Dad has changed a lot for the better in the last few days....I almost hate to report this and then have it turn 180 degrees overnight but the point of the blog is to report frequently no matter the outcome.
Since Sunday afternoon Dad is really "with it". He is eating better than he did in the last two years that I was with him. He frequently asks what's for lunch or supper. He eats seconds and DESSERT. I can't say how much weight he has gained because we haven't weighed him since last week. I think it will be a few pounds though. The nurse comes again on Friday and she will do it and mark it down in his home health book.
As hard as it may be to believe....Dad is walking basically on his own WITHOUT dropping and his knees caving in. That has not happened for over a month anyway. Now I am guessing that the epidural shot is doing the trick....We will know that in about 3 months and if he starts the dipping again with the pain in his hips, I will make him an appt with my pain dr for another epidural shot. Dad actually should have had the 3rd shot but he is not complaining about the hip pain at all. Now he does have pain in his back on occasion but not at all like he was.
We took him to the eye doctor on Monday. It's funny how he "wakes" up when he is questioned by professionals. It just fascinates me how he can answer like there is nothing wrong with him.
Basically the outcome with the eye doctor was that with his glasses on, he has 20/20 vision, close up and far away.
He read letters that I couldn't even see and I had my glasses on and I was closer than he was.
Now how do you explain the fact that he says he can't focus and that he sees double?
Well, it's like this......his glasses were made wrong in Logan. Yep, simple as that. I could see that when I really looked at them more closely.
The bifocal line is right in his viewing area cause a double vision. The fact that he used to wear the glasses and complained that he was seeing double caused him to take them off and he wore them to prevent seeing double and blurred basically.
It was that everything was blurred giving the double effect. The Dr told him that Parkinson's can also affect the muscles in the eye and that he could have trouble focusing without his glasses because the muscles of the eyes can become lazy and affect his vision considerably. Dad does have cataracts in both eyes but they are not interferring with his vision. He has not other diseases of the eyes. They Dr was actually impressed with Dad's vision and condition of his eyes for his age.
Dr suggested to Dad that he keep his glasses on all the time. He had us go to the optician to have her fix them for him. So when the gal in the eyeglass section of the office bent his nose pieces so that he could have that bifocal line moved downward, he could see again without double vision. She did so for free.
He has been reading the closed caption on the TV. Go figure. He wrote a nice readable note in a card to Louise....something he hasn't been able to do for months. He looked at photographs for me tonight and told me who people were. {I have been scanning and editing}
So we may still get new lenses and have them made correctly. Dad is still thinking on it.
Dad still hallucinates. {maybe 3-4 times daily he will bring up a subject} He sees money gone when he had it in his hand. He still has "dreams" about property being sold and wonders where certain things are and I tell him where they really are in reality. Eventually he lets it go and stops worrying. He still loves to argue about what's what. Rod just shakes his head at us. Dad will swear there is a door to the basement here......and I say no there isn't and Dad says yes there is.....and I say we have no basement....and she says yes you do. LOL
Dad is going to the Senior Day Center tomorrow for the first time. They have all sorts of activities for Seniors. It's not the typical center where most are independent and can do anything on their own....this is a center for those Seniors that need assistance. I have already toured the facility and I think Dad might like it. They have meals served as well. Dad will no doubt complain about that but then that will make him appreciate my cooking all the more. 8-)
Tomorrow is Bible Study in the afternoon and that's why I chose Thursdays for him to go because I knew he would like that and he did. I will pick him up between 4 and 5 as the center closes at 5. There are recliners there if he wants to take a nap. I know he will speak up if he wants something.....no doubt there. It may take him a time or two to get to know the gals that work there. I met them already and I think Dad will like them. He has already told me that he is not wearing sweat pants to the center...he wants regular pants and went to lengths to tell me exactly what he wanted to wear. I explained to him that I didn't bring all those clothes with me and he can find something in Rod's closet since they wear about the same size. He said OKAY then! He said he hates those sweat pants.....but I told him that they were bought because of his inability to take his own clothes off and that it was easier for the caretakers to help him if he had sweat pants. It's a good sign though that he is aware of what he looks like and tells me exactly what it is that he wants to do to look good for tomorrow.
Home health will soon come to a close. I think Dad will be able to do a lot on his own from now on. He shaved himself this morning. He has not done that for months either. One step at a time but my personal goal for him is to at least be able to get up and go to the bathroom on his own. That would be a huge improvement and would really please him. My sofas are cushy and soft and they sink down. He is able to get himself out of them without a lot of difficulty to my surprise. He can stand up from them too. It may take him a time or two of trying but he does get up. Good exercise for him though.
I have been told in previous months what an adjustment we were going to have to make to have my Dad live with us.....I think they were all wrong. I knew they were wrong when they said it.
The main adjustment I had to make was being woke up in the middle of the night cause I would rather have bamboo shoots under my fingernails than to be woke up. haha Almost. It's not really that bad when Dad is not upset and hallucinating to have him around. I rather like having him around and knowing that he is being taken care of and that he is safe and eating well. I have down time....I don't mind taking him with us when we go out. He goes out with us when we eat out and he seems to really enjoy it.
Rod helps Dad all the time. Dad and Rod talk alot about men stuff. I just stay out of it. I find something else to do when they are watching TV in the evening. I have plenty of projects to get done.
And so it goes.
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