This visit seems so relaxing, like. The last several visits have been whirlwind tours that have left me drained, exhausted, and sick by the time I get back to Denver. After the last visit I said never again. So this time I took a vacation day on Friday and didn't make many plans. Some of my dinner plans got cancelled so I had a lot of free time. Usually when I'm here it is all go go go, drive drive drive, with about 5 hours of sleep. This was definitely better but makes me feel like I should be doing more with my time.
Visited with my Dad again Sunday afternoon. We chatted in his room for awhile before they served his lunch. He's trying very hard to communicate. He knows what he wants to say and that the words don't come out right. "My voice is talking, but, NO." He's very willing to go back and forth with you so you can guess what he's trying to say, kind of like a game of charades. He'll let you know if you are on the right track, or if you're not. He might say "where" but mean "when". Still a lot of "next door" and "the boat". We went over names, he knows who we all are but usually can't say our names. You can give him hints or start to sound it out and he can usually finish it. K. Ka. will usually lead to Keri. Ma. Maura. We talked about birthdays and the dates on the calendar, his birthday and how old he is, that we have to work on his words but that he's talking much better. After lunch we went for a walk, watched the Lions game for a little while and then he asked me if I had my purse which is code for, I'm tired, time for you to go.
I ended up working late Monday and Tuesday but braved the nasty rain and even worse traffic to see my dad on Tuesday night. I don't miss Michigan's weather when it is cold and miserable! I got to Martha T. at about 7pm and thought my dad would be kicked back watching tv but he was in the second floor common area watching a bunch of the other residents play a dice game. He does NOT want to play, but he loves to watch! We sat and watched and chatted in between the action.
He's making such an effort to talk and communicate and be understood. But when simple words like when or where get mixed up it can make it very hard to understand. It took a lot of back and forth to figure out he was asking me WHEN I was leaving because it was coming out WHERE am I going outside. He would point to where we were, and then gesture to outside and say something about another building. It took awhile but he was asking When am I going outside aka when do I need to leave! The man is still very prompt! He can't tell you the time but he certainly knows what time it is and he'll remind you when it is time to go. This probably went on for a good ten minutes but he kept trying, and would stop to really think about what he was trying to say and then start again. He gave me a few "cool it"s or "slow down"...which was funny because he would say that in the past when we were getting snotty, and now he says it just to give himself a minute to think it over.
Katie has been putting certain events on Dave's calendar so I talked to him about when I am going to visit next. We practiced the months of the year and the days of the week. You would be amazed at how memory recall works. For example if I say it is Tuesday and ask what day tomorrow will be dad probably can't answer that. But if you ask him what the days of the week are, and start him off on Monday he can rattle them all off. The same with the months. We talked about who visited him when: that I visited on Thursday, that we all went out to dinner on Friday, I visited on Saturday and Sunday, Katie visited on Monday, and Maura visited him earlier in the day on Tuesday. He seemed to recall our dinner and Katie's visit the most.
People have told me he seems to want to tell them something when they arrive. This isn't 100% guarantee but a lot of times when I get there, he wants to know when I have to leave. This way he knows if we have enough time to go for a walk which is usually what he wants to do immediately upon arrival! Always the boss! And if you go to visit and Dave isn't in his room check the two large common areas on the first and second floor in between the elevators, he might be hanging out with the ladies and watching them play games.
I'll be back soon, December 10th. Happy Thanksgiving.
keri
I ended up working late Monday and Tuesday but braved the nasty rain and even worse traffic to see my dad on Tuesday night. I don't miss Michigan's weather when it is cold and miserable! I got to Martha T. at about 7pm and thought my dad would be kicked back watching tv but he was in the second floor common area watching a bunch of the other residents play a dice game. He does NOT want to play, but he loves to watch! We sat and watched and chatted in between the action.
He's making such an effort to talk and communicate and be understood. But when simple words like when or where get mixed up it can make it very hard to understand. It took a lot of back and forth to figure out he was asking me WHEN I was leaving because it was coming out WHERE am I going outside. He would point to where we were, and then gesture to outside and say something about another building. It took awhile but he was asking When am I going outside aka when do I need to leave! The man is still very prompt! He can't tell you the time but he certainly knows what time it is and he'll remind you when it is time to go. This probably went on for a good ten minutes but he kept trying, and would stop to really think about what he was trying to say and then start again. He gave me a few "cool it"s or "slow down"...which was funny because he would say that in the past when we were getting snotty, and now he says it just to give himself a minute to think it over.
Katie has been putting certain events on Dave's calendar so I talked to him about when I am going to visit next. We practiced the months of the year and the days of the week. You would be amazed at how memory recall works. For example if I say it is Tuesday and ask what day tomorrow will be dad probably can't answer that. But if you ask him what the days of the week are, and start him off on Monday he can rattle them all off. The same with the months. We talked about who visited him when: that I visited on Thursday, that we all went out to dinner on Friday, I visited on Saturday and Sunday, Katie visited on Monday, and Maura visited him earlier in the day on Tuesday. He seemed to recall our dinner and Katie's visit the most.
People have told me he seems to want to tell them something when they arrive. This isn't 100% guarantee but a lot of times when I get there, he wants to know when I have to leave. This way he knows if we have enough time to go for a walk which is usually what he wants to do immediately upon arrival! Always the boss! And if you go to visit and Dave isn't in his room check the two large common areas on the first and second floor in between the elevators, he might be hanging out with the ladies and watching them play games.
I'll be back soon, December 10th. Happy Thanksgiving.
keri
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