Dad's Back at Home

At Sister's House in Citrus Heights, CA

 

Wednesday was dad's last Physical Therapy at the Rehab Center (he will have some therapy at home for a few weeks)...I suggested that we get him in and out of the car, and he did great.  This picture, however, was taken today...it was not therapy, it was "HEADED FOR HOME" time.  Look at that smile!!!!

 

One nice benefit that they have is that they are in the far back of the complex...and I can pull the car up and one can walk right up this ramp, through the door, and their apartment is the very first one.  I gave dad the choice of walking up the ramp, or me getting his Hoveround and ride up the walk and into the apartment...he choose the walker.  With temps up in the 100's this week, I was very happy it was only in the 80's when he did this.  However, the slight incline did take a bit out of him.

Both mom and dad have Hoverounds similar to the one above...since they live so far away from the dinning hall, it gives them a way to get to their meals, and they can just pull right up to the table.  It also allows them to visit Walmart, CVS, etc., which are right across busy Greenback Lane, thankfully with street lights and nice crosswalks.

Quickly he was in his recliner, which is also a lift chair.  For his rapidly deteriorating back, dad does not take much pain relief outside of Tylenol.  His chair is his relief...if his back starts hurting, he adjusts it so it doesn't hurt anymore.  Getting up and out of chairs is very difficult, and the lift part of the chair provides way less pain for him to get up.  Unfortunately, the all of the therapist said that the lift chair also makes a person weak since the chair does all the work.  So what is better...to be on Opioids to relieve pain, or use a mechanical device to relieve pain...he has chosen the latter.

We hope that the home health starts up real quick.  For a few weeks he will have a nurse come by to monitor his health and take Prothrombin time (PT) Blood Test, which measures how long it takes blood to clot since he is on a blood thinner.  His "PT" level was out of whack (too high) when he entered the hospital, and also went out of whack (high again) at the Rehab Center.  We think it is all under control now.  This is something he has been on for about 10 years, and it has never got out of whack before, and was probably caused by a antibiotic he was taking.

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns...they have been highly appreciated.

Mom & Dad – Assisted Living is ‘Pretty Good’

When we left for Alaska from my sister’s house back in late April, mom and dad were a mere 100 yards away from where our motorhome sits when we camp on Arny and Sandy’s backyard.  In May they got word that the company who owned the home they rented wanted to sell it, and offered it to them at a great price…but when you are in your late ‘80s, buying a house is not what you are seeking.  Dad, being a WW2 vet, had been lined up for veterans assistance with Assisted Living for a few years now…it just wasn’t time…until now.  Howard (and Linda) of RV-Dreams wrote a GREAT post about veterans benefits for Assisted Living back in 2014, and well worth reading if it fits your needs or that of your parents.   (Note: yes, this post will have more of an appeal for family and friends, but you all are welcome to read on.)

By July, they were moved into the Brookdale Orangevale Assisted Living community.  They now have the option of eating in the nice dining room above, or they can eat in their apartment (first picture), or they can go out to eat with family, friends, or just with each other…although not having a car makes the latter a bit harder to do.  (Yes, you can have a car while living there, but mom gave up driving a few years ago, and dad felt it was time for him to give it up too.)

    

The “Common Areas” where they can mingle with other residents is a very nice atmosphere.  When I took these pictures there were twenty or more residence in a large “family style” room, some doing exercises, others just sitting around talking.  I would have to make faces “out of focus”, so I am not going to use those community shots…but the two small areas above represent the comfortable common area, as does the dinning room.

    

    

There is plenty of room for two people, less than the house they rented, but enough for the items they decided to keep.  Brookdale keeps the apartment clean, they assist mom and dad with what I call “overseeing safe showers” (there to help as needed so that no one falls), among other things.  The kitchen has a microwave, a refrigerator, but the electric stove/oven do not work in any of the units since meals are provided…and it keeps the places safe from accidental fires. 

      

They have a two bedroom apartment.

 

      

They even have a little patio with a nice view.  Outside there is a Gazebo, a small putting green, and other outdoor activity…but no swimming pool.  I have seen a few people out walking around, but the heat keeps most inside, and you can get anywhere from inside corridors.  You can see their scooters parked outside their door.  It is a shorter distance to go outside and enter the front door (pictured above) than to make your way through the halls from their apartment…so when mom walks to the dining room, she goes outside…while dad rides his scooter through the halls each day.

Above mom and dad walk from the outside door near their apartment to our car for an outing.  This outing was for attending Sandy’s birthday celebration yesterday (Arny’s birthday is today), but on one such “outing” Marcia and I took mom and dad out to breakfast/lunch up in Auburn.

“Where?”  Well, we went to Awful Annie's, a longtime favorite of that area for breakfast and lunch. 

Dad choose lunch while the rest of us had breakfast.  So much food, all well prepared, and the acoustics were such that we could actually have a conversation without talking too loud.

 

    

Awful Annie's has a nice warm feeling to it, and lots of awards that they proudly show off in their entryway as you come in and leave. This was our first visit to Awful Annie’s, but not our last…although I doubt we get up there again before we leave in 3 1/2 weeks from now.