Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Monday night/Tues Morn

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

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

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

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

Mr Dancy Update Monday

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

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

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

Mr Dancy Update Friday

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

Doctor's visit today

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

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

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

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

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

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

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

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

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

Mr Dancy Update Monday

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

Dad's fall at Ken's on Sunday Morning

HI everyone,

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

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

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

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

Mr Dancy Update Friday

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

Mr Dancy Update Thursday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He began his day with showering etc. He ate breakfast and then began dosing off. Later on he participated very briefly in a puzzle game. He then went outside for a walk and returned to his room and watched a little TV. Later on ate lunch and went out for a haircut and returned home and looked through his navy book and then did a little exercise with the ball and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was asleep. He did his regular morning routine of care and had breakfast and then participated in a puzzle game for approximately 45 min to 1hr and then walked a little inside both morning and afternoon. He went to his room and watched a little TV and looked through his navy book and conversated and then he ate lunch and later on he participated a little in exercise with the ball and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was awake appeared to be in a happy mood. He got up and showered etc. He ate breakfast and afterwards dosed a little. I offered him a puzzle game and he participated only a short time and then became uninterested. He then went outside for a walk and then went to his room and rested a while. Later on he participated in a ball exercise and then he had lunch and afterwards he went outside for a walk and viewed his photo album and later viewed his USS New Jersey book and then watched a little TV and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Saturday

When i arrived Mr Dancy was asleep. He did not want to get up after trying a couple of times. I waited for about 30 min and he finally got up. He began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He had breakfast and afterwards he participated in a card game for about 45 mins. He went outside for his morning walk and returned inside and went to his room and looked through family pictures and was able to identify some children and then rested a little. He ate lunch and returned to his room and rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Wednesday

Up0n arrival Mr Dancy was awake and wanted to get up right away. He began his day with showering etc. He ate breakfast and then participated in a puzzle game for about 40 mins and then went outside for his morning walk. After returning inside he looked through a magazine and read it also and talked about the things he saw. He rested a little and then had lunch and afterwards he fell asleep and later woke up and went outside for his afternoon walk. He returned inside and then rested a little and participated very little in a ball exercise just did not seem to be too interested in doing anything much this afternoon. He rested the remainder of the day.

Mr Dancy Update Tuesday

Upon arrival Mr Dancy was asleep. He got up and began his day with his regular morning routine of care. He had breakfast and then participated in a card game for about 40 mins and then went outside for his morning walk. He returned inside and then began reading through a magazine for about 20 mins. After he took a short nap and woke up and had lunch and then dosed off again. He then went outside for his morning walk and returned to his room and participated in a ball exercise and in now resting. He had a great day.

Mr Dancy Update Monday

Mr Dancy was asleep when i arrived this morning. He got up later and began his regular morning routine of care. He then ate breakfast and afterwards he sleep the majority of the day. I was not able to get him to do anything i was told that he was up the majority of the night and walking around and talking to himself in bed so that is the reason he was sleepy all day even falling asleep while trying to eat lunch. Later on he return home from kens and continued to sleep just a very exhausted day for him.