February 26, 2023

It's been a few weeks since I've written. Things have been going fairly well so I haven't felt the urgency to update everyone. John seems to be pretty stable. He's eating decently, still walking around a lot, but stops to rest for a bit now and then. He's less resistive to care and seems content. About a week ago the staff and residents were tossing a large ball around to each other. They tossed the ball to John and he actually threw it back! He did it a few times and the staff was so excited to see him involved in an activity that one of them pulled out her phone, recorded it, and sent the video to us. And she told Danielle and me all about it the next time she saw us. John did fall earlier this month, falling out of bed and hitting his face on the nightstand on the way down. He didn't really bruise though, so it probably wasn't too bad a fall. Other than that he hasn't fallen recently. He seems more alert lately - well I mean he keeps his eyes open most of the time. His new thing is that he keeps taking his shoes and socks off and leaving them around the place as he walks around. They might find one of his socks tucked in the hall handrail, or in the side of a chair. Sometimes he takes his shoes off and then puts them right back on. But generally he's often walking around barefoot, or with one shoe on and the other off. Or he's barefoot in his shoes. Hopefully he'll stop that soon. In the meantime we're going to try tie shoes again. He's been wearing slip on shoes, so maybe he'll keep tie shoes on. I doubt it, but it's worth a try. A quote I like: "The disease might hide the person underneath but there's still a person in there who needs your love and attention." ~Jamie Calandriello

February 3, 2024

John officially moved into a private room 2 days ago. He is now in room D6, which faces the residential neighborhood behind the building. Today Danielle and I moved his furniture around and hung his pictures on the wall. I brought him some apple pie that a friend gave me, and he gobbled it up right away. We also walked around outside because it was a pretty day. We used the door from his room to go outside - he now has a door into the hallway, and another door that leads out to the garden and outdoor areas he likes to walk. We walked around outside a couple times - that door is very convenient! His room has double glass doors instead of a window an it lets lots of sun in. Anyway, it's nice that he's settled into a room that will remain his for some time, without a roommate. I'd like to get a lazy boy type chair or a small loveseat to add to the room, so I'll keep my eyes on the lookout. As we left he was patrolling the inside hallways, and hopefully he joined the party that was going on in the main room. One of the residents turned 99 so there was a large party with lots of his family members, with even more participating through zoom. Nice!