Not sure if this post will work or not as I am writing it on my phone, but we will see...
So dad was checked out of hospital this morning and we are now home at the apartment on Queen Ann. He is going to spend the day here and then we will take him back to Carlton Park (the adult family home) later tonight. They are all filled in on his condition and are better prepared than us to take care of him and keep him safe. He is feeling well just a little tired. He is relaxing in his big leather chair and is going to shower in a few minutes. He has been put on a blood thinner and cholesterol medicine in order to prevent another stroke.He will be scheduled to see his regular doctor sometime this week.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Dad update Dec 9
Still no new news yet this morning. Mom wanted me to let everyone know Dad is doing fine and resting and eating all the food in Swedish hospital :) No sign of discharge from hospital yet today. I think they are still monitoring him to see how the medication is working on the artery blockage. I will keep updating this post as I get more info so check back later...
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Scary Night
Hey everyone it's Angie, I just want to say first that my dad is OK.
Last night (Friday Dec 7) he was home at the Queen Ann apartment with mom. Johnny had come over and was going to take them to see his Christmas tree. It was 9:15pm and mom was helping Dad in the bathroom when she noticed that he was not looking right and his whole right side of his body was going limp and he was not answering her. She had Johnny come in and help and they realized something was very wrong. Called 911 and dad was taken to Swedish where they gave him a MRI and a cat scan. I got to the hospital around 10:30 and Dad was awake and alert. After a long wait and not a lot of answers, he was finally moved from ER and admitted into the hospital around 2am. At this point we got to talk to his doctor who told us that dad had had a Transient Ischaemic Attack or TIA which is like a small stroke. the doctor described it as a "small stroke that got better" so in other words the stroke stopped and so far does not seem to have left any side effects. Dad was alert and cracking jokes at 4am. The doctor told us that this is something that happens with MSA patients.
As of right now he is still in the hospital but should be discharged this afternoon. I think at that point he and mom will head home to get some good sleep. Obviously we will be keeping a close eye on him. Mom has said that anyone with questions or concerns can call or text her. Anyone is welcome to call or text me as well.
Update Sat Dec 8th:
So dad is not leaving the hospital today after all. Everything is still ok at the moment but the doc found that dad has a lot of plaque blocking the vessels to his brain and is concerned about him stroking again. She says that they could do a surgery to go in and deal with the plaque but in his condition she thinks that will be too invasive and stressful so she wants to try and treat him with medication. They are keeping him in hospital until at least tomorrow and possibly the next day.
I will update as I get more info...
Last night (Friday Dec 7) he was home at the Queen Ann apartment with mom. Johnny had come over and was going to take them to see his Christmas tree. It was 9:15pm and mom was helping Dad in the bathroom when she noticed that he was not looking right and his whole right side of his body was going limp and he was not answering her. She had Johnny come in and help and they realized something was very wrong. Called 911 and dad was taken to Swedish where they gave him a MRI and a cat scan. I got to the hospital around 10:30 and Dad was awake and alert. After a long wait and not a lot of answers, he was finally moved from ER and admitted into the hospital around 2am. At this point we got to talk to his doctor who told us that dad had had a Transient Ischaemic Attack or TIA which is like a small stroke. the doctor described it as a "small stroke that got better" so in other words the stroke stopped and so far does not seem to have left any side effects. Dad was alert and cracking jokes at 4am. The doctor told us that this is something that happens with MSA patients.
As of right now he is still in the hospital but should be discharged this afternoon. I think at that point he and mom will head home to get some good sleep. Obviously we will be keeping a close eye on him. Mom has said that anyone with questions or concerns can call or text her. Anyone is welcome to call or text me as well.
Update Sat Dec 8th:
So dad is not leaving the hospital today after all. Everything is still ok at the moment but the doc found that dad has a lot of plaque blocking the vessels to his brain and is concerned about him stroking again. She says that they could do a surgery to go in and deal with the plaque but in his condition she thinks that will be too invasive and stressful so she wants to try and treat him with medication. They are keeping him in hospital until at least tomorrow and possibly the next day.
I will update as I get more info...
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Changes changes changes
Some recent changes for our family. About
two months ago it had gotten past the point where mom could handle dad
on her own. Even with the 35 hours of in home care they qualify for it
was far to much as he tends to stay up late and tries to do things on
his own. It wasn't safe for her to be trying to handle him. He was
having major hallucinations and wanting to leave the apt at odd hours.
We had a big family meeting and with heavy hearts decided it was time to start looking for
some other care. We were told it could take months, so we started a new
schedule to relieve Mom of pretty much all the work. Between Myself,
Angie, Johnathan and Efrem (caregiver) one of us was there to put dad to
bed at a reasonable hour every night and get him up in the morning,
dressed ready, fed and on the bus to spend the day at providence elder
place. This worked out perfectly, however not a long term solution
considering it is getting harder and harder to care for him. Not to
mention it didn't allow for any of us to have a child/ parent
relationship, or for mom to have a husband/wife relationship.
About a month into the new schedule I received a call from our social worker at providence. She informed me that a spot had opened at an amazing house and I should get the family to take a tour. The home was located in magnolia and generally does not have openings for Providence patients. Dad would have to have a roommate because of this, but it was hands down the best possible option she would ever have for us. Anyway we went to view the house and it was pretty crazy/emotional as we pulled up. The house is literally a block from the house dad grew up in on viewmont. It was pretty overwhelming to say the least, but certainly feels like grandma June, grandpa Al and mama Marcy are making sure dad is well taken care of.
We spent the last month waiting for dad to be approved. He officially moved in yesterday. He has a great roommate named Adam who just turned 64 on the 10th. We were all pretty concerned as dad wasn't very happy about this decision we had made, and was in denial until the last second!
Anyway long story short I wanted to let you know I had a great morning with him. I got there around 10:30, he and Adam were watching tv together in their room and dad was super happy to see me. It was fairly nice out so we went on an hour and a half walk around the neighborhood. We stood outside his old house for about 10 mins and talked about how grandpa used to take such pride in his yard and always had the trees pruned to perfection. We tried to find the "witches" house that grandma and grandpa used to walk all of us kids by! Dad pointed out all the houses his friends lived in and had stories about them all. It's such a beautiful neighborhood and we all feel very lucky that this is where he is now living. Most likely he will be picked up and spend the weekends with mom at the apartment, but Monday through Friday he'll be in magnolia.
He said that he had had a great first nights sleep and that the food they serve is great! It is nice because there are only 6 people that live there, so he gets a good amount of attention and a much more home like feeling. Dad and Adam seem to be getting a long great. The biggest challenge is that no one can hear dad...but I am sure they will figure it out! :)
If anyone is interested in visiting him its extremely easy, they just ask that you call and give them a heads up. The home number is: 206-691-3490
Address: 4221 west armour street
Seattle, wa 98199
It is a beautiful house with lots of quiet space where you can actually hear him!
Just wanted to pass on the info so you are all in the know. If you find yourself in the neighborhood he'd obviously love to see you.
