Happy Daddy

I think it would be a lot less enjoyable visiting Dad if we didn't just love the place he is living. Yesterday they were celebrating two birthdays and the staff had baked two cakes decorated with colored sprinkles. Everyone was gathered in the activities room waiting for the cakes to arrive. In the meantime, music was playing and one of the newest patients wanted to dance. Now, this woman can command a room. She was dancing with a staff member and talking loudly trying to get people to dance. When she made her way over to Dad, he introduced us as his daughters and the lady responded, "These are your daughters? They are beautiful." I told her, "Well, I think you're my new favorite." And she whispered to me, "Don't tell my daughters that. They think I'm goofy." Then Dad mumbled, "Yeah, you got that right." She went back to dancing and then Dad and I got up and started dancing as well.

Once the cakes arrived, the staff put hats on the birthday girls, took pictures, and we all sang Happy Birthday. It was the sweetest thing. One woman responded, "I didn't even know it was my birthday." Before blowing out the candles, they were supposed to make a wish, and while the lady was thinking of her wish, the new patient yells from the corner of the room, "A wish to get rich!" She was cracking us up all day. Megan and I have a feeling that Dad is going to get along with the newbie very well!

Dad was in an extremely good mood all day and was so delighted that we were there with him. He kept looking at us like he couldn't believe we were his daughters and there was so much love in his face. Some days he's more like a child, but yesterday he was more like a father and it was a nice change. Walking down the hallways, Dad is all smiles and says hello to all the staff. Oh, and there are the cutest pictures of Dad on the Bulletin Board gardening, dancing, and on what looks to be Cinco De Mayo he is smiling at the camera wearing a huge sombrero and holding a virgin margarita! Ole!

Earlier in the morning, Megan and I had a small meeting with the head of the Memory Care to discuss Dad's assessment. She decided to reassess Dad and take off the charges for 'status checks' every hour since he isn't trying to escape anymore (that was costing about $500/month). On the other hand, Dad is having issues with using the Bathroom. We're pretty sure at this point that he pees in his closet daily. It's even worse when there are clothes on the floor because he'll pee on them and then a couple hours later hang them back up. He also peed right in the corner of the hallway outside of the office a couple of days ago. I'm not sure if he thinks he sees a toilet, or thinks he's outside, or just sees a corner or dark area and wants to pee there. Putting him in diapers wouldn't solve the problem because he's not wetting his pants, he still knows how to go to the bathroom.

Whittier has decided to do the following: On laundry day, they are going to wash ALL his clothes no matter if they are hanging in the closet or laying on the floor. They're also going to do a small cleaning every day of his closet and room. Lastly, the staff is going to ask him throughout the day if he needs to use the restroom and then gently prompt him on where to do it. Dad's very independent so they may not always catch him peeing, but at least now they can try to monitor the situation a little bit better. Consequently, the $500/month they took off his assessment from trying to escape is basically back on because of the new services added. At this point, I can't blame them. They've done every thing they can to accommodate us and Dad, so it's our turn to help them out. Dad's room and bathroom got make-overs recently and a lot of THEIR money was poured into making the pee smell disappear. It's like Dad is trying to recreate the smell. Maybe he misses it, but I certainly do not.

We're still worried about how thin Dad is and the staff has began to notice as well, so they're going to monitor his eating habits. In the meantime, Megan and I are trying to fatten him up a little when we take him out for lunch or snacks. Next time we see the doctor we'll mention the weight loss again and see what they say.

The Scabies is almost gone. Still there, but less red and less itchy. We see the Dermatologist for the check-up appointment next week.

Below is a video of me and Dad dancing in the Activities Room! He's still got the moves...

The Rash

(laughing to myself)
I'm not sure what to talk about first today. Should it be the itchy rash that my Dad has acquired, or the fact that when I went into his room today he was walking around in just a t-shirt (nothing else), or the fact that they may have found the source of the urine smell in his room (yay)? Hmmm.

I will start with the rash. Megan took Dad to the doctor two days ago and was told that Dad has Scabies (pronounced like Rabies). That has got to be the ugliest sounding word in the English language. Scabies is a skin mite that causes itchiness and red bumps and is very contagious. I kind of compare it to head lice, but for the body. Everything had to be washed and cleaned and Dad had to sleep overnight in a special skin cream. Poor Megan had to deal with it and felt itchy all day even though it was mostly in her head. She jumped right in the shower when she got home. Turns out now, he didn't have Scabies. We still don't know what it is. I feel bad for him though because he is itching a lot.

