Dad and I went through the menu, picking out balanced meals for tomorrow. I wrote the selections in a notebook. Faye arrived to take my place. We talked a little (or a lot). Room service called for Dad's meal order and I handed her the list I had made. Soon after I left. I went home at 7, washed my food containers, packed breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. I gathered more clothes for Dad. I read e-mail while eating supper. Soon the fridge will be empty enough to clean. At 8 I skyped my tapping buddy and we tapped for stress and fatigue. Then I washed up and changed my clothes. I put a night gown in my carry-on as well as Dad's clothes and supplements I started writing my blog, but did not have time to finish or I would miss the 10 pm locking of the doors.
When I got to the hospital, a nurse was dressing Dad for bed. As tired as he was all day, I hoped he would go to bed early. Faye and I slipped out while the nurse attached a condom catheter to Dad. She left, and Faye caught me up on the last few hours. Then Faye went home. Dad was asleep so I turned off the lights and opened the door a crack for light. I dressed for bed and took my evening supplements. I tried to be quiet as I arranged pillows and a blanket in the reclining chair.
The 'fun' started early. Dad woke up at 1am, pulling at his gown and arm protectors, and then IV parts. I struggled to keep him covered and in bed. He was not himself and did not answer questions like “What is your name? What month is it?” I even tried saying “Wake up”. Once he allowed himself to urinate, he was calmer. We both went to back to sleep.
He woke again at 4:30, more insistent on removing his gowns. Finally I called the nurse to get him straightened out. He listened to her but hadn't to me. Again, peeing seemed to help, but he did not trust the catheter.
He fell asleep again, but was awakened at 6 by a tech taking a blood sugar reading. He murmured, “Did you have to do that?”. He tried to sleep again, but at 6:30 the nurse assistant came with a Synthroid pill. He refused to wake up. It took three of us to get him to bestir himself enough to take the pill, and he went back to sleep. I stayed in the chair, listening to the nurses change-of-shift report at 7. It was the first change-of-shift report I had heard.
At 7:30, breakfast came, but he preferred to sleep. I opened the blinds to let daylight do it's work. I got his dentures ready. I wrote “Speak slowly” on the white board under communication aids.
About 9 he was awake enough to be ready for breakfast. I gave him his lower denture and a Viactive chew. I adjusted the tray table for Dad and went to the bathroom. The pastor stopped by to visit and prayed over the food. Afterward, Dad put in his upper denture and started eating. Someone came to dress him and left because he was eating. I ate my breakfast as he ate. I sliced his apple. He called the tech back to wash and dress him. I asked if I could soak his feet and trim his toenails, but I was told no, the podiatrist had to do it. As the nurse removed his catheter, I realized he is becoming less self conscious. The nurse talked about removing his IV ports, but got called away. She put him on a bladder training program which means he has to be taken to the bathroom every 2 hours from 10 until 6.
At 10:30 the PT came. She spoke with us for a bit about a Parkinsons exercise program she is starting, then took him to the gym to practice walking, and also work on sit/stand/sit. Then he used a rollator to go to the little cafeteria to play a card game called Apples and Oranges. Dad did not have a good hand, but he was a good sport. He had trouble choosing a card to fit the word. The PT made him stand most of the time to play the game.
When he got back to the room, he 'walked' his wheelchair to the bathroom, opened the door and rolled inside. That was quite a feat. He shaved in front of the sink while I wrote notes for my blog. He rinsed his shaver in his accustomed manner. I called a nurse for his noon potty break. I heard a tinkle so it was working. While Dad ate his lunch, I ate mine. William called. He said he could spend some time with Dad when he gets out of the hospital. Dad could not finish his lunch by 1 so I put the rest in a plastic container for later so the lady could take the tray. The speech therapist came by and asked him questions which tested his memory, including how many boys names could he think of in a minute. I think he got 5. Then she took him to the OT in the gym. He got some of the same questions. The case worker cornered me to talk about home life and who can help. She said I am there too much. The OT was concerned about one of his ports falling out and called his nurse. She waited, and then took him to the bathroom. The nurse never came. We went back to the room. She said he was scheduled for a second round of PT and could he handle that? He said he could, but I could see how tired he was. She said there would be more therapy over the weekend; either Saturday or Sunday but not both. The nurse came to remove his ports and then put him to bed. He fell asleep. I dozed in the chair. At 4:30 I went to the nurse's station to ask if it was more important for Dad to sleep or to maintain the bladder schedule. She went to ask but I never heard back. Dad woke up and asked to urinate, so I called a nurse. She helped him go and said his brief was still dry (and had been all day). Supper came just then, so instead of going back to bed, he stayed up to eat. I sat with him. William called for a bit, then after while came over. He brought me a bottle of fermented beet juice. I had to make a face when I tasted it. Mmmmuggggh. He also had a bag of trail mix. It was quite tasty. And he had a bag of elastic waist pants for Dad. Dad finished everything on his tray. Faye showed up next. It was turning into a family reunion. The night nurse told us we could have a folding bed if we wanted one. We tried to help Dad pay bills. But one envelop wasn't a bill and the other one said his account was overdue even though he had paid it two weeks ago. I called but never got through.
Around 7 Kurt showed up. He surprised us by saying he was planning to stay with Dad for the next 48 hours, and then going home. I showed him the cafeteria with fridge and microwave. A nurse showed us a few other things. Kurt went to his car to get his clothes and such. Kurt asked Faye to spend the night also so he could learn the ropes. Faye told me to go home. William carried my carry-on out to my car. He scraped off the newly fallen ice and snow. Then I drove him to where his truck was parked. And I went to Dad's house.
I sat down to unwind by catching up on e-mail. I talked to Chris for a bit, then caught up my blog.
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