accompanied Dad to the dermatologist (Dr. Iwasaki) on Tuesday, and we discussed in more detail the diagnoses and recommended treatments.

The squaemous cell cancer is on Dad's forehead. It is relatively large, and the doctor explained that surgery would require even larger excision. She recommended doing MOHS surgery (referred to another doctor for this), which provides the opportunity to test during the surgery to determine the depth required to remove all cancerous cells, as well as doing any required skin grafts or skin flaps to repair the surgical excision and minimize scarring.

The basal cell cancer is in a crease between the nose and mouth. Dr. Iwasaki said she would be able to do this surgery in her office, but that we should do the others first.

The melanoma (the most serious), is on Dad's right cheek. Dr. Iwasaki recommends MOHS surgery for this as well. She ordered one more test to be done on the biopsy sample (called a 'stain'), which will verify whether the cancer is superficial (extending only into the first layer of skin) or if some cells have extended further. If the cancer has extended further, it may be necessary to do a lymph node test to see if it has actually penetrated to a lymph node. Results should be received soon. The MOHS surgery has been scheduled for next Wednesday, April 15th.

Only one MOHS surgery can be handled at once, so a second appointment will be required for the squaemous cell cancer, once the first is done.

Once all of these surgeries are complete, Dr. Iwasaki suggests doing a full body inventory of Dad's skin marks to identify any other potential problems. She visually noted at least one on Dad's face (near his eye), but wants to wait until all the current surgeries are done before completing the inventory and determining a treatment plan according to priority.

Dermatologist report

Barb heard from the dermatologist Friday evening. Dad has 3 different cancers. One is a melanoma, one a basal cell and one a squaemous cell. We will take Dad to see her on Tuesday and discuss the treatments. She wants to do a full inventory of his skin as well. Barb couldn't remember if he had had any melanomas before. I sort of thought he had, but not sure. We will also try to get Southard to forward records to the new doctor's office.

Dad's Dreams & Conversations

I am glad to hear that Dad is still able to carry on a conversation with Barb, Ken and/or the caregivers. That is nice that he can understand enough to respond to remarks.

It is nice also to hear that it might have even been fun! Not sure, but the snake conversation sounded very interesting--something that Dad is fearful of, yet maybe would like to confront? Or just a dream to get rid of the tension in his life.

I think Dad might have said a similar comment to me once.

The comment that Barb said to Justine that "she was also your daughter" was interesting as well.

Dermatologist visit

Dad was able to get a last minute appointment with the dermatologist this past Monday. There were 3 spots on Dad's face she was concerned about, and wanted to do biopsies, which we agreed to. One of the spots was a dark irregular shaped one on his upper right cheek area. Perhaps he's had that checked out before...I looked at photos I had from when Dad was first here (Dec/Jan) and he did have it. The other spot was the one at the top right of his forehead...looks like he may have had that before too...I noticed it when it got more red than usual. Third one she wanted to check was a pimple-looking mark to the left of his mouth in the crease area. Dad braved the needles for the lidocaine to numb the areas, as well as some pressure when she cut the skin for the samples. I don't think he liked it. On the way out to the elevator he said "I just as well die." He has an appointment on April 6th to get the results. Which brings me to the question of us discussing whether certain procedures will be worth it or not. If it gets to that point (hopefully not), we should probably have a skype to discuss.

Justine will actually be here for that next appointment...she's coming to visit Dad (April 3-8) and will also help me with finalizing his taxes, preparing his first quarterly state tax payment and other as needed. When I mentioned to Dad that Justine would be coming soon, he said, "it's nice that you'll get to visit with your sister." To which I said, "and you your daughter!"

Dad is off to Ken's for a 3-day weekend. Lois drove him there this afternoon.

Visits to Dermatologist and Dentist

I hope Dad has a good visit with the dermatologist. He hasn't been to see Dr. Southard for over a year, so you could mention that he has his upper back, shoulders and face examined on a regular basis for possible growths that are "frozen" off.

I just cancelled Dad's Dentist appointment with Dr. Clarke for teeth cleaning. It would have been for April 6.

