A Visit from an Old Friend... :/

A visit from an old friend... SCABIES.  Yep, Dad has scabies again.  Woo Hoo.  He had it a year ago for the first time, and then he got it again this past September.  I fought hard in September to get Dad the oral medication as well as the cream, but they would not oblige me.  I told them that our past experience with the rash/skin mite was that it didn't go away easily and we spent hours and countless appointments to eradicate the problem only to find out that the oral medication worked quite well in the end.  This was the snooty response I got from the nurse practitioner in September, "I've been a nurse for 20 years, and I know that the cream will work just fine."  RIGHT.  Well, it's possible that that same case may have been dormant for the past few months and then resurfaced again this month. 

Anyway, we got a Derm appointment at the VA which was not easy to come by, and we actually requested it back in September... so when I turned out not to be available to take Dad to this appointment, there was no way that we were going to cancel.  (Because the VA reschedules you on their own time, and that could be forever...).  My Mom luckily was able to fit this errand into her hectic end-of-year work schedule where she tries to see the majority of her clients one last time before the holidays. 

Long story short, between the two of us, this appointment took a total of 4 1/2 hours of our time.  And because of that, I was able to meet them at the VA after my Sassy Songbirds performance.  The wait to see the doctor was long, and then the wait for the pharmacy was even longer and didn't even result in us leaving with the medication.  The doctors totally over-reacted, some left the exam room afraid of the contagious nature of this skin disease, and when I found my Mom, they had freaked her out so badly that she was wearing gloves trying not to touch my Dad.  I tried to wear the gloves, but I couldn't do anything with them on... like eat or check my phone, so I took them off.  It's true it is contagious, but I've never gotten it from him, and it's kind of hard to get an Alzheimer's patient to follow you through crowds in a government building without putting a hand on his back to guide him. 

So, gloves or no gloves, we were hanging out in public for 2 hours at the pharmacy waiting for Dad's medication and sitting next to a guy that kept yelling, "Wish we had a TV in here!!!" every ten minutes.  His motto was that if you didn't make a noise, then nothing would get done.  We always meet interesting people in the VA.  :)  Maybe if I yelled that my Dad had a contagious skin disease, then we would have gotten his medication on time. 

I got the Oral and Cream the next morning and brought it to Valley View Gardens.  Just wanted to share some photos of Dad's arms and what Scabies potentially looks like...

72 Years Old!

I'm always sensitive around Birthdays... because I feel that every person gets that one day out of the year that is just theirs.  So, naturally, when my Dad's birthday rolled around a couple of days ago, I found myself feeling sensitive and ultimately ended up in tears.  I haven't been able to shake the feeling lately that my Dad's home just isn't as loving as his past home.  Some of this feeling was heightened by The Sassy Songbirds' (my singing duo) visit to a beautiful, loving home last weekend.  The love and care for each individual resident that emanated out of the place was so strong and apparent.  I don't feel that when I am visiting Dad's home. 

I kept thinking about Dad's birthday last year at Whittier Place with Me, Megan, and one of Dad's oldest friends, Mike.  The staff had baked him a cake, drew little fish on the frosting, and threw a small party for him.  We all had a blast that day!  I knew that Valley View Gardens had no idea it was Dad's birthday on Friday, and it was only me coming to celebrate with him.  I know he doesn't know it's his birthday, but that doesn't mean he can't be made to feel special on his day, and all I could do was feel sad about the whole thing. 

On the way to see Dad, I decided I would take him out.  Getting out of the home, and into the public felt good.  Dad enjoyed lunch at Coco's where he people watched and ate plenty of food.  When I told the hostess it was his birthday, Dad actually overheard me and replied, "It is???"  Haha, I had only told him three minutes before that, but it made me laugh anyway.  The restaurant staff also sang Happy Birthday to him and he got a free pie for dessert.  He did so great being out and around people, that it made me feel much better.  Plus, he was fully able to feed himself and his appetite was great.  We've been concerned about that lately since he just continues to lose weight.  We're thinking about starting him on some Ensure in addition to his regular meals.

My Mom reminded me that while she feels similarly about his current living situation, that it could be much worse.  And I hadn't thought of that in a while.  He does have large hallways, a garden, and continues to dance every day.

Below is a video of Dad blowing out his candle.  It took me about 2 full minutes prior to this video to get him to understand what he had to do...

Alzheimer's Fund-Raising Party!!!

We're doing it again!!!!  The Alzheimer's Walk is right around the corner and we are fired up to raise money and awareness.  The walk is on October 16th in Long Beach, and we've just surpassed our fund-raising amount from last year!  Last weekend, Blake and I had an Open House and Fund-Raising party at our new home and it was a success.  We had One Hope Wine pouring for our guests, we had 'good for the brain' foods, we had a huge raffle of gifts that raised $800 alone, and we had a special performance from The Sassy Songbirds who specialize in singing at Senior Homes!  Our supportive and loving family and friends made our party so wonderful and successful and I want to extend a big Thank You one more time to everyone who has donated to the cause!
The links on the right to the blog will take you to The Walk Team Page if you would like to join or donate, we also have a link to The Sassy Songbirds page, and a link to The One Hope Wine page (you'll see Megan's pic on the page since she works for them!).  Below are pictures from our party as well as a video of The Sassy Songbirds performing for the party!

Anxious Phone Calls

Hmmmm. Two anxious phone calls in two days from Dad. And he didn't sound very coherent. He wants to get out and when I would say anything he just thought I was agreeing with him that he should get out. No, Dad, we don't agree. Please stay put and we'll come visit you. Anyway, managed to calm him down a bit and I think Megan will be visiting him tomorrow.

I thought to myself, wow, I used to be so good at negotiating with him on the phone and trying to cheer him up, how did I do it? I'm a little rusty, I have to say.

It almost seems like something at Whittier Place has upset him. Sometimes a new resident or staff member will do that do him and the staff doesn't think it's anything worth mentioning (which is understandable), so I guess we better investigate because he hasn't acted this way in months.

On a side note... Whittier Place has booked The Sassy Songbirds to perform on Father's Day Weekend!!! The activities directors saw us perform today at a showcase and booked us on the spot! Of course, it will be extra special since my Dad is in the audience. To visit The Sassy Songbird Blog and stay updated, click on the link to the right.