Dad - Nov. 24, 2006

Dad had a busy day, with Cathy and me carting him all over town. He had an omelette for breakfast, courtesy of Cathy, then we headed over to the Medical Library to scan some slides for Mom's service. Dad had to walk a long way, even though we dropped off as close to the door as possible, but he didn't complain. He ate an apple while he waited quietly with us in the computer room. Next we had lunch at an Italian restaurant, where Dad enjoyed the stuffed shells, salad, and bread. Then off to Supercuts, where he indicated that he seemed to be losing hair in the front! We came home, changed, and went to Mass. Dad declined to receive communion (Later he said it was because he nearly fell over the last time - I think he thinks he has to kneel; he had also told me that earlier in the mass, but I didn't realize he meant that he didn't want to take it this time; even though the minister came to our pew, Dad said "no, thank you." Later, we told him he didn't need to kneel to take it, so maybe he will next time.) Dad turned to me to say, "God bless you" at the end of the service.

We will have leftovers from the restaurant for dinner. I think Dad should sleep well tonight - he was up late watching "Titanic" last night, and then got up at 6 am.

It has been nice to be with Cathy and Dad this weekend, and to meet Ilene. Love, Jennie

''mr Dancys' day after thanksgiving''

Hi,hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.mr Dancy had a good day, his daughter Jennie was here, he was
very happy i could tell.he said that he enjoyed thanksgiviing dinner and being with family.today we took a
walk ,mr Dancy enjoyed the country music show on tv.it was a quite day.ilene simmons

Thanksgiving Day

It is a very pleasant day. Dad, Jason and I went to the Homestead Hills Dining Hall for the Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner.

Jason enjoyed flirting with the staff. Ruth Woodard came up and said she would attend the service on Dec. 4.

We are now snoozing in front of the TV watching Gromit and Wallace Cure of the Were-Rabbit.

Suzie and Jacob will join us later for some dessert after their other turkey dinner at his Mom's. Suzie will pick up Jennie later from the airport.

''mr Dancys' day''

Hi,mr Dancy had a very good day,he talked a lot today about his childhood and his family.he said his mothers name was Beatrice, and three brothers,Allen,charles,Norman,he said he didnt remember his sisters names.
we put a christmas puzzle together today and played a word game.mr Dancy is doing very well.he had all his
meals and medication.ilene simmons

''mr Dancys' day''

Hi,mr Dancy had a very pleasant day,we played a word game and also painted christmas door hangers,he
enjoyed that very much,he participated 100%.he ate all of his meals,snacks and medication.ilene simmons

''mr Dancys' evening''

Hi,mr Dancy returned home around 6:pm,he ate his supper,had his meds,and retired to the living room to
relax and watch tv.i will get him ready for bed around 10:oo or when he is ready for bed.it has been a quite
evening.ilene simmons

Saturday November 18, 2006

Dad slept in today. Last night we sat in the living room half sleeping-- listening to music. Finally about midnight Dad got up and got ready for bed. I watched a movie and he fell asleep quickly.

This morning he had the covers drawn over his head. Bettie will be coming in around nine to watch him for a few hours while I go to my exercise class.

It is a real comfort for me to have Dad for company during this lonely time!

''mr Dancys' day''

hi,mr Dancy went to the doctor today,cathy picked him up around 9:30 am. he seemed a little tired today
but in good spirit.we went for a walk this morning,he enjoys his morning walk. he identifys the family pictures.
i write down words for him to read, he does well.he talked a little today,the nurse came by for a visit,she gave
him his b-12 shot he went to sleep afterward.ilene simmons

''mr Dancys day''

hi,sorry i didnt get to send a message,the systom was down.it was a nice quite day.we worked on the puzzle
(catherine victorian house'' most of the morning,we usually go for a walk before lunch,it was raining this
morning so we waited until it was sunny.mr Dancy identifys the family pictures,he likes to do that.i keep him
active most of the time,i try not to overwhelm him,i know when he wants his space.he is a nice man and easy
to work with.he is doing well.ilene simmons

''mr dancys day''

good morning,i tried to write last night,but the server was not working.it was saying the message could not be
published. if you get this message 11/16/06,the message for 11/15/06/ reads as follows... mr Dancy had a
very relaxing day,he worked with me on a puzzle and played dominos.he is talking more and seems alert.i
would like to do more outings with him such as lunch out,going shopping and let him make purchases,please
let me know if you all are agreeable.thanks ilene simmons

mr dancys' day

hi,mr Dancy had a very good day.he played dominos,helped me with a puzzle and talked a little more today.
he says he doesnt like snow but is looking forward to christmas.i hope you dont get this message twice,if so
there was some problem with the service.everything is going great .ilene simmons

mr dancys' day

hi,mr Dancy had a very good day.he played dominos,helped me with a puzzle and talked a little more today.
he says he doesnt like snow but is looking forward to christmas.i hope you dont get this message twice,if so
there was some problem with the service.everything is going great .ilene simmons

