A couple of days ago I was talking with our Home Teacher about when we might get together for our monthly visit. He and his wife, in addition to being our good friends, are also assigned as our Home Teachers. We decided because the only time available was the last day of the month, that we would go out to dinner together and have a fun evening together. They picked us up a little after 5 p.m. and we went to the new Ruby Tuesday restaurant for dinner. And we had a Very.Lovely.Time! They are fun to be with, the restaurant is quite conducive to having a conversation, and the food is great. I had the most delicious lobster ravioli and will definitely have to go back there to do that one again. I think I’ve found the absolute celestial marriage of pasta and lobster….
Earlier this morning we drove over to Soda Springs to spend some time with mother and dad at the nursing home. Dad had a good day, I think. Nina brought lunch so we had his lunch brought out to the table in the famiy area and we all had lunch together. I had brought a hardware and tools catalog which dad enjoyed looking at (and will probably spend some time studying). Nina really got him laughing and hopefully she’ll post some pictures.
The stats also say that he’s doing OK. He’s nicely hydrated and is eating well. He’s not having trouble eliminating. His vitals are in good shape. According to the chart he’s having a very typical rebound which happens to most people when they first get into the nursing home. He’s definitely rebounded, which is a marked change from when he went into the emergency room three weeks ago and the doctor told us that he could easily pass away at any moment. That danger is past. He will not get into a position that he can go home as he’s still quite unstable and lacks the strength to get himself from sitting to standing and back down. He also cannot get himself up when he falls on the floor.
It’s fairly typical for a nursing home patient to rally after they’re admitted. Their getting a better diet, a much more regimented atmosphere, plenty of fluids, and physical therapy tailored to their situation. If that rally happens, then they’ll probably do well until another episode, which often is brought about by a cold or the flu. If that degenerates into pneumonia, then things can get very bad very quickly.
The charts also say that he’s good to stay under Medicare for at least another three weeks. So we’ve got a little more time before the financial situation changes.
Life is good!