Flexible at 92

Just a bit of excitement today. We listed our piano on Craig's List for FREE last week. There were at least 7 interested people and it got taken away this morning at 8:30 in less than 10 minutes by 3 very big guys and a little "dolly." WHEW! Ros kept himself out of the path of the movers and was watching the driveway for his van pick up for Spectrum Club. He had his jacket, hat and gloves on and scooted out the door right after the piano movers left. Good timing!

When Ros got home today around 4pm, he found his puzzle table moved to a cozy spot just under the Lake Sunapee painting and next to the fireplace where the piano used to be. He was pleased with the new location. Ros is remarkably flexible with all the every day and Christmas commotion that goes on in our small household. We are in the middle of a mini renovation of our living room (Ted is sawing holes in the ceiling to place the housing for the new recessed lighting. YAY!!). Max is home from college and has spent a few good moments with Pappa. Mia and Lucie are always popping in and out of the house with their busy schedules. We are really enjoying having Pappa live with us - just part of the family, part of the usual commotion.

A Good Day!

Ros is doing really well. In fact, he is so well, the Visiting Nurses who have been seeing him since he came home from the hospital 3 weeks ago, are discharging him from home visits as of next week! He is enjoying Spectrum Club (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays) especially these days before Christmas as there is often live music, singing and dancing! 


This "warm" winter we are experiencing has been a gift - no ice and snow which makes going in and out of the house a bit easier. If you want to speak with Ros directly, generally 4:40-6pm is a good time any day if you want to call 978-887-0145. He would love to hear from you!

Pearl Harbor Day

Ros is doing fabulous! He has been back to the Spectrum Club 4 times this past week: a half day last Wednesday and Friday, full days this past Monday and today, Wednesday. In fact, he is feeling so well that he took the Spectrum Van Transport to and from the club today. The driver, Bouillyea (sp?), was so kind to Ros, meeting him at our door to assist into the van and then off the van to our doorstep. Kindness goes a long way at any age.

Initially when Ros started back last week, he was exhausted from all the activity. Even this past Monday, he was a bit wiped out when he got home. But today was a great day. There was a musician playing the organ and singing all the favorite Christmas carols for over an hour. Ros sat close to the performer and enjoyed the music immensely.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays (non Spectrum Club days), Ros is home just relaxing. He does have a companion, Jo Ellen, who takes him out for coffee on Thursdays which is nice. A physical therapist and visiting nurse are checking in on Ros 2 times a week which is very reassuring. He is truly a miracle. All is well.

Rabbit Rabbit

Ros is amazing! Yesterday, he returned to the Spectrum Club for a half day, went to the VA medical center (to finally get the glasses made to hopefully correct the double vision - takes 4 weeks to receive in the mail but it is in process!! Hooray!), then a brief but wonderful visit with Gracia, Bruce and Heather (Happy Bday!) in Lexington. WHEW!!! Ros must have cruised a half a mile with his walker. He is so mobile. It is AWESOME!! He was naturally exhausted after an incredibly full day.

Today, Ros relaxed and stayed home all day. He slept in a bit and was woken to a new friend/attendant Jo Ellen who kept him company all morning. She is lovely and kind and will be coming by a couple times a week. His energy is great. His desire to be strong and well motivates him to do his physical therapy exercises 2-3 times a day. Impressive.

We are grateful.

A Happy Thanksgiving

Ros is coming home today! He has been recovering and getting back on his feet for the past week at the Senior Adult Unit(SAU) in Gloucester, MA. Fully dressed and shaved every day, with assistance, he joined in for meals in the dining room and some group activities. He looks wonderful. Volley went to visit him Sunday and Monday  which was great fun and made everyone smile.

Even though Ros is upbeat and sweet, he is, however, a bit more frail with the past 2 weeks' events. One of his night time attendants told me that when she helps him in the middle of the night, he can hear just fine without the distractions of the people and surroundings.  Very interesting! We are organizing inhome care with the VA and another senior care group which will be perfect to keep Ros home.