Sunday

Dad didn't seem as tired today and was transitioning much better. Definitely seemed in better spirits this evening too. I love it whenever he gets up and as he's walking, if he sees something to eat, say on the counter, he will grab it and eat it while he's walking...tonight, there was a bowl of pistachios and I had to tell him to spit it out because he had grabbed the whole thing including the outer shell. Tonight when I put him to bed he said "Make sure you don't wrap me up with that snake." LOL.

Dad this week

Lately it seems that Dad has been more tired. It has also been more difficult to get him to get up from sitting (he'll say he wants to get up, but then wants to rub his arms repeatedly, in almost a ritual-like fashion.) It takes quite a bit of prompting, and sometimes really grabbing his arm to get him to stand up. Lois said that he's still doing his walks each day, but she has noticed the same difficulty in transitioning him.

Earlier this week, I had the sense that Dad was "stewing" and was perhaps mad at me for some reason. I noticed it first one night when after dinner, he didn't want to get up and go to the bathroom, or move over to the couch. When I tried to get him to get up he sort of said angrily, "I'm going to stay here for an hour!". Eventually I got him to bed (after 10:30pm that night.) The next night, he seemed to have a similar "sourness" about him. So I looked at him and said, "Dad, are you mad at me, why are you mad at me?" and he responded something like "because you're not spending the money like you should." We went back and forth a little with me trying to understand the gist of what he was saying and his comments vascillated between "you need to spend all the money today" and "you don't have any money, you're using my money", "you're not doing the right thing", 'you've got to spend the money," "it's not in the bank" and such. He made one comment about not knowing where his money was, so I got out the computer to try and show him his checking account balance, money market and expenses and trying to reassure him that he does have money, and that it's safe and that I'm doing my best to manage it and that I share information regularly with Chip, Justine, Cathy, Jennie, Ken. Of course I realize it's probably not a good idea to challenge him, but it's hard when he looks at me and tells me "you're not doing it right!" I tried to remain calm and responded that I loved him and I didn't understand why he was mad at me. EVentually I said "do you trust anyone Dad?" and he responded "Well I trust you, " so then I said well good, because I loved him and I'm doing the best I can to help take care of him. After that, he seemed to back down and since has lost that "sourness" and seems more friendly. Ultimately I do think it was a good idea for me to directly address what I was feeling and to discuss it with him, even though I realize that his thoughts are probably not clear on the entire matter.

My theory is that perhaps Dad's thoughts wander and he makes presumptions...every day while Lois is here, he sees me quite busy in and out and around the house doing all sorts of things, on my computer, on the phone, etc and he does not get a lot of direct conversation with me during those times. I think maybe from his perspective I'm being secretive? It probably also doesn't help that we do have CNN on TV a lot, particularly in the evening when we are in the family room, and of course there's lots of money discussions about banks, etc. Who knows. Anyway, I'm glad that he's been more pleasant to me since then, though I am still concerned about his slow-moving.

Oh, the other interesting story was early last week when Dad was telling me how there was an 8-foot snake in his bed. He had mentioned something before when we were going to bed about there being snakes at the bottom of the bed. Then, that night last week, he mentioned the 8-foot snake again, and I said I don't think there's any snakes in here, and I pulled the covers all teh way down and he said "I know, I held it in my hands!" I wondered if it might be one of my cats, who I have seen go in his room and sleep at the bottom of the bed. I tried to suggest to Dad, "maybe it was the cat" and he said, "No it wasn't a cat. I ought to know. I held it in my hands, I know it was a snake, an 8-foot snake!"

Also, after Dad's last visit with Ken & Judy (weekend of March 6 and start of Daylight Savings), on Sunday, March 8th (Happy belated birthday Chip and Jacob!), he had gone to bed around 10. That night around midnight I heard something in his room over the monitor. Paul and I were still up. He had gotten up (1st time at my house getting up at night!) and had made his way over towards the door and had actually fallen down. Paul and I helped him up and he was jovial about it and said he wasn't hurt, except small scrape on his arm (rug burn perhaps.) Got him to go back to bed, then around 2am I heard him again (from the monitor in my room) and went down and found him up again. He was saying he needed to find his suit in the closet and seemed concerned about getting dressed. He was confused about the time and I kept trying to say he had a lot more sleeping to do, it was middle of the night, we'd get dressed in the morning, etc. He wanted me to leave a light on, and ultimately needed me to show him the clock as well, which I put on the chair right next to the bed so he could see it. He asked me to do that for the next couple of nights, but since has not asked for it.

