She noticed an 8 x 12 sheet of paper taped to the wall over his bed, typed in at least 36 point font, which read:
"Daughter of bed 38C is upset that staff is calling the wife of the resident. Please call daughter first for any changes in resident's care."
Mom smiled. Guess they heard Donna loud and clear, she thought... Mom and I have been having a heck of a time getting the staff to consistently call ME first, instead of her...hopefully, the sign will stay in place for a while.
The wound care nurse popped in to visit with Mom, telling her she had treated the wound on Dad's left pinkie toe and how well it was healing. They chit chatted about their grand kids and great grand kids. Mom loves the look on her face when she talks about her newly born grand son...Mom shared with her about my grand son Jacob, who has two bottom teeth at six months old. The nurse was very impressed...
After the nurse left, Mom woke Dad gently. He opened his eyes and smiled, telling her he had been waiting for her...
A new nurse came in and introduced herself to Mom. She helped Dad get dressed and into his wheel chair. Mom wheeled Dad into the dining room and took a table by the patio window. She and Dad looked out to the ominous dark clouds...Dad was very concerned about Mom driving in this kind of weather...she told him not to worry because the rain would not come until after she got home...
She read him a few bible verses to calm him down. Dad continued to talk, and Mom listened...
"Donna was kidnapped by Gadhafi. I thought he was my brother until he did that to her! No brother of mine would do such a thing." Mom assured him I was fine...
Yesterday, the nursing home called to inform me his psychiatrist had ordered Zyprexia 2.5mg for Dad because the past four nights he awakes at 4am and refuses to go back to sleep. He fears he is going to be kidnapped and held for ransom. Dad gets very afraid and needs someone to comfort him. He stays awake until 6am, when he allowed to get up.
Mom inquired this morning before going into Dad's room, and the head nurse told Mom Dad had slept in until 6am. It sounds like Dad has been watching the TV and I have asked them NOT TO LET HIM HEAR TROUBLING NEWS...
***Since coming home from California on Monday, it has been non-stop chaos around our home. Starting with plumbing problems with our refrigerator and our water heater. (Thank God we took out warranties on everything...) It has been a rough week. It seems everything was breaking down and the phone has not stopped ringing between plumbing companies and Sears! Hopefully, we will have a new water heater and HOT WATER tomorrow!!!*** Hopefully, I can call Dad on Saturday...
Dad was really working himself into a snit when his lunch arrived...which totally mellowed him out...
"I am so happy and at home here...if anyone tries to make me leave, I will raise hell!"
Dad immediately started to mix together his lasagna, green salad, zucchini and a dish of mixed fruit (Mom rescued his garlic bread before he added it to the mix!) Dad looked up at the young man who served him and asked where his fruit plate was. The young man apologized and reached to remove Dad's "mixture".
Dad quickly grabbed the young man's wrist, telling him he was not finished and he wanted the fruit to eat with his lunch. Shortly, the young man returned with a large plate with cottage cheese in the middle surrounded by watermelon chunks, peaches, pears and orange slices. Dad polished it off before the plate had settled on the table...
Dad drank his milk, his chocolate Ensure drink and licked his lips. He announced to Mom he was ready for a nap. Apparently, his morning physical therapy is really giving him a good work out! Mom wheeled him back toward his room...
On their way out, the administrator walked in, greeting several of the patients. When he saw Mom and Dad he shook Dad's hand and patted Mom on the back. Mom made sure he knew how happy Dad was and how much he enjoyed living there...
Mom was thankful for another good visit as she kissed him good bye and told Dad she loved him.
8 comments:
It always warms my heart when I read about your mum's good visits to see your dad. All that news about Gadhaffi on the tv has obviously been troubling his mind. Poor dear. Do hope you get your hot water and refrigerator problems sorted out soon! It always seems to happen like that, when everything seems to go wrong at once. Have a peaceful weekend.
It seems that your family, although going through a hard time, is also learning many valuable lessons about love and compassion while caring for your dad.
Your grandfurbabies and that smiling little grandbaby are just the cutest things ever. And your daughter is so beautiful with darker hair.
Hope you have a great weekend. Best wishes, Tammy
Donna, your dad is blessed to be in a facility that cares for him and he loves. My husband's aunt was in agood home with a high staff turnover and nobody knew what was goingon. It was frustrating. Convinced me that I want no part of one. I once pinned a note to her, Please wipe my mouth after I eat.
Your dad sounds like a corker :)
I'm sorry you came home to such a mess, Donna. I hope things get fixed and back to normal quickly.
It sounds like the nursing home has finally gotten the message about you being the one to call.
I don't know how your Dad stays so slim, the way he eats! Glad for another good visit, and I sure hope that sign helps with the phone calls.
I've got several patients on Zyprexa with good results!
I liked that they did the sign over his bed, Donna; I hope they have a big one at the nurses station too to call you first. Sorry about the problems with your appliances et al at home, but the good news is once they all get fixed, then they should be good to go for a few more years, right???
betty
Interesting that there was a sign over the bed. It shows they listen which is not a quality of many institutions these days.
It's heartening to know that even though your family is going through a tough time, there are so many positives there as well.
Blessings. I like that you like my 'header'. Thank you for saying so - I think it may scare some people off!!
It seems like when one thing goes wrong everything does! Hope everything is back to normal now!
Glad to hear about your moms visit with your dad!!
Sorry I am always so late. My excuse this time is we had no phone service for two days. The constuction workers cut the phone line so I couldn't get on the internet either. The only good thing that came out of it was I did get some reading done.
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