April 10, 2024

Kind of a funny story ... Yesterday I arrived to see John after he had eaten most of his dinner. He was close to the dining room sitting on a bench in one of the hallways. I went to him, put on one of his shoes, then tried to walk him back to the table to finish his dinner and eat his beloved dessert. He could barely walk and limped gingerly on 1 foot. He acted like he was in serious pain. I couldn't get him to move. After 2 of us tried to coerce him to walk to the table, I gave up and had him sit down and took off the shoe. I soon found a sock (it was a small sock) crumpled up in the toe of that shoe! Instantly he was healed of his malady and we walked back to the table without issue. The Med Tech came over to check on him and I told her about the sock. She said they'd already called Hospice because they were worried he twisted his ankle - clearly they didn't stick their hand inside the shoe - so she went to cancel that call before someone was on their way to check on John. Once at the table John finished the rest of his dinner and ate 2 desserts. Later I put his shoe back on and everything was fine. Certainly it was pretty uncomfortable trying to walk with that sock in his shoe, but you'd have thought a bone was broken with all his fuss! Fortunately it was an easy fix.

April 6, 2024

Again it's been a while since I've posted anything - more than a month actually. John continues to be stable. No falls, no difficult behaviors, he continues to seem content. 2 weeks ago he was requalified for hospice. They do that every 3 months. If he doesn't show measurable loss, he will be discontinued for hospice. I hope he can stay on hospice because that provides for nurses to check on him twice each week. Not only do they report back to a doctor, they also discuss his care with the staff at Crescent Landing. Most recently they've been advocating for more finger foods for John. John can still use silverware, but he eats more when he can pick up the food. The staff monitors how much John eats and gives him more food whenever it seems like he'll eat it. Today he ate the dessert, so they brought him more - and a pretty large portion at that! He at it ALL. Hospice also provides a couple showers each week, so that's not something that's added to his Crescent Landing care plan that ultimately I'd need to pay for. Hospice also provides diapers, chucks, wipes, a tray table for his room, and a hospital bed. So that's all things we'd lose if he plateaus for 3 months and doesn't qualify for Hospice. Weight loss, medication changes, changes in the ability to eat, and general loss of independence qualify people to remain on hospice. So while I don't want him to lose abilities, I do want the advantages that qualifying for hospice brings. John was requalified for hospice because of his weight loss. Losing weight is very typical with Alzheimer's. When he moved into Crescent Landing he weighed 219lbs. He dropped to 187 at one point but is now 190. The weight loss makes him look quite a bit older. Today I read parts of an article to John about Superman. Action Comics 1 sold for the highest price ever - $6 million! Quite an increase since it was originally 10 cents. The cover pictures Superman throwing a car. I might be wrong, but I believe John had it when he was a kid, but it was quite worn from being read often. I think it was part of the collection he sold years ago to buy his first house. Anyway, he didn't respond to the story, but who knows, maybe he understood something about it. I was out of town for a week a short time ago. When I returned and visited John, he looked good. I was happy to see that someone had shaved him during the week. I don't think he was aware I'd been gone, but we immediately fell back into step with the routine we've established. While I was gone I received the typical calls I get from the hospice nurses so I was aware of how he was doing. I really appreciate how well they keep me informed.