Dad's Doctor's Appointment

Sally and I went with Dad for his doctor's appointment yesterday. We thought that it was going to be a review of his May test results. As it turned out it was an appointment for another battery of tests. Before we went in for the appointment Dad seemed very agitated; I think he was concerned about what he was going to hear. When we were told by Terri (the Phd Psycologist candidate from Eastern Michigan who is doing the testing) that Dad was actually scheduled for another 3 hours of testing Dad seemed to be both relieved and upset that he would have to spend the afternoon taking additional tests. Terri explained that the tests were different from the May tests as they focused on sequencing and recognition as opposed to memory. Because Sally and I were there Terri started Dad on the testing and spent about 20 minutes asking about our concerns about and observations of Dad. We discussed short term memory issues, how he handles crisis situations, his inablility to complete mathematical tasks that used to be very simple for him, his inability to remember people's names and our concern about his driving. Terri said in her interview with Dad that he admitted that he was very concerned that his memory was getting so bad and he was embarrassed that he could not remember names. She also observed that Dad was very good at hiding many of his issues, which was a comment made by Jane at Springhill when Sally and I met with her later. When Terri was talking with Sally and me Dad came to the door three times asking Terri again how to use the computer and take the test. Sally suspected that Dad was both confused and also concerned that we were talking about him.



We left Dad and went to Springhill and talked with Jane to set up nursing help for Stone Harbor. Jane is a wonderful person and she is taking great care of Mom and Dad. She will be setting up daily visits with a primary nurse and also a back up nurse. Jane also made some observations about Mom and Dad saying that Dad is very good about covering up his memory issues. She felt Mom mentally was doing better than Dad. She also told us that we would be observing Mom and Dad becoming more reclusive and avoiding large groups of people. She warned that family vacations are often when this becomes more apparent as it is an unfamiliar environment. However the fact that Mom and Dad are going back to the same house in Stone Harbor will hopefully be a mitigating factor.



Sally and I then went to see Mom who was reading on their new deck. She seems to be doing very well although she says her legs are still weak. She is now taking her cane whenever she goes out.



We picked up Dad at about 5:00. He was tired but in a good mood. The tests were not as bad as the ones he took in May; however he said many times he was not able to complete the test in the allotted time. Terri finishes her internship at Hamot at the end of July so we made an appointment to discuss the test results on Friday, July 27th at 1:00pm. This appointment should not take more than an hour. Terri feels that she should get through her review in about 40 minutes.



After the appointment Mom, Dad, Sally and I had a very relaxing dinner at the Yacht Club. Mom, Dad and I then went to see the Saybrook house and the new aquatic center at Kahkwa. Their old house looks completely different with a three car garage, a new concrete driveway and a hot tub off of the master bedroom.



My overall observations are that Mom is doing really well despite the weakness in her legs. Dad physically looks pretty good; however his short term memory issues are more noticeable. At dinner he asked me the same question several times within a couple minutes.



One last item...Sally has told Mom and Dad that a two bedroom apartment with a balcony overlooking the fountain, potentially with a view of the lake on a clear day is opening up. We decided it is best to soft sell it and neither Mom or Dad have rejected it outright.



Both Mom and Dad are looking forward to Stone Harbor. Melinda and I will take care of getting them to Stone Harbor and setting up and stocking both houses.

Stone Harbor

It now looks like Maddie and Myles will be going to the shore from August 5th - 8th. It is unclear whether I will be there with them. Rebecca, Jacob and I are still shooting for the first week. Any new news on Mom and Dad? Is anyone else going to FL for Aunt Muriel's Memorial Service other than Chuck, Mom and Dad?

Betsy's plans for New Jersey

Again, I want to thank everyone for all their contributions! This is really working for me and I appreciate it. Chuck, just a reminder......look at comments!

My plans for New Jersey:

• Betsy and Jake arriving Sunday, July 29th and staying until Saturday, August 11th.
• Zac and Jess also arriving Sunday, July 29th. They will leave the weekend of August 4th.
• Kelsey flying into Philadelphia late Friday, August 3rd and flying home from Philadelphia late Sunday, August 5th.
• Dan coming by motorcycle Friday, August 3rd and leaving Sunday, August 5th.

visit to Dr. Murray for Mom today, Mom is still unsteady and has a low BP. Dr Murray discontinueing the benacar for now. I told him she has not had the benicar today because her BP was to low and maybe we should look at the other Meds. he noted my concerns and wants to see her in two weeks. Dad also is having trouble with his left leg around his knee he has no strength and had trouble getting up yesterday Doug andNina were there. He is having a sonogram to see if he has a cyst.

Stone Harbor and Aunt Muriels Memorial Service

My families plans for Stone Harbor are as follows:

• I will plan to get Mom and Dad to Stone Harbor on Saturday, July 28th.
• Melinda will be driving down with Kirsten late Sunday, June 29th.
• Melinda, Kirsten and I will be going to Saratoga Springs, NY on Wednesday, August 1st
• Kelli and David will be staying in Stone Harbor
• I have a board meeting on August 2nd and 3rd and Kirsten has a concert on August 2nd
• We will all drive back late Friday afternoon arriving in Stone Harbor around 11:00pm
• I don't know Heather's plans, but we will all be staying at the shore for the entire second week
• On Friday I will fly with Mom and Dad to Aunt Muriel's memorial service
• On Sunday we will fly back through either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia and I will make sure Mom and Dad are on the plane to Erie.

Please let me know what everyone is planning for Stone Harbor.

Betsy, have Zach and Jess set a date for the wedding?

Chuck

Update 7/1/2007 -It's July already??

Quick update..... mom is seeing dr. murphy tomorrow @9:15am (mon. 7/2). She has been fairly weak ever since she has been home from the hospital. Hopefully we will find out more regarding the results of her tests at hamot.

She is walking around springhill but it tires her out. On saturday she got a little woozy after lying on the deck in the sun. I guess dad called sally when it happened because he was a little concerned. Today mom's BP was low and she was taking it easy on the couch.

There is a concern, dad talked to springhill and told them that they don't need the nurse to come daily. He now has them coming once a week to only fill their pill boxes. Dad has been taking mom's BP every morning. The problem is that dad is not following the doctor's orders regarding parameters. There were strict orders to not give mom the benicar if her BP is below 110/60. This morning it was 106/55 but he still gave her the pill. He thought that he was to always give every pill which is wrong.

Anyway, we have straightened dad out and we will get springhill to once again come on a daily basis. Sally will be going to the doctor appt. with mom and dad tomorrow and I will pass on any new information that may come out of the appt.