They sat out on the patio of the nursing home for almost an hour. Again, Dad was not very talkative, just short answers or comments. My brother showed Dad pictures of his grandson's football scrimmages.
One of the student doctors told my brother that he and Dad had a conversation about the Dodgers in the morning, but then when the student asked Dad who the President was, Dad replied, "No comment". Shortly thereafter, Dad seemed to shut down verbally and was not saying much.
My brother is growing a goatee, so I am not sure if Dad fully recognized him right away. No doubt he recognized his voice.
Our youngest brother and his girlfriend visited Dad this afternoon. They brought Dad a vanilla shake and a cheeseburger. He brought Dad some more of that gum he liked too. Hope we don't sabotage the appeal of the nursing home's meals. We're just trying to get some weight on Dad...
He was happy to see Dad's eye is looking a lot better. Evidently the eye drops the primary doctor prescribed are working. Dad kept repeating, "It's all part of the plan", "Mom and him had a deal" and "Mom had invested in him". He said Dad kept repeating these same things over and over. He had a few more phrases that he used to try and communicate what he was trying to say, but neither my brother or his girlfriend could decipher what it applied to or figure out what he meant.
When my brother told Dad he loved him, Dad told them, "I love you both". That made them both smile and ended their visit on a positive note. Dad may not have a lot to say these days, but he knows who we are, we are visiting with him daily, and he loves us. Later, when my brother and I were discussing their visit over the phone, my brother said it is kind of unrealistic to expect to have philosophical conversations with Dad, because his ability to speak is going to become less and less as time goes on.
I am going to see Dad tomorrow and Monday. I want to call his primary care doctor and have a discussion with him about Dad. I need to find out why he switched Dad's heart medication from Atenol to Digoxin. I want to know if depression and lethargy are side effects. I want to talk with his Psychiatrist as well. I know he views Dad as depressed, so he may view Dad's semi silence as part of it too...
Dad, I know you are in there, so maybe I can take you out for a walk to pep you up... I just have this impending doom feeling that I cannot shake. My brother who visited Dad this morning, sent a picture of Dad eating his cinnamon roll. Neither my sister nor I liked the look in Dad's eyes. I just feel haunted by it and have to see Dad to really know how he is.
I know the black hole of Alzheimer's is looming "out there" gathering darkness and making it's hole deeper and wider for Dad to fall into to. We all know it, but we are not at all ready for it...
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