We were awake at 6:30, but the pill did not arrive until almost 7. I got dressed and started the denture process. Breakfast arrived. Jeff took off the cath, put the white stretchy socks on Dad, and sat him in the wheelchair.
We ate breakfast then I packed excess clothing in the suitcase and took it to the house. I came back with the forgotten fat bombs. I had trouble getting the car key in and out of the ignition. When I got back to the hospital, I asked Dad about it. He said it wasn't fully in 'park' and I should shift to 'neutral' first, then shift to park. (Why isn't that question on the cognitive test?)
I placed a bowl of hot water in front of Dad and he washed up. I called Cecily to get her address, then put a check in the envelop to pay for the new tire she and Al put on. I took two envelopes to the first floor to mail them. When I returned, he was still there. But soon an alternate therapist came to take him to the gym. She walked him a lot because he wanted to. Then they did steps up and down. She had him roll over a carpet to pick up cones and transport them back across the carpet to a mat. Then she had him weave in and out of the cones with a rollator. Finally she had him tap the top of each cone with the nearest foot and then with the farthest foot. He did surprisingly well.
The OT took him from there. She put a graduation sticker on him, and fixed a certificate to his white board. She had him practice laying down and getting up from a bed. She also had him lift and lower a bar to increase the range of motion on his right arm. Then he met the speech therapist in his room. She retested him cognitively, and he made a 39/50. I was surprised it was so low after all the quickness he showed earlier. I wondered if one of his meds is slowing him down.
Lunch arrived before the speech therapist was done. We ate after she left. William called and talked to me for half an hour while Dad continued to eat.
The OT came back after lunch to practice laying down and getting up again. He complained of back pain and she showed him the best way to avoid it. She also recommended alternating heat and ice. She brought him a leg-lifter to see if it helped.
Afterward, we went for a walk with the rollator. Then he wanted to lie down, so we rehearsed the proper way. We took a nap, but the nurse woke us up to say she was leaving and another nurse was taking her place. Dad got up, and laid down again, still in some pain. He napped for a short time, then got up for another walk. The rehab doctor stopped me and asked where he filled his prescriptions. I caught up with Dad and we went back to the room for supper. When he was settled and eating, I filled my suitcase with things he wouldn't need for tomorrow. I was putting on my coat to leave when William called to give me directions to his house. I drove to Dad's house and brought the suitcase and mail inside. Faye arrived and I climbed in with her. We went to visit William and Karen.
They showed us their thrifty bargains around the house, and artwork, too. We sat down to supper. She served salmon and veggies, a very tasty and healthy meal. We chatted about Dad and Patrick and cancer doctors.
William showed me their upstairs Toto toilets. Really, he ought to quit his job and become a sales man for them. I was antsy to leave to get all the usual stuff done before hospital. It was after 8 when Faye took me back to Dad's house. Once there, I packed breakfast and a lunch in case we were late leaving. I cried when I thought of how much Dad ate at the hospital and how am I going to feed him that much at home? The weather will be too bad to take him to the grocery store. I might not even get him into the house safely.
I pulled myself together, washed up and changed clothes. After a quick call to Chris, I went back to the hospital, which by the way, is so nicely decorated that it does not look like a hospital.
* Dad and his super-cute OT Allie *
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