Unfortunately, Dad is still in rather low spirits. He was glad to see us, of course, but he simply is not happy and that's bad for a lot of reasons. Many of the problems revolve around eating. A basic problem -- and maybe the most important one -- is that it hurts him to eat, apparently because his dentures don't fit well. Liz is working on the dental end of things to get this remedied. I hope it goes well and soon. Oddly, it seemed like today was the first time he mentioned that it really hurts him to eat. Also, he is still on the soft/pureed diet with thickener in his drinks so much of the food is not very appetizing. Between the pain and the food, he doesn't eat enough (and probably doesn't get enough liquid) which makes him feel even worse.
Dad liked Granite Farms much better. This is partly because Mom ate with him there, but there are other reasons, too. As Liz explained in an earlier post, the business with alarms on his bed and chair makes him feel like he is in prison; I can appreciate that. They won't let him try to go anywhere or do anything by himself. It doesn't really foster improvements in his ability to do things for himself. And many of the people in the area are parked in their wheel chairs schlumped in front of the TV in the common area -- it's not something to aspire to. It feels like the environment is dragging him down. Unfortunately, though he is in better shape than many in the medical area, he is not good enough for assisted living. So please pray for him.
Mom is OK. She seems reasonably happy and is fairly settled. She does get up to see Dad regularly, though we wish she would spend more time with him. It means a lot to him. Mom's room feels pretty much like home unlike Dad's room, which in spite of some touches of home still feels like a hospital room. David modified her puzzle board to fit on the fold-out desk area she has, so she has a puzzle going for the first time in a while. She got to church yesterday and book club today (Aunt Kathy picked her up), so she has a bit of social life. It also sounds like she keeps in touch with people by phone (said she talks with Aunt Bet pretty regularly).
I brought up the subject of selling the car today. Interestingly, she did not object to losing the car -- seems to have accepted that she won't be able to drive -- but she would rather keep the car in the family, perhaps giving it to one of the grand kids. I can understand this; it's nice to be able to pass your things along. Selling it isn't quite the same. But how to work out who gets the car? Seems easier to sell it. Have to figure that one out.
On the walker front, not much has changed. She was not using it in her room and when I asked she simply said that she does not use it in the room. (She knows she is supposed to.) There is no convincing her, so I didn't even argue (much). I did ask if she has had any falls. She said, "a few, but they were minor." Aiee, aiee, aiee.
On the positive side, MB, Liz, and I had a nice time with Dad in the afternoon (while Mom was at book club) going to the apartment, picking up a few things, and looking through old stuff. I found a couple of things that made Dad (and all of us) really laugh. These aren't relevant to M&D's health, but you might enjoy them. When our kids were little, we used to write down the really hilarious things they said. Apparently Mom and Midi did some of the same:
- Mom to Liz (when Liz was little): Isn't that Dorrie's money you have?
Liz: Well, when Dorrie isn't using it I call it mine.
(Gary, does she do this with you?)
- Something I said when I was 4 (written down by Midi): Mommie owns two great big phone books. She sure doesn't know a lot of people!
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