Saturday

Dad stayed up to watch the news last night. That is the latest he has been up since the surgery. He was energized and glad to be home. He slept really well and even slept some on his side. He seems to be reverting back to home sweet home.

He had a good breakfast and Mom and Suzanne fed him is scripts dessert. He volunteered to do his chair exercises on his own and walked around the house with his walker. 

We got a call from the home health nurse and set up an appointment for the afternoon. Adam came up from Ft. Smith to see Dad and go the the U of A baseball game. Adam was about to take Dad outside for a stroll when the nurse showed up so we will postpone our nature walk for later.

The nurse was very gregarious and professional. She spent about 2 hours with us and went over everything from scheduling to explaining all the medications and answered all of our questions. She told Mom that if we wanted a nurse to draw Dad's blood for the lab work on Monday instead of having to take Dad into the clinic, they could do that. Mom was very relieved. She is apprehensive about having to take Dad to all the different doctors appointments.

At the end of her interview after she had been talking about diet, Dad broke in and said that he appreciated the efforts to keep him alive, but he was 86 years old and had had a good life, so all this talk about healthy foods was great but a piece of bacon occasionally would improve the quality of what time he had left and probably wouldn't sabotage all the efforts to any degree. The nurse laughed and said that she agreed, as long as he used some common sense and practiced some discipline there was no reason not to have some treats occasionally, in fact it might even be good for him to add some more fat with a balanced diet. She told Dad that anyone who had lived through 3 heart attacks, 5 graph surgery, and 2 vicious infections ought to have some latitude and exercise some choice in his menu. I think Dad was surprised that he didn't get a debate. She checked Dad's vitals and looked at his leg wound and went on her way. After she left Dad said that he thought she was the most thorough care giver he has had.

Dad was ready to get up and walk around after the nurse left, so he maneuvered through the house. He seemed get fatigued fairly quickly this time and he was breathing more heavily. We sat him in the wheel chair and wheeled him back to the den. I asked Suzanne to keep an eye on his breathing and make sure it didn't gravitate to panting.

I left to come home and see my wife and kids and to grab a bite to eat. I don't know if I am catching something or if all of this is just catching up with me, but I am exhausted. I called a few minutes ago to check the home front and they were about to finish with the night time meds and start the nocturnal preparations. One of the things Dad has missed the most is a good flossing. His hands have not been strong enough to grip the floss and he gets tired during the process. Last night, he was determined to finish his long time habit and it took about 30 minutes, but he felt like he had finally gotten a thorough dental cleaning.  Hopefully, he will have another good night. Suzanne will be going back to Conway tomorrow, and we will see how our new support system falls into place. Her visit was a gift for all of us.

Thank you for all of your comments, emails, and cards this week, they mean so much to all of us. 

God is good!