The big news is that Mom is back at Lima as of yesterday. She has a room in assisted living. Dor spent a lot of time early in the week preparing for the move, working with Mom to figure out what furniture to move, arranging the furniture move, etc. David picked up Mom yesterday morn and brought her over. Dave, Dor, MB, and I all spent the afternoon there yesterday trying to get the place set up -- hanging mirrors, pictures, etc. We brought Dad over, too, to hang out for the afternoon. (Liz was enjoying a much deserved break in Florida.)
We went up to dinner in the main dining room and many, many people stopped to say hi and how glad they were to see Mom and Dad again. MB and I were so impressed with how caring everyone at Lima seems -- both the residents and the staff.
After dinner, Dor took Dad back to Granite Farms where her singing group, the Revels, just happened to be performing that evening! So, Dad got to see her perform.
The Lima folks have told us that they will probably have a room for Dad soon in the medical unit back at Lima. That would be an answer to prayer, as it may be a little tough for him now that he and Mom are in different facilities. Once they find a permanent room for him at Lima, I expect we will need to empty out the apartment. (As long as he is in a temporary place, the apartment is his residence.) Dad's health has not changed much since the last post. He's doing OK, but still needs to get stronger and he has problems with aspiration so he is on a pureed diet -- not a lot of fun and it results in him eating less.
Mom is adjusting to her new home. Although it is in the same Lima facility, it is quite different. She has a single room (though it is fairly large) and the assisted living area is a bit of a walk from the main part of the facility. She still has access to everything that she had access to before (e.g., main dining area), but most things are quite a distance so she has to make a special effort to walk up there. By default, she will eat and socialize in the smaller assisted living area. She does know some of the residents there, which is a good start.
I am still concerned about Mom not using the walker. Yesterday there were many times when she didn't use it. I would remind her, but she is stubborn. I would not be surprised if she barely uses it at all when she is alone in her room, and I wonder how long it will be until her next fall. That could be especially bad if there is no one there to see her. Not many people walk by her room -- all the action (nurses station, dining, etc.) is upstairs and her door is often shut -- so if something happened it could be a while until anyone found her. I think she needs to get one of those emergency buttons you wear on a necklace. Dorrie has some info on them -- recommendations are welcome!
Enough news for now. We will all see Mom and Dad again this coming Sunday when we get together at David and Sharon's for a belated family Christmas celebration. (M&D were at Dor's on Christmas day.)
BTW, Mom's address is now 'OBT 105' (instead of A332). The landline phone is being switched to her room, but as of yesterday it was not yet working.
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