About a month into the new schedule I received a call from our social worker at providence. She informed me that a spot had opened at an amazing house and I should get the family to take a tour. The home was located in magnolia and generally does not have openings for Providence patients. Dad would have to have a roommate because of this, but it was hands down the best possible option she would ever have for us. Anyway we went to view the house and it was pretty crazy/emotional as we pulled up. The house is literally a block from the house dad grew up in on viewmont. It was pretty overwhelming to say the least, but certainly feels like grandma June, grandpa Al and mama Marcy are making sure dad is well taken care of.
We spent the last month waiting for dad to be approved. He officially moved in yesterday. He has a great roommate named Adam who just turned 64 on the 10th. We were all pretty concerned as dad wasn't very happy about this decision we had made, and was in denial until the last second!
Anyway long story short I wanted to let you know I had a great morning with him. I got there around 10:30, he and Adam were watching tv together in their room and dad was super happy to see me. It was fairly nice out so we went on an hour and a half walk around the neighborhood. We stood outside his old house for about 10 mins and talked about how grandpa used to take such pride in his yard and always had the trees pruned to perfection. We tried to find the "witches" house that grandma and grandpa used to walk all of us kids by! Dad pointed out all the houses his friends lived in and had stories about them all. It's such a beautiful neighborhood and we all feel very lucky that this is where he is now living. Most likely he will be picked up and spend the weekends with mom at the apartment, but Monday through Friday he'll be in magnolia.
He said that he had had a great first nights sleep and that the food they serve is great! It is nice because there are only 6 people that live there, so he gets a good amount of attention and a much more home like feeling. Dad and Adam seem to be getting a long great. The biggest challenge is that no one can hear dad...but I am sure they will figure it out! :)
If anyone is interested in visiting him its extremely easy, they just ask that you call and give them a heads up. The home number is: 206-691-3490
Address: 4221 west armour street
Seattle, wa 98199
It is a beautiful house with lots of quiet space where you can actually hear him!
Just wanted to pass on the info so you are all in the know. If you find yourself in the neighborhood he'd obviously love to see you.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A day at the Aquarium :)
Dad completed a full month of going to Provenience Elder Place center on Thursday. He has been doing great getting up at 7:30 every morning and dealing with me being his drill Sargent! We were laughing last night about how I am punctual to a fault and make dad sit outside in the rain for 15 mins waiting for the bus :) I have honestly been enjoying my mornings with dad, but at the same time it isn't as much quality of time as I have been able to spend with him in the past. Thankfully, Sunday Angie and I were able to take dad to the Aquarium! Angie was having a random conversation with him a few weeks ago and he said he had never been to the Seattle Aquarium, so we thought it would be a fun outing. It is hard to take dad places like that alone, so it was great that we both had Sunday open and could make an enjoyable day out of it!
I think it was safe to say we all agreed the Aquarium wasn't as cool as we were expecting (at least for three adults!), but fun none the less :) We touched a sea star/star fish, saw some clown fish. sea otters and river otters, but I think the highlight was watching the octopus get fed! I got some decent pictures of the octopus changing colors and expanding as it went for its food!
After the Aquarium we took dad to lunch at Ivars! We were able to sit in the bar and watch the first half of the Seahawks game and just hang out. On our way back to the car we stopped to get dad some ice cream :) We certainly lucked out with with weather!! It didn't start raining until we were in the car on our way home! Thankfully, because I would say the biggest complaint about the day is there is NO handicap parking on the waterfront... Its not a terrible walk from where we had to park but would have been pretty miserable if it had been pouring!
All and all a great day! Looking forward to hopefully having more times to just hang out with dad rather than rushing to get him ready for the bus in the morning!
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| Getting up out of his chair to get a better look! |
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| The cool octopus! |
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| listening to the info on our Washington waterways from the diver! |
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| looking at all the salmon! |
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| Checking out the Great Wheel.... |
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday with Dad
There is a new pedestrian ramp on 3rd ave connecting lower Queen Anne to Myrtle Edwards Park. It just opened and Dad and I took advantage of one of the last sunny warm days last Tuesday to try it out. He got dropped off by the Providence bus at home around 3:00 and I made him a sandwich and helped him eat it and then we set out to check out the new ramp. Dad loved it. We walked around Myrtle Edwards and enjoyed the beach for a bit. I am attaching a bunch of pictures from our walk.
Dad is really benefiting from going to the center. Yesterday he was able to create a beautiful painting after the physical therapist put weights on his wrists. The weights help control his shaking so he was able to have a little better control over his hands. I'm sure it feels great to him to have a creative outlet! I'm also hoping maybe he will be able to use the weights to help him write so that maybe that can be a way to communicate when he no longer has a voice. I know that requires much more control than painting but I'm hopeful...
This Tuesday Dad was a lot more tired. I made him dinner and fed him. It took him from 7:00pm until 9:45pm to finish one plate of food. He was having a really hard time focusing on what he was doing and also not swallowing his food. He kept wanting me to put another bite in his mouth but I had to say no Dad swallow what is in there first! So he finally finished and we watched a bit of TV and then I put him to bed.
He has good days and bad days.
This Friday morning he is going to the Husky coaches breakfast with Johnny and Jay and John Horton and a few other buddies so I'm sure that will be a great time.
Hope you all are well,
Angie
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| Dad and his painting from yesterday |
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| Halfway across the ramp over Elliot Ave |
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| Enjoying the water and the sun |
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| He wanted a picture of the ramp so I took this picture. |
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| But then he said "no don't take a picture of me and the ramp, just the structure!" So I took this picture. |
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| Smelling the roses in the rose garden at Myrtle Edwards |
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| Watching the fire boat |
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| Opps! Looks like a couple of those roses fell into Dad's bag. Hmm don't know how that happened ;) |
Sunday, October 14, 2012
We have started a new schedule that will hopefully work out well for everyone. Dad is now going to the Providence activity center 3 days a week where he gets physical therapy, has access to his doctor, does different daily activities such as wii bowling and he may even make a few new friends :) The time at the center is freeing up hours for caregivers so there are more hours available for in home care. This last week was his first week at the center and after a few schedule tweaks it was a pretty good trial run. He's not real keen on the 7:30am wake up call but Lisa has been there to bully him out of bed ;) Between Me, Efrem, Meghan, and Johnny (and mom of course) we are getting the nights covered.
He is on a new med schedule that is a bit confusing. He takes pills now every 2 hours and every 3 hours. Which is a lot of pills and a lot to keep track of.
Dad has also started wearing a sleep mask that helps him breathe better at night and this has had noticeable good effects on his over all energy. I noticed Monday he had much more energy and was walking a lot and we went and ran a bunch of errands. We went to the grocery store and I got dad on one of those electric carts they have and he drove that thing all around the store. He even ditched me a couple times! We spent about and hour and a half at QFC just cruising. He had me go to true value to get some paint to touch up the white trim in their apartment (ever the contractor) and he said "oh I'll just stay in the car" but then 5 mins after I walked into the store he was standing next to me. He had walked WITHOUT ANY HELP from the car parked on the street into the store to tell me what kind of paint brush to get and not to forget blue tape. This was cool but also scary because if he had fallen on his way from the car to the store I would not have known it.
Tuesday was a whole different story. He was pretty wiped. This was his first day at the center and he liked it better than he had expected. The sleep mask is definitely helping and he does have more energy, but his "miracle Monday" as I'm calling it, with all the walking seems to be just that, kind of a miracle.
