TGIF

I arrived at the hospital after 10. The doors were locked so I had to walk around to the emergency entrance to get in. Then I had to find my way into the main hospital and up to the 5th floor. When I got there, the nurse was putting Dad to bed. Faye asked how I was feeling, so the nurse offered to take my vitals. Blood pressure and pulse were fine. She did not take my temp. Faye stayed to talk and then went home. I got ready for bed and we both went to sleep.
I woke up at 3am hearing Dad call the nurse because he was wet. Several nurses came and changed his gown and all his linens. Then we all went back to sleep. A nurse came at 6:30 with a pill. Dad took it and went back to sleep. I tried, but the pressure in my sinuses kept me awake. So I got up and dressed. I opened the blinds so Dad could wake to natural daylight. I got his dentures ready. There was a sign on his door post saying “ADL 8:15”. I had to ask a nurse who said it meant that the OT would supervise his bathing and dressing. So breakfast came, I stirred a fat bomb into his oatmeal, and Dad ate everything on his tray. That included two hard boiled eggs. I peeled one, but left him to do the other. He said it was the first time he had ever peeled an egg.
I took my morning supplements and ate my breakfast. The OT showed up at 8:30. I deleted e-mail with my phone while they were in there. I took extra vitamin C. After she left, there was a short break before the speech therapist came. But the nurse was there with meds and to take Dad to the bathroom. So the therapist left and returned later. Dad was concerned with whether or not it was daylight savings time, so she discussed that with him and looked it up on her phone. They charted it on a calendar. She said she'd be back later for some make-up work.
PT came at 11 for a half hour of walking and then cycling with his hands. In physical therapy, there is exercise and rest, exercise and rest. So he was not moving for a whole 30 minutes. He saw someone there with a long shoe horn and asked me to make a note of it.
Then there was a short wait before lunch. When it came, I stirred a fat bomb into his rice. Again, he ate everything on his plate. He had just started the grapes when the PT arrived for the afternoon session. We went to the gym where she took him for a walk with a gait belt. She said his posture was better. Then she had him play 'corn hole', pitching a weighted bag into a hole in a board. It was a lot like 'horseshoes'. Dad did well. Then she made him pick them all up. He did that, too. Then they played again.
I followed him back to the room. We had a little time before the Speech lady was supposed to come back. But she did not come right away. As the time got longer, Dad got tired and wanted to lie down. Just before he did, she arrived. She presented him with a medication label to see if he could identify the essential information. I fell asleep. I awoke when Patrick arrived and started talking to me. The speech therapist was still talking to Dad. She assigned him homework. I asked Patrick if he could spend a few nights with Dad after he was released from the hospital. He agreed readily. Dad wanted him to have a house key. So I said Faye made extra.
Then a senior therapist came in. Patrick took his cue to leave. The therapist asked Dad questions about the usefulness of the therapy he was getting. She also asked if there was anything he needed. He mentioned the shoe horn. I mentioned the case worker. Soon she returned with a long shoe horn for Dad (not certain he gets to keep it), and then the case worker showed up. I thought she might have a lot to say, but she just wanted to verify that someone would be staying with Dad when he got out, and that he would allow in-home therapy. Reluctantly he agreed to try it for two weeks. She did not change the expected release date.
After she left, we both fell asleep. Dad woke up first and got himself in the wheelchair and arranged the tray table for supper. I woke up then, and supper arrived right on time.
I left Dad eating his supper and went home. I brought in the mail. I put a piece of chicken in the pot that I boiled ginger in. I set it on low and took a walk as it got dark. I started a grocer list. I made more fat bombs, but without the chocolate. I made a salad and ate the chicken. I called Faye. I had left all my notes in the room so she read them to me. And we played around with ways Dad could get groceries without driving.
I called Chris. He said two of my six horsetail plants are blooming, and that he has an interview on Monday for Fort Knox. I checked e-mail. I adjusted the flapper in the hall toilet and filled the tank. The water was black and murky. I turned off the water again just in case. But it did not seem to be leaking.
I sat down to write my blog with what I could remember. I unpacked my rolling bag to get the empty containers and dirty laundry. I changed my clothes and washed dishes. I packed a breakfast and a lunch, not sure how long I was going to stay tomorrow.
I also packed some clothes and crackers for Dad. And then it was time to leave for the hospital.