Friday, June 26, 2020

Friday, June 26, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. We were staying on the island of Coronado in San Diego. That day, Peter took Mattie around the island on a bicycle. Apparently they took a break from riding and Peter snapped this fabulous photo of Mattie with the famous Hotel Del Coronado in the background. This is still one of my favorite photos. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 2,467,658
• number of people who died from the virus: 125,046

Our day started early again, with the same routine of me getting up, showered and dressed so that I could wake my dad, help him shower, and make breakfast. My dad had a visit from a nurse this morning. I fired the first visiting nurse as he took my dad's blood pressure and claimed the it was normal, when I knew it was high. He then proceeded to tell me that this high blood pressure was normal for an older adult. Needless to say, I consulted with doctors on this and no one agreed with this nurse's perspective. So OUT he went. I could tell today's visiting nurse was on edge because she knows I have no problem asserting myself and getting rid of her too. After the nurse's visit, my dad decided he wanted to sit outside to watch the golfers. We bought him a portable radio too so he could take it with him around the house. 

While my dad was outside, we began returning calls, and completing the request to activate my dad's long term care (LTC) insurance plan. This plan will pay for caregiving services after we pay for 45 days out of pocket. All LTC plans have this grace period. Keep in mind that we are balancing all sorts of calls from caregiving/healthcare to all the natural calls one has to make when moving into a new home (phone, gas, power, internet, cable, change of address requests, etc). It is non-stop work and we are all exhausted. 

I sat outside with my dad for a bit and we spoke to several groups of golfers. One wanted us to cheer him on! It is like having a live TV golf game at our disposal around the clock. 

My dad is supposed to do walking and exercises daily. So far, I have had no luck at getting him to comply. We have tried to reason with him, to encourage him, and to also paint the reality of the picture. Nothing is really working and it is hard to want something for someone if they don't want it for themselves. 

Later today, my mom and I went on a three mile walk around her neighborhood. Along our journey, we passed many pooches and one cat. Not to mention glorious plants like this hydrangea. 

I can't get over it, but my parent's neighborhood has large flocks of green parrots. You can hear them before you see them! Needless to say, it is only 8:20pm here and I can't keep my head up! I am that tired.