So yep, that's it for now. We will continue to keep you all posted!!!
Angie
He is on a new med schedule that is a bit confusing. He takes pills now every 2 hours and every 3 hours. Which is a lot of pills and a lot to keep track of.
Dad has also started wearing a sleep mask that helps him breathe better at night and this has had noticeable good effects on his over all energy. I noticed Monday he had much more energy and was walking a lot and we went and ran a bunch of errands. We went to the grocery store and I got dad on one of those electric carts they have and he drove that thing all around the store. He even ditched me a couple times! We spent about and hour and a half at QFC just cruising. He had me go to true value to get some paint to touch up the white trim in their apartment (ever the contractor) and he said "oh I'll just stay in the car" but then 5 mins after I walked into the store he was standing next to me. He had walked WITHOUT ANY HELP from the car parked on the street into the store to tell me what kind of paint brush to get and not to forget blue tape. This was cool but also scary because if he had fallen on his way from the car to the store I would not have known it.
Tuesday was a whole different story. He was pretty wiped. This was his first day at the center and he liked it better than he had expected. The sleep mask is definitely helping and he does have more energy, but his "miracle Monday" as I'm calling it, with all the walking seems to be just that, kind of a miracle.
So yep, that's it for now. We will continue to keep you all posted!!!
Angie
Friday, September 21, 2012
NEW POST 9/20/12
Hi it's Angie
I hope everyone has had a good summer! It has gone by too fast as usual and this blog has been neglected. It has been a summer full of ups and downs for our family. It seems like there has been a new crisis every week that has gotten resolved someway or another. We have come to realize there are a lot of very generous people out there who care about us and we are SO SO grateful!
It's hard to know what to say on here these days. Things are happening and this disease is progressing in my dad. Whereas for a while he's been able to transfer himself pretty well from his wheelchair to the bed or couch or bathroom, that is getting much harder and I don't know how much longer he will be able to do it. He was with me at my house all day yesterday and my back is so sore today from all the lifting and shifting of him I had to do. Unfortunately I am seeing that at some point in the near future he is not going to be able to stay at home. My mom can't be lifting him all the time among other things...
It is really a struggle to hear him even more so than before. Some days he just doesn't talk. I will ask him a question and he will just look at me but not answer. I know he hears me and understands me and has an answer in his head but it just won't come out. Or maybe he's just too tired and fed up to make the effort to answer. Other days he is really chatty and at those times I practically sit on his lap with my ear to his mouth and strain to pick out the words to piece together what he is saying.
Yesterday was a good day. I went and picked him up and brought him to my house. He played with the dogs and chilled in the sun and ate 7 popcicles (no kidding) and then my auntie Kimmy, his sister, came over and made us some yummy salmon. Johnny came later and helped me take him home and put him to bed so that mom didn't have to do it after being at work all day.
Here are a few photos from yesterday and earlier in the summer.
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| Yesterday, Norman and Phoebe patiently waiting for the next throw |
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| Johnny driving Dad home last night in the Alfa |
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| Seafair. Efrim, Dad and Larry Ellestad sitting in the lake at Firnstahls |
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| Johnny seafair |
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| Efrim and Dad sporting their "Miss DiJulio" t shirts in support of the family hydro |
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| Smile Dad |
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| Ok :) |
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| Scary look at Freshy's |
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| Happy now eating fish and chips. |
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| Me and Dad |
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| Phoebe |
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| Smelling the flowers |
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| Johnny was here too taking pics |
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| Puppy love |
Monday, August 13, 2012
Finally I am getting a chance to sit down and write a little. Things have been moving along in Kissler land. Dad had a great time Seafair Sunday at the Firnstahls house. It sounds like they were even able to lower him into the water a bit off a lift attached to their dock. Josh and I went down on Thursday and had a nice dinner with him and watched some of the Olympics. He was pretty out of it. He just didn't really try to talk and his response time is very delayed. He was also very focused on the TV, but it was still a nice visit. Most of my visits have been pretty brief lately as I've had a lot going on this summer so I haven't noticed too many new things. I did notice however that he was again having a really hard time swallowing. He keeps food in his mouth for a really like time and just can't seem to get it small enough to actually swallow it :/
He had a doctors appointment last week that I believe went fine. They suggested he starts PT twice a week... which he was in at first but wasnt making his appointments so the the trainer got frustrated and asked him to take some time off. Today he was scheduled to have a consultation about doing surgery to just one side of his brain. I received the following text this morning from my mom asking me to update everyone:
"I just had to cancel today's consult appt for Mike. He refuses to go. He feels to lowsy he says. He is lowsy. Poor man, pooooor pooor man! Absolutely everything in his life is horrible. We were all set for a brain consult RE: Brain surgery to stop the tremors in one arm. He doesn't have the energy today. Breaks my heart. Johnathan came over and watched Olympic closing ceremonies with us last night. I think it was really hard for Johnny to see/watch/hear his dad cry throughout the whole show. Hard to tell how much is part of the disease where the patient simply starts crying because emotions are so raw and how much is Michael responding to wonderful memories and history of his life experiences and the people in them. He was very emotional throughout all of the ceremonies but especially saddened with their depiction of the war years, military uniforms on stage always move him immensely as he thinks of his wonderful father in his World War II uniform, both formal and aviation."
As we've all said, MSA sucks, but I did respond to mom and tell her that he is lucky he has such fond memories and has been able to watch his family grow up and although things are rough now he has had a pretty full life. We don't have a clue what else this disease will do or take from him but one thing we are trying to show him now is how many people care and have been such solid support systems over the years. He is a lucky man in that regard.
He had a doctors appointment last week that I believe went fine. They suggested he starts PT twice a week... which he was in at first but wasnt making his appointments so the the trainer got frustrated and asked him to take some time off. Today he was scheduled to have a consultation about doing surgery to just one side of his brain. I received the following text this morning from my mom asking me to update everyone:
"I just had to cancel today's consult appt for Mike. He refuses to go. He feels to lowsy he says. He is lowsy. Poor man, pooooor pooor man! Absolutely everything in his life is horrible. We were all set for a brain consult RE: Brain surgery to stop the tremors in one arm. He doesn't have the energy today. Breaks my heart. Johnathan came over and watched Olympic closing ceremonies with us last night. I think it was really hard for Johnny to see/watch/hear his dad cry throughout the whole show. Hard to tell how much is part of the disease where the patient simply starts crying because emotions are so raw and how much is Michael responding to wonderful memories and history of his life experiences and the people in them. He was very emotional throughout all of the ceremonies but especially saddened with their depiction of the war years, military uniforms on stage always move him immensely as he thinks of his wonderful father in his World War II uniform, both formal and aviation."
As we've all said, MSA sucks, but I did respond to mom and tell her that he is lucky he has such fond memories and has been able to watch his family grow up and although things are rough now he has had a pretty full life. We don't have a clue what else this disease will do or take from him but one thing we are trying to show him now is how many people care and have been such solid support systems over the years. He is a lucky man in that regard.