Happy Thanksgiving. God is good.

Rumor has it...

Great News! Ros may be coming home on Tuesday....he's doing well. Stay tuned!

It's Moving Day!

Good News! Ros' white blood cell count has gone down and, correspondingly, the aggressive behavior has disappeared. We are all relieved for now. Because he is recovering well, Ros is being transferred today to Senior Adult Unit at Addison Gilbert in Gloucester MA for a short term stay. Mentally, he has resumed his short term forgetfulness but he is as sweet as ever, cooperative and interested in others.

Ted and I are very happy about this transfer as the geriatric support is excellent and Ros will be getting great care physically and mentally. We have posted on the wall of his hospital room that his job is to EAT, DRINK, SLEEP and GET STRONGER. He is doing well.

Right now, he is eating a peanut butter butter sandwich (yech!) and drinking a chocolate mealshake. He had a great idea to sip the broth with a straw from the bowl of chicken soup because it was too full. That's a good sign that Ros is on the mend.....

Send photos of your family or email them and we'll print them out for him.

A Gift

Yesterday we arrived at the hospital and Ros was sleeping. After a while, he woke up and, thank God, he was almost his normal sweet self again! What a miracle...a gift. Ros was alert and so happy to see us. He asked Lucie about her soccer and school. We were overjoyed by how normal he was...So sweet - remarking on how nice everybody is and that the bed was so comfortable he slept like a log. Although he wasn't able to eat his whole dinner, he did eat the blueberry cheesecake and drink a small bottle of water, too.

We asked if he had gotten out of bed (not expecting a positive answer) and he said,"No, they are watering the horse in the stall." HA! That is so Ros! He was concerned for us traveling so far to visit him (only 15 minutes) and was thanking us for coming. We knew he was feeling well when we told him we wanted him to come home soon and he asked if he could chase the pretty girls in the hospital. He told us he would worry about us driving home.

The nurse said his white blood cell count was going down which coincides with his behavior. The dementia can be aggravated by any infection and vice versa. Good news after a long week. We were glad to have our sweet Ros back.

Thank, God.

Troubling Turn of Events

Ros was admitted to Beverly Hospital this Tuesday for pneumonia and mild kidney failure. He is getting very good care and attention and has a private room across from the nurses station Room 419. He is receiving IV fluids and antibiotics and nebulizer/albuterol.

On Wednesday, perhaps an accumulation of the pneumonia/change in environment, confusion, maybe a UTI infection, Ros became delusional yet was still goodnatured. He seemed to be improving. Sometime in the night as the nurses reported, he became agitated and started  trying to get out of his bed. When Ted go there at 8am Thursday morning, Ros had taken out all his tubings and wanted to get out desperately, still delusional but now angry and irritated by everything. By thursday night 11-12 midnight, he was trying to get out of bed every 5 minutes and was unconsolable.

This morning (Friday), he is still trying to get out of bed but for some reason he is happy. He wants to go to visit his grandmother on Ashmont (Buffalo). We just go with whatever his thought is. His white blood cell count is up and so they will not release him to a rehab until his infection is under control.

Rabbit, Rabbit

On the first day of the month in our family, we say "Rabbit, Rabbit" as soon as we wake up (or as soon as we can remember to say it). "Rabbit, rabbit" gives us "good luck" for the month - we like to think...Today was November 1st and we all did our "rabbit, rabbit" before going off to work and school.

It was a big day for Ros as he had his first full day at Spectrum "Club" an excellent adult day health program just 12 minutes from our home. Volley and I dropped Ros off at 9:30am and he was greeted by 2 very cheerful nursing assistants, Sandy and Debbie and the Activities Director, Diane.  The environment is very uplifting with windows everywhere to the outdoors, a large eat in kitchen (seats 24 at 4 round tables), a large living room with recliners and couches. The goal is to keep people active and socialized versus isolated and sedentary. The ratio of staff to clients is 1:4 to provide a lot of personal care. Thanks to VA benefits, Ros will be going there 3 times a week and, eventually, a van will pick him up and bring him home each time. We have various acquaintances whose relatives also go there. It is a very encouraging and lovely place to be.They like having Volley visit too, and give him full run (offleash) of the place. There is a little black pug named Frankie and a shitzu name Lucy (!) who Volley ran with yesterday.

