Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Taking Care of Dad - Dental and Medical Appointments

Monday – February 1, 2010
28 days after the accident


6am: I have a friend who takes my kids to school on Monday and Tuesday morning, which is such a relief because I don’t want to leave my father alone until I know what his abilities are. I watch the kids leave at 6:30am and check on my father. He is still sleeping so I take the opportunity to get a little more sleep myself.

9am: My father is quietly lying in bed. I call his name gently and he looks up at me. “Good morning Dad,” I announce. “Come on, let’s have some breakfast.” I am happy to see that he is moving a little better today and he is less confused from the day before. I pour him a glass of fresh apple juice, which he gulps down. I suspect he only nutritious meal of the day was lunch at the senior center. My goal right now is to help him regain his strength.
For breakfast: I gave him the fruit and oatmeal warm breakfast cereal and a fruit salad with ½ banana and 2 strawberries cut up small; ½ cup of decaf coffee and 1 small chocolate macaroon.

Dad is extremely constipated, the nursing home sent him out here with two huge bags of strong oral medications. Just three days before I picked him up in New York he was rushed to the hospital because he passed out while having a bowel movement. He doesn't need medicines he needs activity, plenty of water, and proper nutrition.

My second goal for dad is to clear up his constipation and get his bowels working properly. I increase his water and make sure he eats plenty of ripe fruit. I am also going to put him on some supplements and probiotics to help the process along.

10:30 am: We have an appointment to fit dad for dentures. The consult goes well, tomorrow dad will return to have four teeth removed and his temporary dentures fitted. He will eat much better now that he has teeth. Evidently, the bridge he had in New York was destroyed when he was hit by the car.

12:00 noon: I take dad to lunch at this new sandwich shop right down the street. We can smell the fresh bread as we walk into the shop and my mouth began to salivate, I forgot to have breakfast and did not realize how hungry I was.
I ordered an 8” vegetarian sub for dad and I to share, it had lettuce, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, avocado and Swiss cheese. Delicious! My father actually does pretty well without teeth, still I had the sub cut into four sections and had them slice the tomatoes and lettuce very thin and small.

1:00pm Stop at Walgreens to fill the prescription for the antibiotic that dad will take after he has his teeth pulled. It is very important for individuals with heart conditions to take antibiotics after having any kind of oral work done to prevent infection. While I was in the pharmacy, I picked up another cervical collar for my dad so I could wash the one he was wearing. Also bought him a comb, latex gloves to change the gauze pads he will have in his mouth tomorrow, razor and shaving cream so he can shave tonight, and some fruit popsicles in anticipation of him wanting something cool in his mouth after surgery.

2:15pm Pulled into the garage and helped dad into his room. I hung up his coat while he took off his sneakers and socks. We went into the kitchen and I poured him a glass of water. We chatted for a few minutes and when the kids came home from school they visited with him while enjoying their afternoon snack. My son helped dad over to the recliner and elevated his legs. He pulled out a deck of cards and began showing him some new card tricks. I took the opportunity to throw a load of my own clothes into the washing machine, and sat down to pay some household bills and make a couple of phone calls to set up doctor and eye appointment for my father next week.

I remembered that a new practice opened up just minutes from the house and there was a good eye-doctor in the shopping center where I go for groceries. I was pleased to get those appointments out of the way. Dad still has his secondary insurance from New York but I am going to have to find other insurance because they will not cover him after 30 days (his type of insurance is only good in New York).

4:00pm Dad goes into his bedroom to watch the news and rest while I begin making dinner. I thought a nice pork roast would be nice. I had marinated it with ginger and pear juice, placed a few slits into the meat, and placed it a hot oven for a couple of hours. I made a couple of vegetable dishes, long grain rice, and then headed upstairs to visit with the kids before dinner.

6:15pm My husband gets dad and the kids set the table while I pull out the pork roast and slice it – oh it smelled so good, I couldn’t wait to sit down with a glass of white and enjoy my family’s company over a nice dinner.

Dinner has always been an important ritual in our home; we eat as a family every night, with little exception. It is our time to relax and share each other’s day. My father enjoys this part of the day very much because he was so lonely living by himself, the chatter and laughing puts a very big smile on his face. Warms my heart to see him so joyful and engaged. He has been depressed and fearful ever since the rehab staff told him he can't live alone anymore. I am going to see if I can set up some counseling sessions for him to help him during this difficult transition.

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