Friday, July 20, 2012
I apologize for being so deliquint in my updates. I have been out of town for almost a month so I unfortunately haven't been much help or even been able to really see anyone in the family. I was able to stop in two weeks ago and see dad for a few hours. Mom was on her way out the door for work but said she wasn't feeling great. I hadn't seen dad in about two weeks and he didn't seem too different to me however he had a major black eye and his feet were extremely swollen. He said he had fallen into the water cooler... Again thinking he can do a lot more then he is really capable of. As far as his feet I asked him if the doctor had any suggestion of what could help. He didn't really give me much response. He said that they think it is from his sleep apnea.. I don't believe that. I've also asked him how his dr appointments have been but he doesn't give much info on that either. The most recent with the dr was that she set up a sleep clinic for both mom and dad to see if they can figure out why neither of them are sleeping. I personally think that dad just needs to get in bed and take his sleeping pill at a regular hour but I think mom gets so tired at night she falls asleep before him and then he's up all night and consequently wakes her up... oye vey ... they did their sleep clinic last night so we'll see...
So as I was boarding my plane for my most recent trip Angie called to inform me that mom had pneumonia and was checking herself into the hospital and she didn't know what to do about dad. Of course the Charles's were in town again to see them! Maybe mom is allergic the them :) She always seems to end up in the hospital when they are in town :) Angie had them all over for dinner one night and I think they had a great time.
Anyhoo... dad was checked into a nursing home in the rainier area for a week, while mom recuperated. Angie has offered to do one or two nights a week with dad so mom can sleep more, and also Megan Firnstahl a great family friend is working a few days a week helping with dad. She has also offered to do a later shift until more like 2am. We are going to meet with providence elder place as a family and see if we can figure something out. Obviously mom is completely run down and can't keep up all this. She does however need to start taking care of herself as well! We're all getting on her to make sure she is eating and when she eats that she is eating things of nutritional value... feel free to make sure she's had her greens and protein if you talk to her :)
On a positive note dad absolutely LOVES his new caregiver efrum. Efrum even came to see him when he was in the nursing home. I still have not met him but am hoping to this week!
Thank you to everyone who was able to help out over the last week or so. I was a little helpless as I boarded the plane, but I know dad had lots of visitors in the nursing center and mom had lots of help in her recouping as well.
So as I was boarding my plane for my most recent trip Angie called to inform me that mom had pneumonia and was checking herself into the hospital and she didn't know what to do about dad. Of course the Charles's were in town again to see them! Maybe mom is allergic the them :) She always seems to end up in the hospital when they are in town :) Angie had them all over for dinner one night and I think they had a great time.
Anyhoo... dad was checked into a nursing home in the rainier area for a week, while mom recuperated. Angie has offered to do one or two nights a week with dad so mom can sleep more, and also Megan Firnstahl a great family friend is working a few days a week helping with dad. She has also offered to do a later shift until more like 2am. We are going to meet with providence elder place as a family and see if we can figure something out. Obviously mom is completely run down and can't keep up all this. She does however need to start taking care of herself as well! We're all getting on her to make sure she is eating and when she eats that she is eating things of nutritional value... feel free to make sure she's had her greens and protein if you talk to her :)
On a positive note dad absolutely LOVES his new caregiver efrum. Efrum even came to see him when he was in the nursing home. I still have not met him but am hoping to this week!
Thank you to everyone who was able to help out over the last week or so. I was a little helpless as I boarded the plane, but I know dad had lots of visitors in the nursing center and mom had lots of help in her recouping as well.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
So I'm noticing some changes in my dad. He seems more tired all the time. He sometimes seems like it is hard for him to keep his eyes open and often he has one eye open and one eye closed. He doesn't talk as much and he sometimes doesn't answer questions. He seems to be having a harder time swallowing food and he takes forever to eat. None of this stuff is really new, but it seems to be happening more often. It used to be that he would have a bad day and then the next day he would be fine and all perky and his usual self. Now it's starting to seem like the bad days are outnumbering the good. I am worried about him.
On a lighter note, dad's new caregiver is awesome and both Mom and Dad just love him. His name is Efrim. He is 27 from Somalia. He has a long history and has experienced more in his 27 years than most people will in their whole lives. He came to this country to study and wants to become a pharmacist. He and Dad have hit it off royally. Dad crys when he talks about him he loves him so much :) Efrim has been taking Dad on lots of walks and making sure he gets out in the sunshine (when we have it) I look forward to getting to know him better.
Mom is doing well in her new job at Safeway. She is so excited about it. She says she's doing great in training but every time she makes a mistake she says "shit!" Her first shift on her own is this week and she said the thing she's most nervous about is if she's going to be able to not swear :) good luck mom ;)
Mom and Dad had a great visit with the Clows who came for a couple days from California. They all came to my house for dinner the first night. I really enjoyed seeing them as well. Here are a couple pics from our fun night.
Hope everyone is enjoying the sun today!!
Love, Angie
On a lighter note, dad's new caregiver is awesome and both Mom and Dad just love him. His name is Efrim. He is 27 from Somalia. He has a long history and has experienced more in his 27 years than most people will in their whole lives. He came to this country to study and wants to become a pharmacist. He and Dad have hit it off royally. Dad crys when he talks about him he loves him so much :) Efrim has been taking Dad on lots of walks and making sure he gets out in the sunshine (when we have it) I look forward to getting to know him better.
Mom is doing well in her new job at Safeway. She is so excited about it. She says she's doing great in training but every time she makes a mistake she says "shit!" Her first shift on her own is this week and she said the thing she's most nervous about is if she's going to be able to not swear :) good luck mom ;)
Mom and Dad had a great visit with the Clows who came for a couple days from California. They all came to my house for dinner the first night. I really enjoyed seeing them as well. Here are a couple pics from our fun night.
Hope everyone is enjoying the sun today!!
Love, Angie
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Hi All-
First things first... mom finally got rid of Nancy #2! I know Angie talked a bit about our frustrations with her last week. She just was not at all assertive and as nice as she was it just was in no way the right fit! Dad now has a young guy care giver. Sounds like he is around 27 or so, so much more his speed! Dad is really enjoying him so far and it sounds like he is much more open to going on walks and getting dad out of the apartment! They also have a younger girl coming on Saturdays for a few hours and she is unreal with the laundry and cleaning stuff. Dad was extremely impressed with how quickly she was able to get a few loads done and change the sheets on both beds! HA!
