4/17/12 Visit

Just a short blog post tonight because it was a short visit. Garrett and I went to visit dad today after school. He was really happy to see us. They were getting ready to take him to the dining room but he wanted to go outside so we had ourselves a picnic on the courtyard and he got his dinner outside. He had a tuna sandwich, vegi soup, french fries, and chocolate ice cream and a cup of mandarin oranges. The first thing he went for was the chocolate ice cream and then the oranges. He took one bite of the vegi soup and spit it out, and he took one bite of the tuna sandwich and made a horrible face and then took a big drink of his Pepsi LOL Apparently he was not a fan of the tuna.

He kept telling me how glad he was that we were there. He said that he gets bored and there's nothing to do when he doesn't have visitors. I hate that I can't be there all the time or more often but I go as often as I can especially considering it is almost an hour and a half drive. Anyway, we had a good visit. Garrett and dad talked about cars and what kind of car Dad's gonna get when he gets out of there. We also played him some old country music on Pandora which he LOVED and he was dancing to it! We had a great time dancing. He did stand up once though and Garrett and I had to convince him to sit back down. He kept saying "No I can do it, I can do it" and he was standing up in front of his wheelchair. I finally convinced him to sit back down by telling him they won't let me bring him outside of he doesn't stay in his chair. He scared me but he was standing pretty good though.

After visiting, dancing, and standing in the courtyard I guess he was wore out. He was ready to go inside and lay down. He wanted to watch TV in his bed so we got him all set up, and I told him we would stay until he fell asleep. He was asleep by 7:00. I wish I could go see him every day but I know I can't so I plan to try to go again on Thursday and I will definitely be there Saturday and Sunday. Below are a few pictures and videos from today's visit.

Garrett and Grandad

He's happy to be outside

Me and my Daddy

 Our first dance of the day :-)

Time for ice cream!

4/15 Visit

Today it was just Gary and I who went to see Dad. Garrett wasn't feeling well so he stayed home. I am sure he will go next week. When we got there Dad was in the dining room having lunch and when he saw me he got all excited and hugged me and said "I thought you would never get here!" I love that he is so happy to see me but I feel so bad that I can't be there more often.

Anyway, he was finished with his lunch so Gary and I wheeled him outside. I noticed that he hadn't eaten much of his lunch so I went to his room to get him some peaches and oranges to eat (and his polygrip since his teeth were flapping in the breeze and then we headed outside to the courtyard. He loves being outside and today was no different. I played him some George Jones and Tammy Wynette and some Loretta Lynn from Pandora. He would listen and say "Ohhh that's a good one!" Then George Jones' song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" came on and he said "Oh I know this one,  I really like this one!" and when it got to the chorus where it says "He stopped loving her today, they placed a wreath upon his door, and soon the'll carry him away, he stopped loving her today" all of a sudden Dad started crying and he said "Yes I remember this one, its a sad one" I turned it off really quickly and he said "No I want to hear" so I turned it back on and he listened to the chorus nodding his head to the music and crying. Then he said "men don't cry but I did when she died" I knew he was talking about my mom, I said "Yeah I know I cried too when my mom died" Then another song came on and he was fine.  While we were outside he was comparing our legs, mine, his, and Gary's he told me that him and I have sexy legs but Gary's were too hairy so he had to go LOL. One of the coolest parts of the time in the courtyard was when an army caravan  went past us, heading to the armory a few blocks away. Dad was so excited and he was waving his hat at them.  A couple of the guys waved back. I couldn't get my camera on fast enough to get a picture but it was really cool.

Below are some pictures from outside

After we sat outside for a while it was getting hot so we decided to go in and get a drink and a snack then move to the front where there is more shade. So we went in and got a soda and dad wanted some chocolate so we got him a Three Musketeers bar and he ate almost the entire thing! We sat out front for a while soaking up the sun :-) After that we went inside to the dining room to visit in the cool and we got there just in time for "Duster Ball" so dad played his first game of "Duster Ball" He was a little confused at first but then he started to get the hang of it and he was laughing and having fun! It was hard to leave him but when we left he was having dinner so he would have been getting ready for bed soon. I won't be able to see him again until next weekend, which is gonna be tough on me but Perry will be seeing him in the meantime.

 Below are some more pictures:

Duster Ball was in full swing!

Duster Ball Champ!!

Duster Ball takes a lot out of a person LOL

Check out my Facebook page for a video of him playing the game. 

4/14/12 Visit

Ashley drove up from PSL today so her and I went to visit Dad. We had a really good visit. Kathy, Stan, and James were there also and Perry and Terry showed up. We took him outside to the courtyard, he loves being outside. He told James all about how he chased Hitler right out of Germany. Then he told James "When I get out of here I'm buying a new car but not an old clunker" I asked him if he remembered riding in my car and he said "What kind of car do you have?" I told him I have a Hyundai and he said "Oh YEAH! I'm getting a Hyundai!" I thought my sister was going to pee her pants from laughing - Never thought we would hear dad say he was gonna buy a Hyundai LOL Later he asked Stan for a beer and Stan asked him if he wanted a Bud and Dad said yes, Stan figured if I could sell him a Hyundai he could get him to drink Bud instead of Busch LOL 

I am pleased with the nursing home that dad is in for his rehab. I liked the other place but this one seems even better. They don't just put him in his wheelchair and set him a lobby to stare at everyone else, they actually include him in activities. When Perry went to see him the other day he said he was participating in "Casino Night" the lady next to him was stealing his chips and when Perry told him about it Dad replied "Maybe she wants to be my girlfriend" LOL Always on the lookout LOL. When Kathy got there this morning to see him she said he was in the recreation/dining room watching a movie with several other residents and when she was leaving today the recreation director saw that she was leaving and said "Why don't we see if Tom wants to join us and wheeled him over to join the group of people playing a card game. They seem to really try to include the patients instead of sitting them in a common area and letting them fend for themselves for entertainment. I am a little concerned because he's not eating like he used to. For lunch today he only at a bowl of applesauce and a cup of mandarin oranges. He didn't even touch the rest of his food, although they have him on a "mechanically altered" diet which we have referred to as his ABC (Already Been Chewed) diet because almost everything is mushed, even his bread - which I can't say as I blame him for not eating it - it looked gross! Part of his lunch was ABC Ham and Dad loves ham so I said "Oh Dad, here is some ham for you" and gave him a bite of it, he chewed it and made a face and said "That's not ham" LOL Perry is going to speak to them on Monday about getting him back on a regular diet of food that has not been shredded, blended or previously chewed LOL

All in all it was a good visit. It is always hard to leave especially when you tell him you have to go and he says "Well what am I supposed to do? Just sit here?" but he is in a good place and they are taking care of him. Below are some pictures from our day together:

Grandad with his 2nd oldest grandson (James - Kathy's son) and his youngest granddaughter (Ashley - My daughter)

We're having fun now!!!!

James and Grandad talking

Ashley and Grandad

A rare picture of him with his hat off

Giving Ashley some kisses

No kisses for James, but a high five works just as well

James brought him an Army shirt to match his Army hat and he had to put it on

Helping Grandad put his Army shirt on

Go Army! Hitler better watch out!! LOL

Putting the jacket back on

Taking a walk with James

My sweet Daddy

Me, Dad and Ashley

Getting kisses!

More kisses on the way!

The fact that every single table in the dining/recreation hall had a vase of yellow roses on it gave me chills but also a little comfort - I know my family understands this

Hanging out with Kathy

My sweet daddy

Kathy's hands were warm and his were cold so he was warming up and she was cooling down LOL