The assistants were very welcoming and introduced Ros to a group of 4 men sitting in a cozy room, waiting for breakfast to be served. There were about 40 people attending Spectrum this day and Diane chose this small group for Ros because he might hear better in a closer setting. He had a breakfast of coffee and toast and a little while later, with assistance, after breakfast, went to join the  people in the big living room. That is when I left the facility for the day.

At 2pm, I returned to find Ros sitting with 2 assistants and 4 men at a table in the kitchen. They were asking him about lawn bowling and he was trying to explain it to them. It was really neat to see him interacting and connecting with people. When we were driving home, he said the ladies were really nice and rated his day an 8.5 out of 10! It was a good day!

This past month since his fall, unable to drive and still seeing double, Ros' world became quite small and housebound. He has been very quiet, undemanding, and going about a simple routine in our home. His love for doing puzzles has been a bit frustrating with the double vision. In a couple weeks, we will go to the VA Medical Center to get glasses which will correct the problem. He still makes his bed and gets himself dressed every day and keeps a very neat and tidy room. He uses a cane and needs assistance walking as his balance is quite unsteady. But remember that he still doesn't take any medications! We are all proud of him for being so healthy and good looking at 92 years old.

Yes, when I came to pick him up today and saw him sitting with the group of elderly men, I felt so proud of how healthy he looked and his focus on whoever was speaking.Volley and Ros have a ball at the Spectrum Club together...

We thank God for the privilege of having Ros live with us. All is well. Rabbit, rabbit. A new beginning....

Getting Things in Order

Ros is doing well becoming a part of our Topsfield family life. He loves our new dog Volley, a 6 year old black miniature poodle rescued from Maryland. Volley amuses Ros and keeps him company all day long. The comings and goings of Lucie, Mia, Ted and myself are also a distraction. We keep a white board with day of the week, date and where everyone is that day so Ros can keep up with us! Having dinner, watching the Red Sox (lose:() and eating ice cream together are good and comforting activities for us all. Until recently, Ros has had a pretty regular routine of: up at 9am, driving to Topsfield Center for coffee at 11am, back home for a couple hours of puzzle, peanut butter butter (yeech!) sandwich, more puzzle till vodka/water ( only 2 drinks 1.5 oz each) time at 5:15, dinner with the family and ice cream and tv for dessert.

On 9/19, Ros' routine was turned upside down. Ted and I took him to watch Mia play soccer and he fell in the bleachers and hit his head.  Miraculously, he didn't break anything but we did spend a day and a half at Beverly Hospital (local) and Beth Israel for further observation of his brain. He has double vision as a result of the fall and just had an MRI this past week and will be seeing a neuroopthamologist at Beth Israel a couple weeks. He stopped driving and his car is in our garage. Not sure if it just since the fall or was present before, but Ros is very unsteady on his feet so we are keeping a close eye on him. It has been a big set back for him.

Our major focus has been getting his VA benefits and healthcare established at the Bedford MA facility, primary care in Gloucester MA at VA clinic in conjunction with other eldercare in home support like Lifeline, Adult Daycare etc. We will be seeing a Gerontology Specialist this week in Bedford MA VA Med center for the first time. We have many things to check out with the specialist but of primary interest is a neuropsych assessment about the status of his memory and also prescriptions for a cane, walker and physical therapy. A most remarkable thing is that Ros takes zero medications! Every where we have gone for medical support, people are amazed that he is 92 years old and doing so well.

Ros' hearing is very challenging so phone calls are tricky (he doesn't answer the phone at all). If you want to connect, we could arrange a skype call which is a lot of fun and he can see your face...Notes and cards are welcome. Love to have visitors!

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