So Saturday night I let my mom have the night off so she could go to a birthday party for one of her old coworkers. I wasn't able to go down on Friday so I was glad to have a little time with dad. I went down around 6:30 and he was glued to the TV watching the basketball game. I had brought him some dinner so we moved to the table and I helped him eat and he literally just stared at the TV. After dinner he wanted to go to the store and get ice cream. At this point it is about 8:15 and I was fine walking up to the store but wanted to get there and back before dark. Dad was dilly dallying around. Thinking he was capable of doing all these things he used to be able to do... quickly close the windows, turn off the tv, shut off all the lights, go to the bathroom. All really simple things but takes him SO MUCH longer! When I finally got him in his chair and out the door we quickly made our way to Safeway. Its only a few blocks away so not a big deal. When we got there he quickly grabbed his vanilla ice cream and then wanted bars of some sort... after fighting with me about the fact that they were currently out of root beer flavored popsicles and staring at the chocolate bars he finally settled on the Magnum dark chocolate. Anyway... we went to check out and the line was SO long and the sun was going down rapidly... I finally paid and dad was trying to say something to me as we were walking out. I finally realized that he wanted to go "look at the alcohol" now that you can buy it anywhere he wanted to check it out. I said dad I'm not waiting in that line again and he assured me that he just wanted to look... mean daughter that I am told him its just like the liquor store... its getting dark we're going home! So I pushed him quickly back home and then sure enough as we were in the middle of the street he decides he wants to push me. I had to push him down so I could get us out of the street and up the hill and then I let him push me for a block and around their garage. As I was getting the key to go back in their building I dropped a dime out of my pocket and sure enough dad leaned down to get it and then was completely frozen. He was still holding onto the wheelchair and I was halfway in it. There wasn't a lot I could do aside from make him sit himself down and then we started over! He just doesn't understand that he can't do things like that and that in the grand scheme of things that dime isn't really that important!
So needless to say when we finally got into their apartment I was wiped out and irritated! We have been told that this is part of the disease they think they are still perfectly capable of daily things. Its hard to say "give it up dad" or discourage him since it is good that he still wants to push himself, but at this point he is really putting himself in danger. Even when we got into the apartment, his first focus was not to sit down it was to turn on the tv and he was barely standing but wouldn't focus on anything but getting the TV on. For the most part he seems like he is ok but his stares are getting a lot longer and he can be mute for very long periods of time. On Thursday night their friends the Clows were in town and Angie had them all over. Angie said dad didn't say one word the entire night. I think he has some important doctor appointments coming up so hopefully we'll have a little more info! I'll let Angie talk more about their visit with the Clows. All I got out of dad was that it was really great and he was proud of himself because he pushed Mrs. Clow for about 3 blocks in the wheelchair :)
First things first... mom finally got rid of Nancy #2! I know Angie talked a bit about our frustrations with her last week. She just was not at all assertive and as nice as she was it just was in no way the right fit! Dad now has a young guy care giver. Sounds like he is around 27 or so, so much more his speed! Dad is really enjoying him so far and it sounds like he is much more open to going on walks and getting dad out of the apartment! They also have a younger girl coming on Saturdays for a few hours and she is unreal with the laundry and cleaning stuff. Dad was extremely impressed with how quickly she was able to get a few loads done and change the sheets on both beds! HA!
So Saturday night I let my mom have the night off so she could go to a birthday party for one of her old coworkers. I wasn't able to go down on Friday so I was glad to have a little time with dad. I went down around 6:30 and he was glued to the TV watching the basketball game. I had brought him some dinner so we moved to the table and I helped him eat and he literally just stared at the TV. After dinner he wanted to go to the store and get ice cream. At this point it is about 8:15 and I was fine walking up to the store but wanted to get there and back before dark. Dad was dilly dallying around. Thinking he was capable of doing all these things he used to be able to do... quickly close the windows, turn off the tv, shut off all the lights, go to the bathroom. All really simple things but takes him SO MUCH longer! When I finally got him in his chair and out the door we quickly made our way to Safeway. Its only a few blocks away so not a big deal. When we got there he quickly grabbed his vanilla ice cream and then wanted bars of some sort... after fighting with me about the fact that they were currently out of root beer flavored popsicles and staring at the chocolate bars he finally settled on the Magnum dark chocolate. Anyway... we went to check out and the line was SO long and the sun was going down rapidly... I finally paid and dad was trying to say something to me as we were walking out. I finally realized that he wanted to go "look at the alcohol" now that you can buy it anywhere he wanted to check it out. I said dad I'm not waiting in that line again and he assured me that he just wanted to look... mean daughter that I am told him its just like the liquor store... its getting dark we're going home! So I pushed him quickly back home and then sure enough as we were in the middle of the street he decides he wants to push me. I had to push him down so I could get us out of the street and up the hill and then I let him push me for a block and around their garage. As I was getting the key to go back in their building I dropped a dime out of my pocket and sure enough dad leaned down to get it and then was completely frozen. He was still holding onto the wheelchair and I was halfway in it. There wasn't a lot I could do aside from make him sit himself down and then we started over! He just doesn't understand that he can't do things like that and that in the grand scheme of things that dime isn't really that important!
So needless to say when we finally got into their apartment I was wiped out and irritated! We have been told that this is part of the disease they think they are still perfectly capable of daily things. Its hard to say "give it up dad" or discourage him since it is good that he still wants to push himself, but at this point he is really putting himself in danger. Even when we got into the apartment, his first focus was not to sit down it was to turn on the tv and he was barely standing but wouldn't focus on anything but getting the TV on. For the most part he seems like he is ok but his stares are getting a lot longer and he can be mute for very long periods of time. On Thursday night their friends the Clows were in town and Angie had them all over. Angie said dad didn't say one word the entire night. I think he has some important doctor appointments coming up so hopefully we'll have a little more info! I'll let Angie talk more about their visit with the Clows. All I got out of dad was that it was really great and he was proud of himself because he pushed Mrs. Clow for about 3 blocks in the wheelchair :)
Monday, June 4, 2012
It's been a while!
Hi it's Angie.
Sorry people! I haven't been very good about keeping up with this lately!
Lisa talked about our wonderful visit with Mike and Pat Charles. They are great long time friends from California and it was so nice to have them here! They were a huge help and kind of had a wild visit with our family!
After having a great time at dinner at Lisa and Josh's house, We got a call the next day that Mom was in the hospital as she was feeling dizzy and faint after her job interview. She was taken to Group Health and they did a heart scan and checked her out. Thankfully everything was fine with her heart. (She does have a heart murmur that she has had for years which is scary) She was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything that day. The doc gave her a little scolding about taking better care of herself and they kept her overnight for observation. Meanwhile the Charles were here and they made a beautiful dinner for Mom and Dad but I got to enjoy it instead of Mom as I went over and stayed the night with Dad while Mom was in the hospital. She got home the next morning and she and Dad took it easy all day and then had dinner again with Mike and Pat.
Pat called me after they left and told me that Mom had a long talk with her about some of her frustrations with Nancy 2. Pat also had concerns after spending the day there. We have all been a little frustrated with Nancy 2 and have been trying to see about switching to a different caregiver that has been there before as a substitute. Nancy 2 is VERY picky about what she is willing to do and there always seems to be some sort of scheduling misunderstanding with her. She also asks 40 bazillion questions about things that have nothing to do with why she is there. I have been annoyed several times as she asks me every time I am there the same questions...did you come from Bremerton this time? oh.. Did you have to take a ferry? oh..How long is the ferry ride? oh...is your husband with you? Do you have the dogs in the car? OMG LADY!!! I've been here 10 minutes already and I haven't even said hello to my parents yet!!! She is really sweet and I do like her but sometimes I just can't muster the patience to answer the same questions every time I go over there. Mom feels the same frustrations times 10. She is help provided by Providence Elder Place and we love them in general and are so grateful!! but just need to tweak a couple things as far as in home care giving goes in order to help relieve Mom. Mom also needs to really stand up for herself too and Dad needs to cut her some slack sometimes! We have had a couple comments from family and friends who have witnessed his, how do I say, tendency to be a little controlling, often about things that are not so important unless you are Mike Kissler :)
On Memorial Day I stopped by and surprised them after attending a friends BBQ up the hill. I brought them leftovers of the truthfully kind of awful dessert I made for the BBQ. Dad loved it anyway :) but told me I needed to use cake mix made with Jello next time and it would be so much better. He's controlling but he usually knows what he's talking about (usually) and I have learned so much from him.