I noticed a slightly raised red mark on Dad's forehead. I have put a call into a dermatologist (recommended by my friend) to set up an appointment. I also have made a dentist appointment for him with a dentist recommended by my kids' dentist. He goes back to the Podiatrist on the 30th of March.

Visit at Senior Services

I went to the Senior Services Center to deliver some partly-knitted baby hats and scarves that Mom had started. The lady at the center said that several of the people could knit and they might enjoy knitting on projects already started.

Dad this week

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.

Addendum

I forgot to also mention that this evening Dad called to me in the kitchen (from the couch in the family room), saying "What do I do now Jennie?"

Also, about a week or ten days ago, I was showing him the large photo of all of us 6 kids with Mom & Dad from the beach in the black frame that i sent out here from W-S. He was naming everyone as I asked him. When I pointed to Jennie, he said "that's Ruby", and I said "no, Ruby's your sister, that's your daughter, Jennie". He gave a belly laugh. He got everyone but couldn't name me! When I said, "that's me, Barbara", again I got a belly laugh.

Dad's Rainy Monday

Ken brought Dad home last night and reported a good weekend (though said Dad didn't seem to eat much). Today was a rainy, windy and cold day in LA, and we had a planned electricity outage from 10 to 4 (while they did some upgrades). Dad and Lois took it in stride and seemed to have a good day. My kids were out of school, but we were in and out with some dentist and doctor's appointments.

Anyway, this evening and a little bit last night for that matter, I noticed that Dad seemed to be walking and moving around with more strength. Particularly, tonight, he was moving much quicker in his walker, and initiating actions with less prompting (getting up, pulling his own pants down in the toilet, maneuvering to the right spots, etc.) He actually was in quite a jolly mood this evening as well. He cracked up when I asked him how old he would be in 3 days on his birthday. He kept mentioning something about some "medal on a chain", and how it must have been moved from the drawer, and then he would laugh. He brought up Allen's name as well. Just seemed to be in good spirits overall, and quicker in his responses and physical movement. We also watched the president's press briefing...in general it seems to me that Dad pays more attention to the television here than what I remember, but I probably wasn't paying close enough attention. Also, I have the large screen, so that might help. I tend to keep the TV on CNN in the evening. I think Lois and he watch I Love Lucy at Noon every day.

I'm still feeling quite good about the work Lois is doing. She interacts and talks with him quite a bit. For example, today she was reviewing his old Navy boat yearbook with him and letting him tell the stories about it. Also, she's very diligent about the exercises and walking.

Dad's Weekend

Dad had a nice weekend. Lois worked on Saturday 8 to 4, and also came today 8 to Noon. (Haydee will normally work Sundays, but couldn't make it today, so Lois agreed to work.)

Speaking of Lois, she's really working out great. She's very conscientious and in my opinion has a wonderful demeanor for Dad. They read the paper together (and helps Dad to look at the ads.) SHe also mentioned that she thought Dad must have exercised a lot in the past. She said yesterday on one of their walks (they take at lest two a day outside) that when she praised him, he seemed motivated to show her he could do more! Dad really seems to like her. He was talking to her today about looking forward to seeing her with her family. I've attached a photo.

WE will go watch the game now!

Closed up 2191 Homestead Hills Drive

Well, the house is offically closed. There was one thing, beyond the wear and tear, which was a hole in the wallboard at the back of the garage.

The house looked quite clean; I cleaned the oven and refrigerator. Penny said the counter would be replaced. And of course painted.

She doesn't think that anyone is interested yet, but she said they would be fixing it up very quickly, because if someone was interested they would want a larger home (like Dad's).

Anyway, I hope it sells fast!

Dad's day

Dad had another good day. Seeming to nap less than before, and moving around better as I said yesterday. Tonight he seemed a little more restless, wanting to get up and move around and focused on something about some paperwork that some man has for him. Earlier in the day he enjoyed reading Faye's thank you note. He could read many of the words, though I had to explain who "Avril Lavigne" was. He is currently having strawberries and whip cream for dessert on the couch.