Nina and I spent a few hours with dad and mother at the nursing home yesterday. Dad seems to be rallying a bit and his condition continues to improve somewhat. He’s gotten also a bit ornery. He has begun to insist on going home. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. He cannot stand up by himself and most of the time when he tries, he falls backwards into the chair (or if the chair isn’t locked down, onto the floor). He occasionally is successful in getting himself partially out of bed and then falls the rest of the way out onto the floor. Once he’s on the floor, two people are required to get him back upright.

This is the main reason that he’s at the nursing home. Mother cannot get him upright when he falls on the floor. She doesn’t have the strength to be able to help him transition to his walker from the toilet. If he gets even slightly out of his center-of-gravity balance area, he’s on the floor.

Meanwhile, his color is back to normal. His vital signs are pretty good: blood pressure fairly constant in the 100 / 60 range and pulse rate in the high 70’s. His temperature is normal and his blood sugar ranges from 80 to 130, all of which are certainly very acceptable. For a while his blood pressure was continuing to decrease, but the doctor has modified his medications and the blood pressure has stabilized.

He has very little strength in his legs, but when the physical therapist works with him and coaches him through the process of standing (all the while keeping a firm grip on him), dad can often get himself into a standing position from his wheel chair. Unaided and unguided, however, he fails every time.

It’s no mystery why he wants to go home. He seems to have no life anymore. There’s so much that he still wants to do. But, his body cannot keep up with his brain. Getting old sucks!