Update on Dad 2-5-12

I'm so sorry to be a week behind schedule, everyone! I know you may be worried that something has happened to Dad, but he's still much the same as he has been.

Something has happened to me, however. I was just called as the Relief Society President in my ward (president of the women's organization in our church congregation), so I've been very busy and keep thinking things will settle down, but they haven't so far.

I wasn't able to reach Dad when I tried to phone tonight - my phone was acting up and kept cutting me off, so I have a very short report from my friend Barbara, Dad's hospice nurse, a short report from my sister Martha, and a fun story about Dad and Mitt Romney - when he was a student at BYU.

When Barbara visited Dad recently, she asked him if he was experiencing any pain. He told her no. She said, "So your only pain is me," and Dad laughed. Barbara was impressed! She said she hadn't indicated in her voice that she was joking, so she felt it was clear that Dad was aware of what she was saying.

Martha told me she's seen Dad three times quite close together recently and that all of the visits were better than they've been.

For her visit last Sunday - with her husband, I think - she said he was slower to wake up than he usually is, but he gave them a big smile and was glad to see them. He chuckled and smiled at their stories about their grandson Luke who'd been staying with them.

His throat was dry and he wanted a drink, but the water in his room wasn't thickened, and when she checked about that, she was told that they don't thicken the water in the room. Martha will ask the head nurse about that since he chokes on plain water.

After trying to get him something to drink, Dad was dozing off, and when Martha suggested they leave, Dad said yes.

It does sounds like Dad is staying at about the same level. I asked Martha about how much Dad's eating and whether he's losing weight, but she hasn't heard.

As for the Mitt Romney story, I received a call a week or two ago from a reporter at the Washington Post - not an everyday occurrence! He was trying to verify a story he'd been told by Dad's friend Elouise Bell. The story goes that Mitt was an English major at BYU when Dad was department chair. Mitt came to Dad asking advice on what he should do after graduation. Apparently Dad said, "Mitt, with all you've got going for you, you should get an MBA. You can read books any time!" (Elouise, please post any needed corrections.)

I was sorry to tell the reporter that I couldn't verify the story and that I didn't think Dad would be able to either - he doesn't even remember his wonderful Navy stories that we used to have him tell over and over again. The reporter naturally didn't want to give up on such a great story, so I suggested he call my sister Martha in Springville to see if she could check the story out with Dad. I forgot to ask Martha if he'd called her, but I told the reporter that Elouise was a reliable source and a colleague and friend of Dad's, so if she'd told him the story, I believed it. I don't know if it will ever find its way into print, but it's a fun story!

That's all for tonight. I'll plan to write another post next week and stay on schedule better.

Thanks for reading!