We are looking forward to the Clows coming from California this coming weekend! I am especially as I used to spend a week or two every other summer at their house when I was growing up! They have two kids, a daughter my age, Michelle (who would come to our house the summers I was not at their house), and her older brother Jon, who were often the highlight of my summer :)
A couple cute pictures from Mother's day...
Sorry people! I haven't been very good about keeping up with this lately!
Lisa talked about our wonderful visit with Mike and Pat Charles. They are great long time friends from California and it was so nice to have them here! They were a huge help and kind of had a wild visit with our family!
After having a great time at dinner at Lisa and Josh's house, We got a call the next day that Mom was in the hospital as she was feeling dizzy and faint after her job interview. She was taken to Group Health and they did a heart scan and checked her out. Thankfully everything was fine with her heart. (She does have a heart murmur that she has had for years which is scary) She was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything that day. The doc gave her a little scolding about taking better care of herself and they kept her overnight for observation. Meanwhile the Charles were here and they made a beautiful dinner for Mom and Dad but I got to enjoy it instead of Mom as I went over and stayed the night with Dad while Mom was in the hospital. She got home the next morning and she and Dad took it easy all day and then had dinner again with Mike and Pat.
Pat called me after they left and told me that Mom had a long talk with her about some of her frustrations with Nancy 2. Pat also had concerns after spending the day there. We have all been a little frustrated with Nancy 2 and have been trying to see about switching to a different caregiver that has been there before as a substitute. Nancy 2 is VERY picky about what she is willing to do and there always seems to be some sort of scheduling misunderstanding with her. She also asks 40 bazillion questions about things that have nothing to do with why she is there. I have been annoyed several times as she asks me every time I am there the same questions...did you come from Bremerton this time? oh.. Did you have to take a ferry? oh..How long is the ferry ride? oh...is your husband with you? Do you have the dogs in the car? OMG LADY!!! I've been here 10 minutes already and I haven't even said hello to my parents yet!!! She is really sweet and I do like her but sometimes I just can't muster the patience to answer the same questions every time I go over there. Mom feels the same frustrations times 10. She is help provided by Providence Elder Place and we love them in general and are so grateful!! but just need to tweak a couple things as far as in home care giving goes in order to help relieve Mom. Mom also needs to really stand up for herself too and Dad needs to cut her some slack sometimes! We have had a couple comments from family and friends who have witnessed his, how do I say, tendency to be a little controlling, often about things that are not so important unless you are Mike Kissler :)
On Memorial Day I stopped by and surprised them after attending a friends BBQ up the hill. I brought them leftovers of the truthfully kind of awful dessert I made for the BBQ. Dad loved it anyway :) but told me I needed to use cake mix made with Jello next time and it would be so much better. He's controlling but he usually knows what he's talking about (usually) and I have learned so much from him.
We are looking forward to the Clows coming from California this coming weekend! I am especially as I used to spend a week or two every other summer at their house when I was growing up! They have two kids, a daughter my age, Michelle (who would come to our house the summers I was not at their house), and her older brother Jon, who were often the highlight of my summer :)
A couple cute pictures from Mother's day...
Friday, June 1, 2012
Latest Update!
So a lot has happened since I last wrote! I was actually out of town most of last week, but I know my parents went to a fun BBQ with Johnny, they had friends in town early on in the week and I a few visits with Angie! I'll let everyone else talk about their times :) I did ask dad about the BBQ he went to with Johnny. It was a graduation party for one of his friends. Dad said it was a lot of fun and he got a big grin on his face when he told me "the kids made him get up and play beer pong!" he was even happier when I asked how'd you do? "I won a round!" - same old mike!
Last Monday before Josh and I headed out of town, we hosted the family, and mom and dads friends Mike and Pat Charles at our house. We had a great time!!! WAY too much food, good wine and a lot of laughs! Unfortunately because Josh and I were leaving the next day we had to cut the evening shorter then I would have liked, but we are looking forward to seeing the Charles's again in July! (They live in California)
In other exciting news, Mom got a job! She is working at Safeway on Queen Anne! I think it will be great for her! A perfect distraction and chance for her to get out of the house! So this morning I went over to re-leave her so she could head to work. Dad had apparently had a restless night and had been ready to go since 8am. He was exhausted though! He really wanted to go see his sister Kimmy who just broke her hip :( Which I was more than happy to do, but then he said he was just too wiped :( So I made him some breakfast and then we went on a walk. I tried to make poached eggs like Angie does for dad and he was just laughing at my attempts but they were edible :) Then we went on a nice long walk! Dad stopped and touched every single flower and told me what kind they all were. Their neighborhood looks beautiful right now with all the flowers in full bloom! Dad pushed me in the chair for about 3 blocks which made me a little nervous since he was so tired, but he said it felt really good to walk.
All and all great day! Their friends the Clows (also from California) are coming into town next week! And Mom is taking dad to see Brandi Carlile at Easy Street records on Tuesday night so hopefully we'll get to see some pics from that! They are both really excited :)
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| Mom and dad with Johnny's friends! |
Last Monday before Josh and I headed out of town, we hosted the family, and mom and dads friends Mike and Pat Charles at our house. We had a great time!!! WAY too much food, good wine and a lot of laughs! Unfortunately because Josh and I were leaving the next day we had to cut the evening shorter then I would have liked, but we are looking forward to seeing the Charles's again in July! (They live in California)
In other exciting news, Mom got a job! She is working at Safeway on Queen Anne! I think it will be great for her! A perfect distraction and chance for her to get out of the house! So this morning I went over to re-leave her so she could head to work. Dad had apparently had a restless night and had been ready to go since 8am. He was exhausted though! He really wanted to go see his sister Kimmy who just broke her hip :( Which I was more than happy to do, but then he said he was just too wiped :( So I made him some breakfast and then we went on a walk. I tried to make poached eggs like Angie does for dad and he was just laughing at my attempts but they were edible :) Then we went on a nice long walk! Dad stopped and touched every single flower and told me what kind they all were. Their neighborhood looks beautiful right now with all the flowers in full bloom! Dad pushed me in the chair for about 3 blocks which made me a little nervous since he was so tired, but he said it felt really good to walk.
