Update on Dad 10-31-10

Hi, All!

Well, I struck out again tonight--Dad was sound asleep when I called. This time I asked the worker when would be a better time to call, so I'm hoping to manage to speak to Dad next time I call.

I do have reports from Christie, from John, and from Dave (Martha's husband).

When my sister Christie called Dad last Sunday, she found him "quite chipper." Rather than just clicking his teeth in response to what she said, he said things like, "Oh, yes," and "Oh, my." Christie felt he was tracking what she was saying more than he has been and says he was in good spirits.

My brother John wrote me a long report about a recent visit with Dad:

Elaine and I went to see Dad last evening and he was more involved in the conversation and more animated than I've seen him in quite some time. He was gesturing (slapping his forehead at something ridiculous-sounding; reaching up to his glasses and resetting them to indicate a kind of "Hmmm" notion) much more than of late. We felt like it was more of a two-way conversation than we'd had in many months.

We were mostly talking about preparations for [their daughter] Lisa's wedding [in December] and he was very clear on what we were talking about. When we mentioned Lisa's in-laws-to-be, Elaine said she'd been very lucky in that regard. Dad said he felt the same way--and repeated it (out of context) just as we were leaving. It was a good visit.

When Martha got there for her recent visit, Dad was listening to a BYU assembly broadcast and she said he was attending to it and apparently following it. 

Dad's had problems with his catheter recently, so a urologist recommended that he get a permanent one. Apparently one of the advantages is less pain. He had the surgery this past week, and here's Dave's report about it:

The surgery [Monday morning] went very well, and Dad was fairly lucid before and after surgery.  We were with him from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  His surgery began about 11:30 a.m., and he was done by about 1:15 which included a 45 minute period in recovery.  Then, we waited with him until 3:30 when the Care Center van came to pick him up and take him back to Springville.

I read many excerpts to him from Opera Antics & Anecdotes, by Stephen Tanner.  It has some wonderful humor which Dad responded to very well.  We had a great visit.  Martha had to cancel her oboe lessons, but that's what was needed.

Dad still doesn't quite understand what the surgery was all about, what it was for, and forgets our explanations (quite a few) about two minutes after each time we or the nurse explained it to him.

While being with him, my mind was filled with many wonderful experiences we have had together over the years.  I can't imagine (I know, I'm  prejudiced) anyone having a greater and more loving, caring father-in-law.

Anyway, the deed is done.  He came through it in real style.

Tonight when I phoned, I asked the staff member how Dad's been doing with the new catheter. She said he had some pain the first couple of days, but since then he's been doing better with the new catheter.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

Update on Dad 10-17-10

Hello Everyone,

I wasn't able to talk to Dad tonight, but luckily, I have information from a couple of other sources to report on:

My brother, John, has been so busy with his work that he's been unable to visit Dad recently, but he told me that his wife, Elaine, and her mother, Marian Monson--a dear friend of many years--visited Dad and found him much the same as he's been.

My brother Alan's daughter Beth and her husband, Rick, and their five kids visited recently. (This is as reported to John by Alan). Dad was eating a meal when they came, and after Rick introduced the kids--who love their Papadaddy so much, he seemed to lose interest, and he didn't even appear to realize that they had come to visit him. I'm sure that was a disappointment to all of them!

I phoned Beth and Rick with a suggestion for next time, but I just had to leave it on their voice mail: next time, plan a little 5-minute "program" for him, where the kids sing a song, give him a picture they've drawn, sing another song or two, and say goodbye. I explained that Dad can't really hold up his end of an interaction anymore--at least not consistently. I do hope they'll try again.

Christie (my sister in Pittsburgh) told me she spoke to Dad a week ago, and that Bob, our sister Lucy's husband, was there, so they had a three-way conversation. She thought Dad was more comfortable with that kind of conversation--as we've noticed before. She said he actually made a comment himself at one point in the conversation. When I pressed her for details, she said that was it really, but she clearly enjoyed the conversation and felt Dad was enjoying it also and was more engaged and aware than last time they talked.

When I phoned tonight, the nurse explained to me that Bob had just left after a very short visit because Dad kept falling asleep. The nurse didn't feel like it would be a good time to try to get him into his wheelchair and out into the hall where they have to take him so their cordless phone will work. I agreed with her but was sorry not to get to talk to Dad or tell him my stories about my grandson jumping into a pile of leaves and showing off for the web chat with my son-in-law's family. Christine says he loves to see himself on the computer screen and gets very hyper--"high as a kite" as Dad would say!

Thanks to all of you for your love and interest in my Dad, and I'll sign off for the night.

Report on Dad 10-3-10

Hi Everyone!

Tonight's report comes from information I got from my sister Lucy, her husband, Bob, and from my own conversation with Dad.

Lucy saw it was me calling and answered her phone even though she was at choir practice for Martha's Christmas Chorus. So she gave me a very brief report and told me to call Bob who visited Dad tonight. Lucy did tell me that Dad's been more talkative the last few times she's seen him, asking, "How's the family?" He's clearly known who she is, though he's asked her how many kids she has. Lucy says it's much nicer than when Dad just says, "Uh-huh" and doesn't really participate in the conversation at all.

Bob told me that tonight Dad was in the best spirits he's been in for the last three weeks. During visits during the last three weeks, Bob says Dad's been down, responding to questions about how he's doing by saying "Oh, don't ask me!"

Tonight Dad said to Bob several times, "Boy, you look good!" He didn't complain of any pain, but Bob says he has a sore on his hand that may have been from his fall a few weeks ago. Bob, who's trained as an EMT, noticed that it's red all around the sore and asked the nurse to check on it. When Bob told Dad that their daughter Britta is in town with her two girls and that Britta and the girls would be coming by to visit, Dad replied, "I'm looking forward to it!"

When I phoned Dad tonight, his voice sounded strong, and he told me how good it was to hear my voice--it's great to hear him say it even though I know it's his standard line to everyone who calls. I told him a couple of stories about my grandson, Jeffrey, who's now talking in complete sentences. The other night as he was going upstairs to bed, he said, "I'm climbing." (His mom, the linguist, was impressed that he was using the progressive form of the verb!--but I didn't try to explain that part to Dad.)

He chuckled at my story about Jeffrey and the potty: I recently taught Jeffrey "eeny, meeny, minie, mo" to help him make choices, and when he's done flushing the toilet, I ask him if he wants to use the hand sanitizer or the soap to wash his hands. He says, "Mee-mo," and gets both the hand sanitizer and the soap dispenser and puts them side-by-side on the floor, and we say "eeny, meeny, minie, mo." He always chooses the soap, but "eeny, meeny, minie, mo" is an essential part of the ritual. Tonight he put his hand on the soap first while I said "eeny," and that's as far as we got--he picked up the soap. Dad chuckled at the story. I'm so grateful he still has his great sense of humor.

Dad sent his love to all of us here, I told him I loved him, and that was the end of our conversation, and it's the end of my blog--except to say, as always, thanks to all of you for your interest and love!