Long time, no posts

Fast forward. It's July 2nd, 2008. Overall the past few years have been a steady decline for Fred's health. But, for the first time in quite a while, I feel like Fred has shown some awesome signs of improvement. Between a good diet, routine, and very well managed health care, he's feeling better and talking more. It all started really after Caitlin, my super-star wife, helped get Fred's ears checked out, so he could get fitted for hearing aids. To make a long story, they found that his ears were very backed up with wax, and after being cleaned he could hear. Then he got hearing aids. Now he was talking, listening, and it seemed that his cognitive abilities were really working. It's things like this that as a kid, I completely took for granted. Just being able to sit down with my dad and have a real conversation.

Rob and I have been taking him out on the weekends, and John comes down from Houston every few weeks. He really enjoys our visits. I believe Mary and Fred may come out early in the fall, and hopefully Candy or some of the Chicago family will also come to visit him. I think everyone will be really surprised once they get to sit down and talk with him.

I'm hoping that I can get some more stories from him soon. Try to document them. I'm also going to piece together the 'nine knots to nowhere', Dad's one and only fiction book, based on his Navy days aboard ship, and get something going with John. Maybe trying to finish it together. It would be really neat to show him while he's still here with us.

More updates to follow. I hope everyone who is reading this is doing well and takes time to appreciate each day and every relationship with love, care, and patience.

Coming up on the holidays

Good news is the family will be coming by. Candy from the Midwest crew and Mary, Kate and Erik from the west coast. Fred might also be making a trip out soon. Dad needs these visits. It helps both him and us on the scene know and recognize the support of the family.

I'll be posting more updates soon, along with some new pics to share.

Meanwhile dad's doing just fine. Getting better adjusted everyday to his place.

Dad's doing well

He's adjusting to his new place great. We took him out for dinner yesterday at Kerby Lane. He ate well and enjoyed our company. John, Rob, Caitlin and I were all in attendance.

I can tell he must be benefiting from this transition as he's been going to both physical and cognitive therapy weekly. In fact, he's back to using his reading glasses again. This is a good sign.

That's all for now.

Dad's 74th bday!

Dad at the local hamburger & ice cream joint


Fred enjoying a delicious 74th bday ice cream from Amy's Ice Cream


Peter & Dad


The Gang


Dad reading his bday card from Caitlin.

A quiet visit

Saw dad today. He was feeling okay. He didn't want to chat much and kept on getting up while we ate to go back to his room.
i asked him what was so great in his room, and he said he didn't know. This is typical behavior though. It's like he can't get comfortable in a social situation, but in his room he can sleep and chill out. Since he's in his room all the time, my goal is to get him up and eating and chatting with me in the kitchen, then outside for a brief walk.

While I was there, one of the residents family members had a child near by. You could hear Fred talking to the baby and laughing. It was quite cute and enjoyable to hear his tone and laughter.

Before leaving we went for a walk outside and I gave dad a compliment, telling him how much I appreciated his patience while settling in at his new place. He response was like this, 'take note from me, I've been through a lot.' And my response was short and sweet with a big smile and a 'indeed'.

Father's day

Okay, I'm a little late posting this, but here are some pictures from fathers day. We got dad a card and took him out to eat. He seemed quite happy to be around John and I.

Visit with Dad

Dad seemed to be doing well. We had a good time chatting today. I visited him shortly after he went out for lunch with John.

It was interesting talking to him. When he wakes up sometimes he's confused, and his only response to questions will be a 'yes' or a nod. I asked him how his lunch was and he said 'yes'. After a few minutes he told me that they ate a Ruby's for lunch and that the food was good, as always.

Before leaving I chatted with John, my dad's roommate. This time John was riding on his stationary bike, happy as could be, telling me all about his past and how many different bicycles he had growing up.

I gave dad a hug and left to go back to work. As usual, returning to work was like a time warp to what I would call 'the land of the able'.

Until next time.

Olive Garden!

It's been a while since I posted anything, but rest assured John, Rob and I have all been making the rounds to see dad.

We went to the Olive Garden last night for dinner. John had a great idea about a month ago of getting the whole gang together each Sunday to visit dad. So, dinner last night was I think our 4th Sunday in a row to do this.

Dad seemed like he enjoyed seeing everybody. He had a beer with his dinner and looked quite content.

He doing well. It seems like he can't ever wait to get out, but once he's out and about, he'll get tired and wants to get back to his place to rest.

During dinner last night, it proved to me that having more hands to help is better. While we ate dad had to go to the bathroom (which is a pretty frequent event), so John, Rob and I all alternated each time he had to go - just to point in the right direction of the bathroom. We all went twice, just to give you a sense of how many times he needs to go. I think his urgency has a lot to do with anxiety too, because it doesn't seem like he has to go to the bathroom this much ALL this time.

Well, he's doing well! I'm glad to say. I plan on seeing him tomorrow for lunch and will report back.

Until next time...