VISITING NURSE

Date: 15/08/2007 17:07

I skipped two days for information. We were too beat each night to
write.

Okay: Sunday:

We worked hard trying to reclaim the living room. More bookcases out,
more video tapes out, more cleaning under the furniture. More books
out. Several loads to the dump. Several loads to the donation centers.
Dennis working his butt off, Sean working alongside him. We found the
living room. We put all of Dad's tools in the corner. I laundered the
drapes and Dennis rehung them. I pulled out dead plants from the window
corner and wished I had a baler to capture and consolidate all of the
dead leaves and palm fronds from the past decade.

Dad helped empty a bookcase, but every book was special. I vowed to
keep  him busy doing something else during the next clean out because
he can't let go of anything. Up until yesterday I was sure the majority
of stuff was Mom's. I may be wrong. The entire living room was 'Dad
stuff.' There was not even a trail or path to get through the living
room anymore. We 'free store' got rid of at least two turntables,
several audio cassette decks, at least 4 giant speakers and 3 large
(over 6 feet) bookshelves. I could not even count the audio cassettes
we removed. I took out at least two large tables that plants (dead) had
been sitting on. One corner of the rug was so terrible I Febrezed it to
death. I pulled two rotten crocheted afghans, a holey sleeping bag, and
other icky stuff out from the sectional. I put at least a dozen
decorative, stinky, pillows into large garbage bags. Near the end, Dad
consolidated some of his woodworking tools and gave up at least one (to
his knowledge) tool carousel.

We worked from 10 am until almost 6 pm. By then, Dotty and Forrest were
on their way, so we left to go home and crash. Dotty brought dinner,
two  of the girls, and employed Forrest to help 'sneak out' more stuff.
They did more vacuuming and 'downloaded' (into their van) a bunch of
stuff from the front porch and more than half the stuff from the back
porch. Forrest got rid of some more dry rot from the front porch, too.
He's planning to stay this weekend and work on the outside stuff. For
the most part, we have 'recovered' the living room. Out went at least
two more bookcases, lots of 'stuff', and lots of trash.

Today (Monday) we arrived around 10, after taking another load to the
dump. (It's up to over $200 in fees now, Dad's covered $100. I didn't
have the heart to tell him about the rest.) The living room was clear
and open enough that Mom could have her morning coffee there. She
pointed out some more stuff we can take off the walls (Goodwill art) to
get rid of. Now that we are getting rid of the junk, you can actually
see their nice stuff. I showed Mom the area that smelled of cat pee and
told her we will have to eventually get rid of the carpet. She relayed
that info to Dad later in the day. Dennis told me tonight that under
the carpet are some hardwood floors that actually could be reclaimed.

Today was a mass of phone calls. The visiting home nurse finally came
at 1:30 and stayed until 3:00. She took Mom's vitals and things are
looking good. She had us sign some papers about health care and medical
info release. The only 'family member' that Mom and Dad do not want
info released to under any circumstance is Deana. For that matter,
Dennis and I have been talking to Sean and it looks like divorce will
finally happen later this fall, based on his youngest kid's age.

Kim, the visiting nurse, was great with Mom and Dad. She checked the
meds, the bathroom, the 'walk space' (so far) and watched Mom walk
(shuffle) with her cane. She has me as the 'next' contact. When Dad and
Mom go to the doctor on the 22nd, they will get a 'Post Notice' that
informs the EMTs what their medical wishes are according to their
Wills. Kim will be back this Friday and the Physical Therapist will be
there on Wednesday.

Mom and Dad were quite nervous during Kim's visit, because they truly
want to stay in their home, and they knew that Kim's note taking would
help determine if things were getting safer there for them. I talked
with her extensively after the visit and let her know of the progress
and our plans for continued progress.

Meanwhile, the home health nurse from Mom's doctor called to see how
things were going. I gave her a progress update, and got info on the
Multnomah County Ride Connection (similar program to the one Dennis
drives for in Clackamas County) to set up future doctor appts. for
them.

