Damn Right!: 4/28 Visit

Today Dad had quite the day. He had quite a few visitors, Perry, Marjorie (you all know her as Terri), Kathy, Sam (aka Stan), James, Me, Ed (formerly known as Gary), and Garrett were all there to see him! Gary, Garrett and I didn't get there until later in the afternoon, when we got there everyone was with Dad in the dining room and his nurse was with them. Apparently they had all been outside and Dad got very hot and started sweating profusely and then, from the way it was described to me, it sounds like he had another seizure, but not as severe as the one he had on Easter Sunday. He was out of it and not responding and he began drooling. Garrett and I both said it sounds like the seizure we witnessed on Easter minus the convulsions and he came out of it faster than he did on Easter as well. It was pretty scary for the family members who were there with him. It made me a bit more nervous leaving him tonight, and the fact that he seemed extra tired had me concerned as well.

Anyway - on to the fun details. When we got there everyone was hanging out in the dining room and dad
was sitting in his wheelchair. When I sat down he scooted over so that we were knee to knee and he said "OK there I'm close to you" LOL He was sitting with me and Kathy and he was holding her hand and holding my hand and he looked over at Garrett and said "See I get all the ladies. I left none for you" Then he started laughing and said "OK I'll let you have one" and he started looking around like he was trying to find one for Garrett LOL

He has developed quite the sweet tooth and he likes soda! Today he had an Orange Crush drink, actually it appeared he had 2, a bottle and a can. Well James, me, Kathy, and Garrett were all siting in front of him and Perry, Terri, Stan, and Gary were off to the side. James and I could not see what was going on but Perry was signaling to Kathy to hide Dad's "stolen" blanket we couldn't quite figure out what was going on until this wheelchair came into view and this very LOUD high-pitched bossy voice from behind Dad says "I WANT SOME OF THAT!" There was a little bossy old lady in a wheelchair, who had seen us from down the hall and made a beeline for us (Perry thought she was after Dad's ill-gotten blanket but she was REALLY after his Orange Crush) James and I were trying to look without looking at her and Kathy says to her "You can have this one" and hands her the open can of Orange Crush. The lady picks it up and says in her LOUD high-pitched bossy voice "THERE NOTHING IN THIS! HOW CAN I DRINK THIS? I NEED A CUP!!!!" James and I looked up and could see Perry, Gary, Stan, and Terri cracking up and we just lost it we were dying laughing. The lady couldn't see us, all she could see was Garrett and Kathy and Garrett was doing his best to maintain his composure and not crack up like James and I were and then we hear her say to Garrett "IT'S NOT FUNNY, I NEED A CUP I CAN'T DRINK THIS WITHOUT A CUP!" ROFLOL we were absolutely dying laughing and what was making it worse was Perry, Terri, Gary, and Stan off to the side rolling with silent laughter and Garrett and Kathy in the lady's line of vision doing everything they could not to laugh. Finally Perry went and found her a cup and Kathy poured the rest of Dad's can of Orange Crush into the cup for her. Perry used it to lure her to a different table where she drank it and then left LOL We thought we were in the clear but at one point Kathy and I went to take Dad back to his room to fix his dentures and the woman in the wheelchair cornered us and was pointing at Dad's Pepsi saying "I WANT SOME OF THAT!!" Kathy was like "Sorry that's his" and we scooted past her and into Dad's room. We decided that if his bottle of Orange Crush goes missing from his room we know who the culprit is. LOL

As usual when we have these visits I like to take pictures, with Dad's Alzheimer's he has the attention span of about a 2 year old so when we get ready to take pictures with him everyone around his has to do just like you do when you are taking a picture with a baby - we all have to stay ready with our smiles plastered on while the camera person tries to get Dad to smile. Well when Kathy is not in the picture she is usually beside me trying to get/keep Dad's attention by calling his name and being silly to try to get him to smile, just like you do when you take your little ones to get their pictures taken. Well today I wanted my nephew James to take a picture of Dad with me, Perry, and Kathy so Kathy and I were plotting our typical hands-in-Perry's-face picture when all of a sudden my sister in law Terri jumps up and starts dancing around in front of us and making noises and just dancing all around - It was HILARIOUS!!!! Dad started cracking up and we got THREE great pictures with real smiles and laughs from him.

When Kathy and I were able to escape the Orange Crush lady and get Dad to his room to fix his dentures he was wanting his gold Mardi Gras beads so I put them on him and he started bouncing in his seat. Then he was trying to get up because he wanted to dance LOL So Kathy and I convinced him to stay in his chair to dance so he took each of us by the hand and we all started to "dance" he was just a smiling. At one point I did tell him "You know we need some music or we just look stupid" so he started going "do da do da do da do da do" and we kept right on a dancing LOL

Later on in the day Garrett was playing him some old Hank William's Jr. and him and I were dancing again LOL He was listening to "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down" and in the chorus when Hank sings "all my rowdy friends have settled down" Dad looks at Garrett and says "But not me!" LOL LOL LOL Then Garrett played him "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" and when Hank sang those words Dad looks at Garrett again and he says "not me, I'm tired" LOL LOL

All in all, aside from the apparent seizure episode, today was a fun day. It was a good visit. When Gary and I left around 6:00 it was just about all Dad could do to keep his eyes open and he had already taken a little nap while he was waiting for his dinner. See below for some pictures from the day.