Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. Behind Mattie and Peter was the wonderful Coronado bridge that connects the city of San Diego to Coronado. I remember snapping this photo right near our hotel. As the hotel looked onto the harbor and in the afternoons, we would take Mattie for walks and other adventures to keep him busy, moving, and engaged.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- number of people diagnosed with the virus: 2,346,937
- number of people who died from the virus: 121,224
We checked out of the hotel today at around 9:30am. Then went to the first doctor appointment for the day. I am happy to say my dad has gained over five pounds since we have been here. My dad doesn't like drinking fluids or eating at home. We have tried! He responds to eating out in restaurants. Somehow this stimulates his attitude about food! Therefore, going out is psychosocially necessary as it helps to orient my dad to daytime, it gives him the opportunity to converse with others, and any social interchange is mentally stimulating.
The first appointment was with their long time family doctor. He was pleased to see my dad's progress from his two recent hospitalizations. As he reminded us, that when he saw my dad at the end of May, my dad looked gravely ill. My dad had lost 30 pounds and the doctor was quite sure he had cancer.
What I love about doctors is they only think about the physical and the data! No attention is ever paid to the psychological and social impact of my dad's health care crisis on him, my mom or us! As my dad did not just have a UTI, a kidney stone removed, recurrent hiccups, and an impacted colon. But he had all these issues, was confined to a hospital without visitors, and between this and a three month lock down from coronavirus, it altered by dad's cognition, energy level, and stage of dementia.
After this doctor's appointment, we visited their new home and spent several hours unpacking and getting organized. I took point on all my dad's things, as he no longer has the where with all to participate and face the complexities of relocating.
I was on the phone today with his in-home health care company as well as a caregiving company who can assist my mom when I am not here. We have a zoom call with this company tomorrow to start a request for services. Meanwhile, later this afternoon, my dad had a follow up gastroenterology appointment. This doctor maybe lovely but his receptionist is a real _itch! I typically don't lose it without good cause, but she refused to allow me back into the appointment because of COVID-19. It was either me or my mom, and it seemed more appropriate for my mom to go as she lives with my dad. But I wasn't happy with the decision and the receptionist should know better if a family member requests to go back. Do note that we were the only three people in the office. It was the last appointment for the day, and I think she could have accommodated me if she had a heart.
This evening we took my dad out for an early dinner. He ate like a champ and we are working on getting him to consume fluid. It isn't his forte, but we reminded him that fluid will help prevent kidney stones, UTIs and an impacted colon! These three things alone should inspire one to drink!
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