All and all great day! Their friends the Clows (also from California) are coming into town next week! And Mom is taking dad to see Brandi Carlile at Easy Street records on Tuesday night so hopefully we'll get to see some pics from that! They are both really excited :)
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| Dinner with the Charles's |
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| Mike and I talking all about wine! |
Friday, May 18, 2012
Recap of Respite Week
So as I said in my last post Dad was at Providence Mt. St Vincent in West Seattle all week. It sounds like it was a really productive week for him. On Sunday Mom, Angie and I got up early to watch Johnny's 5K (the color run). Then mom rushed off so she could go to church with Dad... Allison and her boyfriend also joined them. Angie and I got tacos for everyone and brought them to dads place. We all sat in his room and chit chatted and ate which was nice. Dad was REALLY quiet and it was extremely difficult for any of us to hear what he was saying. Mom made an alphabet board for him with a few key phrases as well but mostly so he could spell out what he wanted. We all got a kick out of it. Poor dad though was extremely frustrated and told us that he is having a hard time breathing and that's why it is so hard to get the words out. This is the first I think any of us have heard about this. This disease is so hard because he seems like he is doing great and then he tells us something like that and it sadly means more is going on than any of us know about. Johnny came a little later and we all went outside for a nice walk. Dad pushed me in the chair and Johnny was really impressed with how well he walks that way! I left shortly after that, it sounds like Angie and Johnny did as well. Mom stayed until the nurses finally kicked her out :)
Monday night Dad had called and asked me to bring him a few things from their apartment. I knew Allison was going over there so I tried to see if she could get the stuff, only to realize that none of us had access to the apartment. Mom had taken a babysitting job to earn a little cash so she wasn't going to be able to let us in :( I believe Allison had a nice visit and then I went over first thing Tuesday morning to bring dad the shoes and pills he requested. When I walked into his room he had a huge smile on his face before he even realized it was me... so even though he might complain about his week away I think he secretly liked it! :) He said that he hadn't been sleeping well, however he looked more refreshed then I have seen him look in a long time! He was telling me that he had already had two sessions of therapy that morning working on his voice and word skills. I could tell his brain was a bit fried from it but for the most part he seems really good. I told him I needed to get going and he said, no problem I'm just going to wash my hair in the sink! Um... ok well let me help you! So we as grandma June would say "warshed his head" in the sink :) Then as I was saying my goodbyes he decided he wanted to walk me to the elevators but he was having a really hard time walking he just couldn't make his legs go and I was not comfortable with leaving him at the elevators if he couldn't walk back! So I had him push me in his chair and then I pushed him back to his room and said goodbye.
Sounds like Allison went back over there on Tuesday night and brought dad a new microphone for his voice amplifier. He was really excited about it last night, and it works much better!
Thursday night I stopped by for a bit. He was sitting in his room having a beer :) We watched Evening magazine together and of course there was a really touching segment about childrens hospital on there which made him get emotional and then whatever hollywood gossip show that came on next was talking about Donna summers and he totally lost it! I asked him if he was ok? He started laughing and just said ya I don't know why I do that! He's acting really strong but I think he is terrified of everything that is happening to him. :( He told me that this week had been really good for him and he felt like even though he was physically and mentally drained he had gotten a lot of out it. He learned that with weighted silverware he can feed himself, he is remembering how to retrain his voice to be LOUD, and he walked me with no problem to the elevator last night :) All really good things!
Mom is picking him up at 2:30 today and Angie has planted a bunch of new pots on their balcony and we are going to go straighten up their place before they get home so they have a clean house! Their friends Pat and Mike Charles are coming on Sunday night which they are both over the moon about! We are going to BBQ here with everyone on Monday night so dad was really excited to hear that!
I think both Mom and Dad got a lot out of the week. As I said last week I think it was really good for dad to be monitored 24 hours a day so people know exactly what he needs and can help mom create a schedule for him. I think it was nice for mom to have a break even though I think she babysat more than she was supposed to! She is really excited to pick him up today! Tomorrow they celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary! Crazy :)
Monday night Dad had called and asked me to bring him a few things from their apartment. I knew Allison was going over there so I tried to see if she could get the stuff, only to realize that none of us had access to the apartment. Mom had taken a babysitting job to earn a little cash so she wasn't going to be able to let us in :( I believe Allison had a nice visit and then I went over first thing Tuesday morning to bring dad the shoes and pills he requested. When I walked into his room he had a huge smile on his face before he even realized it was me... so even though he might complain about his week away I think he secretly liked it! :) He said that he hadn't been sleeping well, however he looked more refreshed then I have seen him look in a long time! He was telling me that he had already had two sessions of therapy that morning working on his voice and word skills. I could tell his brain was a bit fried from it but for the most part he seems really good. I told him I needed to get going and he said, no problem I'm just going to wash my hair in the sink! Um... ok well let me help you! So we as grandma June would say "warshed his head" in the sink :) Then as I was saying my goodbyes he decided he wanted to walk me to the elevators but he was having a really hard time walking he just couldn't make his legs go and I was not comfortable with leaving him at the elevators if he couldn't walk back! So I had him push me in his chair and then I pushed him back to his room and said goodbye.
Sounds like Allison went back over there on Tuesday night and brought dad a new microphone for his voice amplifier. He was really excited about it last night, and it works much better!
Thursday night I stopped by for a bit. He was sitting in his room having a beer :) We watched Evening magazine together and of course there was a really touching segment about childrens hospital on there which made him get emotional and then whatever hollywood gossip show that came on next was talking about Donna summers and he totally lost it! I asked him if he was ok? He started laughing and just said ya I don't know why I do that! He's acting really strong but I think he is terrified of everything that is happening to him. :( He told me that this week had been really good for him and he felt like even though he was physically and mentally drained he had gotten a lot of out it. He learned that with weighted silverware he can feed himself, he is remembering how to retrain his voice to be LOUD, and he walked me with no problem to the elevator last night :) All really good things!
Mom is picking him up at 2:30 today and Angie has planted a bunch of new pots on their balcony and we are going to go straighten up their place before they get home so they have a clean house! Their friends Pat and Mike Charles are coming on Sunday night which they are both over the moon about! We are going to BBQ here with everyone on Monday night so dad was really excited to hear that!
I think both Mom and Dad got a lot out of the week. As I said last week I think it was really good for dad to be monitored 24 hours a day so people know exactly what he needs and can help mom create a schedule for him. I think it was nice for mom to have a break even though I think she babysat more than she was supposed to! She is really excited to pick him up today! Tomorrow they celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary! Crazy :)
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| Mom and Johnny at the color run |
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| The alphabet board mom made... we like #3 best :) |
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| Dad just laughing at mom! |
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Crazy Week!
First of all I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of generosity and support! Mom and dad have received gift cards, wish list items and had numerous visitors this past week! We cannot tell you how grateful we all are and how helpful it all is.
Saturday Grandma Joan and Grandpa Jim came over for a bit, and then their friend Terry Donovan stopped by with goodies and spent a few hours with them. Then they had a fun dinner with their friends Colleen and Clayton Packard on Sunday night. Sounds like they may have had too much fun as they usually do with the Packards! Monday night they BBQ'd at Angie's house. Angie said dad was pretty wiped and out of it but it was a nice evening and always nice to get him out and about. Tuesday they had more visitors!! Mike Davidson and his fiance Reese came over and watched the voice with dad (which he loves!) and sounds like they had a nice visit as well.