During the day, we had several phone calls getting Dad's meds squared
away for his shingles. We were in momentary 'panic' when it looked like
Dad was late for his appt. with Dr. Bauer, because Kim stayed until 3.
However, Dad had written the wrong day on the calendar, so he doesn't
go back until the 15th. With at least 3 phone calls we got that squared
away and a prescription sent to Hollywood Fred Meyers. He is on 1/2 tab
of Vicodin for pain until Wednesday, and is not allowed to drive while
taking it.

During all of this, Dennis and Sean cleared more stuff from the living
room (under furniture, out of filing cabinets [3], and the hall
closet.) Dennis brought over the ShopVac and did some more vaccuuming.
I got more stuff off the mantle, including sparkly paper, and cheap
knickknacks. We cleared two ugly lamps out of the living room, and got
rid of two more bookcases. Sean would tend the 'free store' out front,
went with Dennis to the dump and to the donation center, and kept busy.
Steffan cleared out more audio cassettes from his place downstairs. He
was polite (and flattering) to the visiting nurse as well.

Because Dad's prescription took a little longer, we stayed to make sure
Mom was okay. By the time we headed out, Dotty and Forrest were on
their way. The living room was recognizable as a living room!



On Tuesday, after going to the dump, we worked on the dining room
again. We pulled out two bookcases, and started on boxes of craft
supplies that towered toward the ceiling. I found Mom's 3 piece photo
frame under the table: her father, her mother, and the xerox photo of
Daphne/Chris/Laird/Steffan on the ladder at the Helena house.

Laird called from China and talked to both Mom and Dad. They were
thrilled, it was a highlight of the day. Thanks, Laird; 2 am is a rough
time of the morning to make phone calls!

I didn't get as much done in the house today as I wanted. One 'time
waster' was going to the bank, then the credit union, then the bank
with Mom and Dad. I'm sure Dennis must have felt abandoned, as the trip
was supposed to only be to the bank. As it turned out we got little to
nothing accomplished as the only type of electronic bill pay is
internet based. They don't have the internet, and Dad doesn't trust the
method. The biggest hitch in the finances is that they both have to
have 'their own' accounts, except that (thank goodness) they recently
got both of the their names on both of the accounts. It's a chess game
how they pay the bills: Dad takes money (physically, from the ATM at
the credit union) and puts it into the bank account. Then, Mom used to
write the checks from the bank account. Well, she cannot write anymore
(it is physically painful) and Dad has been learning how to write
checks. Unfortunately, even though he writes the check amounts in the
register, the checkbook is not balanced. They have had late fees for
various bills and the water company has sent shut off notices in the
past year. Arrgh. I'm still working on the financial end of things; but
this will be on hold until their new VISA number arrives.

So, back to the house. Mom really wanted to 'help' so we sat her at the
dining room table and had her choose recipients for her vast rubber
stamp collection. I set up boxes for Dotty, Taffy, Shayla, Chelsea,
Rebecca, Rachael, and Rene. (Rene's will obviously need to be put away
until she grows up a bit.) Victoria is getting the big dollhouse and
furniture. I talked to Taffy in the evening last night and she'll
deliver the collections to our Colton connection.

I tried to keep Mom hydrated, but the trip to the banks and the heat
(90 degrees) was too sapping. It took Dad, Dennis, and me to get her
into the bedroom. She was exhausted. Dad turned on the A/C (thank
goodness we took that out of our Burns place) and got the bedroom
cooled down. I loosened her clothes, put a cool cloth on her forehead,
and gave her some lime balm to sniff. Then I laid down on the bed, too,
and wrecked my sinuses again. Mom wasn't aware of that, thank goodness.

By the time I got back to the living room, because we had removed a
bookcase, a card table, and several boxes, Dennis and Dad had opened up
the hall through the laundry room. SAFETY is within reach. The phone is
more easily accessible. Dad wanted to leave a shelf there and I finally
convinced him that we needed access in case the wheelchair blocked the
hall, or someone fell, etc. It was a little easier to convince him of
that than earlier in the day when I found him hauling a small cabinet
back into the bedroom for a phone stand. That took a tactful argument
on my part to show him that the phone is now easy to reach and if he
puts furniture back in then access becomes limited again.

So, all in all, we got a lot done, despite the trip to town. Sean is
now back to work. Dotty may be in today, Taffy is coming Friday.
Forrest will be here on the weekend. I have to get up out of bed and
get started on our day....

Love,
Daphne