''mr Dancys day''

hi,mr Dancy had a very good day.he played dominos,and helped me with a puzzle,he also identified family
pictures and talked about being a captain,he's talking a little more each day.he says he doesn' t like snow,but
looking forward to christmas .ilene simmons

mr Dancys day.

hi,mr Dancy had a good day,he ate all his meals took meds and rested ,watched tv,worked with the puzzle
and played bingo.he is doing very well,ilene simmons

hi everyone, mr dancy and cathy reurned home around 6:pm.mr dancy rested for awhile and later went to
the kitchen to eat,he had pizza,tossed salad and juice and meds.he will watch tv after dinner until he says he
wants to sleep.its been a quite evening.ilene s

im ilene simmons working today for mr dancy.

I've begun a new Journal (blog) to record observations and news about both Mom and Dad, now that they are living together in Homestead Hills. The url is http://dancy2.blogspot.com. There is a link to the new Journal on the menu to the left in this blog. Anyone can add comments to the entries by clicking on the 'comments' link at the bottom of a posting.

Dad will be here at the Homestead for the last weekend! It will be exciting to bring him home, hopefully permanently.

My friend Susan will help move his stuff and Robert will help with his chair.

When he stayed the night before he slept through the night.

Things are a little hectic since Mom has been at the Brian Rehab place for her fractured pelvis. Dad visits with her about 1-2 times a week. We are going again today for dinner. I hope she comes home soon! But it will probably be about a month more.

Dad doesn't say much about Mom, except he wishes he could have been there to help her from falling!

Russ, Faye and I came down on 3/25 to visit Mom, Dad and Cathy. When we arrived, Cathy told us that Mom had fallen Saturday morning and broken her hip. On Sunday, we went over to the hospital after mass, and a resident (or intern) was speaking with Mom. She told us that Mom had not broken her hip, but had two fractures in her pelvis, which I guess is better than the hip. However, because Mom's bones don't have a lot of mass, the breaks don't show up well on x-ray, and though they did a CT scan, they would also do an MRI to make sure they had captured everything. Mom was resting okay, but needs morphine for the pain. We left to go to Faye's birthday party at the bowling alley.

First, we picked up Dad, who was very happy to see us, and was telling the nurse about us. When I told him Mom had fallen and was in the hospital, it confused him, and he said, "No, she was walking around here."

At the bowling alley, we had a great time with Rick, Beth, Yenna, Aida, Katherine, Ellie, Suzie and Jacob. (For the record, Cathy beat Jennie once, and Jennie beat Cathy once.) Cathy made a fabulous cake for Faye with green icing and plastic geckos. Faye enjoyed bowling with her cousins and telling everyone about her pets. Dad also enjoyed the outing, and sat right up front analyzing everyone's technique. He was quite good at that. We all had pizza and drinks in addition to cake and ice cream.

After the party, we went back to the hospital. Mom was watching the tv, but was under the morphine influence, I think, with a little confusion. Also, she had not eaten much, if any lunch. They brought her dinner, and she didn't want to eat any of that, but drank the milk when I offered it. Shortly after, they came to take her to the MRI, and I got them to give her more meds first, as she was saying she needed more. She was very worried about the transfer to the gurney, but said it was not as painful as the last time.

We went back to Mom's house, and we cooked a quick dinner of spaghetti, bread and salad. Dad ate well, but complained that we should not have had salad with spaghetti, but something else like beans. While still at the table, we somehow got on the topic of when Dad was on the U.S.S. Northhampton and it was hit by torpedoes and he ended up in the water. He talked about it a bit, said he had not been in the water too much, maybe 6 hours or so, using inflation devices (not rafts - except for the injured). About 100 men died. I asked him where he was when they got hit, and he said "the highest point in the ship - the foremast." He was working with radar, etc. at the time, he said.

Jason joined us for dinner, and he, Russ, and Faye went off to play in the computer room. Jason said he also does some work with the AutoCAD like Russ. Dad and I played cribbage, and he was beating me until Russ came to give him advice (Dad seems to want advice if someone else is standing there, otherwise he just does it himself). After Russ left, Dad was able to come from behind and beat me. HA! When Cathy said she needed to take him back to the living center, he didn't want to leave, and asked why he couldn't just sleep here. Cathy told him they had his medicine, and we assured him that he needed to take it, so then he left with her.

Love, Jennie