Wednesday us kids got an email from mom saying that they had found a placement for dad and that she was going to get a week of MUCH NEEDED respite! She was really nervous to tell him about it, but all of us were 100% behind her. She actually text all of us that evening and needed just an hour off... Angie went over and mom was asleep within 20mins of her being there and slept all the way until 9am! So Thursday morning mom told dad about the respite and he lost it! He was extremely upset and felt betrayed by his doctors and thought they were going to never let him come home. Angie rushed over there and by the time she got there he was much more calm and starting to accept it. Basically mom just needs a week long nap! He's not being sent away forever... its just one week! He had a doctors appointment on Thursday as well with a new neurologist. She told dad that this week is going to be great for him as he is going to have tons of intense physical therapy and many nurses focusing on just him all week long! That made him much more comfortable with it all.
Thursday night moms sister Christy came over with her little dog lily who dad just loves! So although it started out as a rough day it sounds like he was completely fine and happy at the end of it :)
My biggest concern with him getting so upset about this respite is that he blames himself. Instead of being mad at the disease he takes it on as though it is his fault that he is a 24 hour job. He is trying so hard to continue to do everything for himself but it is a not safe and that is why mom is up all the time with him. I asked if he could have some one on one counseling while he was away for a week, but they want him to focus on PT and then they will provide the counseling once he is home. I just want him to come to grips with what is happening with his body and realize that it is not his fault.
On Friday Angie and I got to their place around 10:30. Dad was still asleep and mom gave us the list of things that needed to be packed and then she left for a hair appointment we had made her for her birthday! I was insistent that she didn't cancel it because we had already rescheduled it about 5 times! :) So Angie and I finished their laundry and got dads bags all packed up and then dad was up around noon. He had his first pills and some breakfast and we just sat and talked for awhile. He is definitely more accepting of his week away now. He is just mad because (in usual mike kissler form) "there is so much that needs to be done around the place!" And he is upset because he will miss a run that Johnny is doing on Sunday morning. Mom asked if he wanted her to pick him up for it but it is WAY too early so even if dad was home he would probably miss it. So I made sure that everything I packed for dad was ok and then I walked to Safeway to get him some travel toiletries and some lunch stuff. We had a nice lunch on the deck in the sunshine! Mom got home around 2:30 and we loaded up and headed to West Seattle.
Dad is at Providence Mount St. Vincent until next Friday May 18th. We pulled up and it is a very nice facility with AMAZING views of Elliot bay and the city! Dad also has pretty decent views of the Olympics from his room. We were told to head straight to the 5th floor nurses station to check in. I was a little nervous when we got up there because it definitely had more of a hospital feel as I was walking down the hall. I found the nurses and they said "oh yes! Mike is in room 524 right next door!" So I peeked in and it is perfect! Obviously very simple but he has a private room with an actual door...(not a sheet like some of the others) a big window overlooking the grounds with beautiful flowers and the peak through view of the Olympics! Mom of course brought TONS of pictures and made it home in no time! A nurse named Stephanie checked him in and was extremely thorough and very fun and young! The woman who would be his evening nurse also came in to introduce herself and she was great as well! Then another man came in who I believe was from the PT department! He was cracking all kinds of jokes with dad and dad was all smiles! We were told that they can give him alcohol if we supply it so Angie and I went and got him a bottle of his favorite Rose :) We also left him with a box of treats from Macrina Bakery (All his favorites)!
I feel very positive about him being in this facility and think it will be really good for him. I think this will be the best way for his entire medical team to really asses the level that he is at and be able to give him future help even when he is back home. Although I don't think he was extremely happy about the twin bed :), he seemed very relaxed and comfortable when we left. He is definitely in really good hands and we are all going to go over there tomorrow after Johnny's race!
I'm sure we'll have a lot more info as the week goes on and definitely more pictures to share!!
Thank you again for all the support!
Saturday Grandma Joan and Grandpa Jim came over for a bit, and then their friend Terry Donovan stopped by with goodies and spent a few hours with them. Then they had a fun dinner with their friends Colleen and Clayton Packard on Sunday night. Sounds like they may have had too much fun as they usually do with the Packards! Monday night they BBQ'd at Angie's house. Angie said dad was pretty wiped and out of it but it was a nice evening and always nice to get him out and about. Tuesday they had more visitors!! Mike Davidson and his fiance Reese came over and watched the voice with dad (which he loves!) and sounds like they had a nice visit as well.
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| Dad and Clayton Packard! |
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| Dad's ride to the doctors |
Thursday night moms sister Christy came over with her little dog lily who dad just loves! So although it started out as a rough day it sounds like he was completely fine and happy at the end of it :)
My biggest concern with him getting so upset about this respite is that he blames himself. Instead of being mad at the disease he takes it on as though it is his fault that he is a 24 hour job. He is trying so hard to continue to do everything for himself but it is a not safe and that is why mom is up all the time with him. I asked if he could have some one on one counseling while he was away for a week, but they want him to focus on PT and then they will provide the counseling once he is home. I just want him to come to grips with what is happening with his body and realize that it is not his fault.
On Friday Angie and I got to their place around 10:30. Dad was still asleep and mom gave us the list of things that needed to be packed and then she left for a hair appointment we had made her for her birthday! I was insistent that she didn't cancel it because we had already rescheduled it about 5 times! :) So Angie and I finished their laundry and got dads bags all packed up and then dad was up around noon. He had his first pills and some breakfast and we just sat and talked for awhile. He is definitely more accepting of his week away now. He is just mad because (in usual mike kissler form) "there is so much that needs to be done around the place!" And he is upset because he will miss a run that Johnny is doing on Sunday morning. Mom asked if he wanted her to pick him up for it but it is WAY too early so even if dad was home he would probably miss it. So I made sure that everything I packed for dad was ok and then I walked to Safeway to get him some travel toiletries and some lunch stuff. We had a nice lunch on the deck in the sunshine! Mom got home around 2:30 and we loaded up and headed to West Seattle.
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| dads packing list :) :( |
Dad is at Providence Mount St. Vincent until next Friday May 18th. We pulled up and it is a very nice facility with AMAZING views of Elliot bay and the city! Dad also has pretty decent views of the Olympics from his room. We were told to head straight to the 5th floor nurses station to check in. I was a little nervous when we got up there because it definitely had more of a hospital feel as I was walking down the hall. I found the nurses and they said "oh yes! Mike is in room 524 right next door!" So I peeked in and it is perfect! Obviously very simple but he has a private room with an actual door...(not a sheet like some of the others) a big window overlooking the grounds with beautiful flowers and the peak through view of the Olympics! Mom of course brought TONS of pictures and made it home in no time! A nurse named Stephanie checked him in and was extremely thorough and very fun and young! The woman who would be his evening nurse also came in to introduce herself and she was great as well! Then another man came in who I believe was from the PT department! He was cracking all kinds of jokes with dad and dad was all smiles! We were told that they can give him alcohol if we supply it so Angie and I went and got him a bottle of his favorite Rose :) We also left him with a box of treats from Macrina Bakery (All his favorites)!
I feel very positive about him being in this facility and think it will be really good for him. I think this will be the best way for his entire medical team to really asses the level that he is at and be able to give him future help even when he is back home. Although I don't think he was extremely happy about the twin bed :), he seemed very relaxed and comfortable when we left. He is definitely in really good hands and we are all going to go over there tomorrow after Johnny's race!
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| The View from Providence in West Seattle! |
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| Me... playing in his room :) |
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| Dads room |
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| He doesn't look too happy here but I swear he was smiling! |
Thank you again for all the support!
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