Faye left and I got ready for bed. I turned out the lights and we wet to sleep.
It was an even easier night. I heard Dad rustling, but I didn't have to get up. All too soon, it was 6:50 and a cheery nurse cane in with a pill for dad I was not in the mood for cheery. I opened the blinds. Dad was complaining of discomfort with the catheter. The nurse drained the bag but he was still uncomfortable. He said he did not get much sleep. I did ok, but there was a tickle in my throat. No chest pain, though.
Breakfast came. The nurse switched the catheter for a Depends and put him in his wheelchair. He wanted me to peel the hardboiled eggs for him, but he ate everything. He complained of a sore spot on his gums due to the dentures. The nurse said he might be able to get a day pass to go to the dentist. (but I can't take him to the bathroom?)
A substitute OT Melanie, took him in the bathroom to get a shower and get dressed. He tried to shave, but the shaver needed charging. She said he did very well getting dressed. She moved up the markers on the white board to show progress.
Then Jennifer the case worker arrived. She said a tentative date of Feb 20th for his release was decided yesterday. She wanted to say more, but Dad had therapy and wanted to be present for all she said. So she agreed to return later. The OT took him to the gym to work on bolts and wing nuts. He did quite well at that.
When we got back to the room, he laid down. A nurse came with pills. Then the speech therapist arrived. She spent 15 minutes fiddling with his hearing aid and talking about going to the audiologist to get it to fit better. But Dad has already done that. She read him some if-then statements to respond to. She said he should play card games, read stories, summarize news articles. She gave him 3-part commands and he was able to complete them with no problem. She also gave him homework. He laid down again until the PT arrived.
They went to the gym. He walked the halls with a gait belt, then with a rollator to the sun room. Lunch was ready when he got back. While he ate, I visited the nurse's station to get a number for the airline to call to verify that it was medically necessary for me to have an open-return-date ticket. The nurse practitioner stopped by. Then the case worker came back. But so did the PT to take him to more therapy. So the case worker said she would return, but we did not see her again today.
The PT took him outside with the rollator to navigate sidewalks and curbs. Again, he did well.
I pushed the wheelchair behind him. She talked to him about having someone to live with. Then we came back to the room.
I was tired and took a nap. But Dad did his homework, including unscrambling words. He got the 4 and 5 letter ones, but had trouble with the 6 letter ones. When he had to go, he called the nurse all on his own. The nurse came and helped him and put him back. I gave him some strategies for unscrambling words. We quit when supper arrived. Once he was eating, I packed my suitcase and left. There was still a little daylight and I wanted to get to a gas station.
I went to Sheetz. It was easy to find, but I got a little lost trying to get back to Dad's house. I brought in my suitcase and the stuff Faye left, as well as the mail. I relaxed into the vibrating lounge chair. It was heavenly. But my phone was beeping and finally I stopped to read the texts. Faye was at the hospital with a container of fresh chicken from Kevin. I guess I should have stayed.
Anyway, I washed the lunch and breakfast containers. I plugged in my phone, tablet and EmWave. I considered doing laundry but decided to wait until tomorrow. I ate cold rotisserie chicken. I made a salad and ate it while reading e-mail. I took a bath and changed my clothes. I called Chris. He said he has an interview next week. I started writing my blog. I stopped to answer texts. I packed my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, and then it was time to head back.
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