Let's see, nine months ago I wrote my last entry. Not much has happened since then. NOT!
Dad's decline is ongoing. I think the last six months have shown significant changes. He can no longer manage to read the newspaper, he doesn't follow the stock market (huge sign he's declining) he doesn't play solitaire anymore, he doesn't listen to music at all. All these things were his life when we brought him home from Arizona. A typical day now consists of getting up for breakfast, walking to the dining room, coming back to his room, napping, getting up for lunch, walking to the dining room, going back to his room, napping, getting up for supper, walking to the dining room, going back to his room for the night. You see, he accomplishes all these things at such a painstakingly slow pace, it takes an entire day. There are periods of wakefulness when he manages the occasional haircut or shower, all with much assistance.
He also manages to find time to complain to "the highest authorities" about any number of things. Let's see....people come into his room when he's in the dining room and steal things. (He refers to plates, bowls, cups that he labels with a Sharpie with his name. All these things belong to the nursing home.) He still needs to go to the hospital where there are doctors, not nurses, that can address all his medical problems. The people at Oak Hill are keeping him there against his will because he is a paying customer. Of course they're happy to have him!
It's just sad. He has said to us more than once that he doesn't know why the good Lord just doesn't take him. He is ready. Too bad the medical community, our society, and the powers that be can't let that happen. He absolutely recognizes the fact that he is no longer productive in any way. Why would someone as productive, driven, intelligent, clever, determined, and stubborn as Leonard Schultz want to live in his present condition?
We just pray he can be comfortable. Alzheimer's disease is one of the most unfair afflictions that can happen to a human being.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
It's been a while.....
Can't believe how time flies! I haven't posted since October! It does speak to how life has been, however.
Dad has somehow miraculously settled in to the routine at Oak Hill (the nursing home he is in.) Of course he will always complain, saying he is being incarcerated, he is being mistreated, they aren't addressing my medical needs, and on, and on. But when given the choice of moving into his own apartment in assisted living, he vehemently declined, saying "they don't have the medical staff to address all my problems!" At this point he says, "I'm fine in the room I'm in and besides, I don't need all that room in those apartments." Man!
He has gotten much stronger physically since going to Oak Hill. He will never give appropriate credit to the physical therapist he worked with. No, "It's my own program that's gotten me where I am today." (sigh!) He doesn't remember having to be lifted from chair to bed when he first arrived because he was too weak to do it himself. Now, several times a day, he walks the hallway - 50 yards one way, he reports - seven times. He refuses to use his walker, even though he walks much faster when he uses it. The nurse told me yesterday she is so afraid he's going to fall, to which I answered "yes, he will. It is just a matter of time." Am I going to be the one to try to change his mind? Not on your life. It will never happen.
My mom and I enjoy living together in our villa. I'm having a blast decorating it. She and I butt heads once in a while. Gosh, how normal are we? Our villa is .3 miles from Oak Hill - a real bonus. I can walk to go visit Dad. (Like I really do that!) Life in Waterloo is simple, and I love that. The hectic in my life is my job, but I'm really starting to like that. All in all, things have settled down.
If only Dad could feel the same way....
Dad has somehow miraculously settled in to the routine at Oak Hill (the nursing home he is in.) Of course he will always complain, saying he is being incarcerated, he is being mistreated, they aren't addressing my medical needs, and on, and on. But when given the choice of moving into his own apartment in assisted living, he vehemently declined, saying "they don't have the medical staff to address all my problems!" At this point he says, "I'm fine in the room I'm in and besides, I don't need all that room in those apartments." Man!
He has gotten much stronger physically since going to Oak Hill. He will never give appropriate credit to the physical therapist he worked with. No, "It's my own program that's gotten me where I am today." (sigh!) He doesn't remember having to be lifted from chair to bed when he first arrived because he was too weak to do it himself. Now, several times a day, he walks the hallway - 50 yards one way, he reports - seven times. He refuses to use his walker, even though he walks much faster when he uses it. The nurse told me yesterday she is so afraid he's going to fall, to which I answered "yes, he will. It is just a matter of time." Am I going to be the one to try to change his mind? Not on your life. It will never happen.
My mom and I enjoy living together in our villa. I'm having a blast decorating it. She and I butt heads once in a while. Gosh, how normal are we? Our villa is .3 miles from Oak Hill - a real bonus. I can walk to go visit Dad. (Like I really do that!) Life in Waterloo is simple, and I love that. The hectic in my life is my job, but I'm really starting to like that. All in all, things have settled down.
If only Dad could feel the same way....
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