When I get to his room today, I get mooned by my Dad. He is standing there with only a t-shirt on and I am praying that he doesn't turn around. He's not afraid of standing naked in front of anyone... he could care less. But, guess what Dad? I care. Put some pants on please. Actually, why don't we start with underwear. Even that would be better. I figured out that he had been putting "lotion" on his legs, arms, and hands. I know he is itchy, so I can't blame him for trying to do something to relieve the itch. When I looked at the bottle though, I realize that he had been putting a 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner on his body instead. By this time, he had his pants back on, so we didn't wash off his legs, but when we washed his hands there were so many bubbles coming off of him. They're going to have a fun time helping him shower tonight!

The good news today is that we think we found the source of the urine smell in his room. They tore his room apart trying to figure it out and found that the bottom of the cabinets in the bathroom next to the toilet were soaked... probably with urine. As I said before, Dad's roommate has issues going to the bathroom and it's possible that my Dad could also be "missing the target" when peeing as well. A new cabinet has been ordered and should be here by the end of the week. I have to thank Whittier Place for really trying to solve this problem! I hope it works.

Dad is still having a difficult time remembering which bed and closet is his. He goes over and sits on Chuck's bed or takes clothes out of Chuck's closet. Today, I labeled his closet and bed. I doubt it will help, but it's worth a try. I attached a picture of Dad's room and labeled closet. He was in a great mood today. Flirting with the ladies and walking through the garden with me. Hope he's this happy next time.

Side note: We're still really worried about Dad's financial situation. He is losing money monthly right now... mostly due to the fact that he still hasn't sold his mobile home. Two rent checks per month takes a toll. It just seems that he is finally settling in and it would be awful to move him to a cheaper place right now, but I guess it does come down to the money. We are still trying to look into every resource possible before having to move him. Cross your fingers!

The Smell Of Pee

Dad's room smells like Pee. Constantly. Some days are so bad that you can smell his room down the hall and you start choking. We do know that his roommate Chuck has some bowel issues. On the day after Dad moved in, Megan caught his roommate standing in the middle of the doorway to their room and peeing... ON THE CARPET. Since then, my Dad has actually wet the bed a couple of times and I think once mistook his closet as the bathroom in the middle of the night. He seems to be doing much better now. But the smell is still there. Constantly.

Most days I don't want to go in his room, but it's always good to check out what's going on in there. His room is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get. :) Actually, chocolate is not quite the right word... maybe an old attic or something. When I walked in, his desk lamp was on the floor of the bedroom, his CD player wasn't working anymore, and he had a collection of Christmas cards on his dresser that belonged to someone else. Just like an old attic, right?

Dad had so many clothes in his closet today and I was able to identify about half of the items as Chuck's. I'm sure it does get confusing when you see two closets in your bedroom and you think that you can pick clothes from either one. The last piece of clothing that I picked up from the bottom of the closet was wet and I'm pretty sure it was pee that I was touching. Gross.

Anyway, we went to Wal-Mart to get him a new belt and a new laundry basket. (This past week Dad has been packing up his things to "move to LA" as one of the nurses told me, so I have no idea where his belts are and he obviously doesn't remember.) He was in a great mood and we listened to the Beach Boys on the way. You should hear him sing the high notes!

Dad used to work at Wal-Mart so he likes going there. In the video I posted today he comes up with the idea that maybe he could start working there again but then gets side-tracked cause he starts checking out this girl in the parking lot who is wearing short shorts. "Booty shot" he calls it. And then I make fun of him and he says, "Oh, Dirty Dave. Yeah, I'm kind of looney. Classified." Haha. Yes Dad, you are looney and a little dirty!

We get back to his home in Whittier and I am ready to spray the room from top to bottom with the new air freshener that we bought. We walk into the room and I see Chuck laying face down on the floor with a swivel chair half on top of him. Of course, I check to see that he can hear me and then I run for help. My Dad says, "What happened? What's wrong?" as I'm running away. It doesn't occur to him that Chuck fell down and probably hit his head. I don't think he even noticed him on the ground.

I knew now that I was going to be late for work. As I rushed to leave, I spent the last few minutes rubbing 1% Hydrocortisone on my Dad's back because he has an itchy rash. Guess we'll be taking him to the doctor on Monday. Before I left, I saw the nurse shut the window in their bedroom. Oh Goodie, she is trapping the pee smell in the room!!