A Day at the Doctors

We thought Dad had two appointments yesterday. Turns out he only had one. We were a week early to see Dr Musselman but it was at the end of a slow afternoon and he was able to see us.

We had a good visit with Dr Wiggans. I do like him and he does listen and elicits information. The largest part of the visit was bringing the doctor up to speed with the events of the past weeks. Of course no reports have been forwarded to him yet even though he is listed on all reports as Dad's primary care physician. It was a good thing Dad remembered to give me the copies of the hospital reports Helen told him to give me. Wiggans made copies of them.

His concern is that the gastritis is addressed and bleeding is stopped. Interested to hear results of next weeks visit with Dr Secor. He drew blood to check hemoglobin count to see if red blood count is building back up. Also to check INR (blood thinness.) He was to report results to Musselman and call me or Helen. But basically Dad is pretty much as stable as he has been which is mildly anemic. The GI bleeding is what precipitated his rapid decline of a couple weeks ago. 

Next we made it to Dr Musselman know time only to find out we were a week early. However they were able to fit us in. Every time Dad grumbled about waiting I had to remind him that we were lucky to be there at all. Musselman noted that Dad was certainly in better condition than when he was in there hospital where Dad was confused and his speech was slurred. Again he agreed the culprit was blood loss from the gastritis. Big news: the mitral valve regurgitation is stable, about the same as it has been, with no worsening. He goes back to Musselman in a month. 

Both doctors addressed the borderline sleep apnea diagnosis. Neither felt it required further attention at this time. The condition would need to be much much worse to justify the intervention of CPAP therapy. (Note that it has done wonders for Susan.)

So, all in all, a long tiring but productive day. We stopped for frozen custards from Andy's and headed for the house. 

Musselman: The Echocardiogram

Arrived at the Doctor's office early without incident. 

Looking back at Dad over the last week if seems pretty evident that shortness of breath is his biggest symptom, along with dizziness which I suspect is related. And I expect to find out that the leakage at the mitral valve is the culprit. 

The exam went quickly without incident. No comments of course from the technician who sent us on our way. At least they didn't say omigod and slap him into the hospital!

And so we wait. 

I asked Dad how long it usually takes for Musselman to call with results. The question puzzled him. 

"Oh he usually tells me at my next appointment," Dad said.

That's August 11. Surely we can get some result before then! 

The Musselman Report

10 Feb
The Musselman Report

Routine 6 month visit with Dr Musselman.

Dad's main complaint was increasing shortness of breath. EKG showed the ever present leakage of mitral valve.

Brought in the pacemaker guy to run some routine tests. 4 years left on the battery. Pacemaker and wires are good. Home monitor is working fine.  He sped the heart up and slowed it down and the heart response was excellent. He was looking for any underlying arrhythmia or afib that might be masked by the pacemaker and causing shortness of breath but there was none.

To take a closer look at the leakage he scheduled a sonocardiogram next Monday at 2:30.

Then we met Susan for lunch!

Monday, not so good

Yesterday Dad was feeling pretty good. He was planning to go to Parkinson’s class tomorrow.

Today, not so much.
He has been pretty dizzy all day.
Just before I got home, he went to the restroom. He finished and went back to his room. When he got there his bowels had moved again and it had run down his leg without him being aware of it.
He got himself cleaned up and I cleaned his clothes.
He did not feel up to joining us for dinner. So I took him dinner in his room.

We decided that he should take only 2 neurontin each day instead of three. Maybe still help with pain but not put him so off balance.
I’ll let you know.

Back to Neurontin

I spoke to Dr Tsengs office on Monday 12/30.
Dr Tseng is out of town until next week. Jan 6.
Her nurse practitioner got an appointment for a CT scan at Southwest Imaging for 12/31.
I called today and the results weren’t that different than we expected. He has bad arthritis in his lower spine. The pain is probably a pinched nerve, but the results are inconclusive.
Dr Wiggins will get a copy of the report. I’ll call and leave a message to get his opinion of next step.

He also has a small renal cyst on the left side. Probably not an issue, but now we know.

The Nurse Practitioner prescribed Gabapentin  aka Neurontin 3 x per day. He can also take ibuprofen with meals.

Dad appears to be much better. He still says he hurts but his actions and his face say it is not as bad.

The Physical Therapist will be here 2x each week starting Monday. She is great with Dad.

I think one of the biggest issue at this point will be boredom. The other is stability.
We can talk about all this on the call tomorrow. I just wanted to bring you up date.
H

DDon report holiday 2018

Christmas night
Dad had a very upset stomach on Christmas night at David’s house. He told me later that he almost threw up. Will took him home.

December 27
Dad got up, cooked breakfast and did the dishes. I don’t exactly know what happened but Will and I were in our bedroom when we smelled smoke. I went to the kitchen and the iron skillet was red hot and smoking with the gas turned on full.
There was nothing in the skillet. He had washed and left it on the flame to dry. I don’t know if he had to go to the bathroom quickly or if he just forgot and went to get dressed. I think it was the latter. If he needed to go quickly, he would use the bathroom near the kitchen.

Speaking of the bathroom emergencies. He often uses the bathroom off the kitchen. Both Will and I have both had to clean that bathroom after Dad. There was diarrhea all over the toilet, inside and out and on top. There was some on both the inside and outside of the door.
Dad is unaware of it and he won’t admit he even has loose stools.

Tonight Sunday, we went to El Vecino. He had a sudden bowel movement. Had to throw away his underwear and carry his shoes out of the restaurant. It’s so hard on him and on us.

We all know that he can’t hear the doorbell or his phone ringing.

All of this leads me to think that he can’t be alone too much longer. If there was a fire, he wouldn’t be able to hear an alarm.

From Helen, September 12, 2017:

Hi

I can’t get to the Blog at work so I am sending you both an email.

Saturday I asked Dad about how he was feeling. He said that the move was making him nervous but he is looking forward to living at the Forum.

He has been waking up at 3 in the morning worried about the move. Only two weeks to go.

What’s done:

Dave and I worked over the weekend and got most of Dads books ready to go.

We finished divvying up the hollow silver.

I confirmed that the Senior movers are going to move items to my house and Dave’s house and storage. That part of the move is included in the original bid.

              

To do:

I am recommending that we rent a storage space for the month of October only.

Put everything there that doesn’t have an immediate home or is sale material

Have sale at one of our houses of all those items

               We may have to hire some labor to do the moving or wrangle our boys and friends to help.

               Our friend Kenneth could run the sale on Friday and Saturdayfor a percentage

               I plan to have stuff there from my storage, too

Everything leftover will be picked up by City Square (great organization; check their website.)

If we have items leftover in the apartment, we can get them to pick up there, too.

I have their info; will need to confirm dates

I spoke to the interstate movers. They need an accurate list of what is going where so we will have to figure that out.

               Then they will give us an estimate

               Dad is planning on paying for that move, too.

Dad was looking through the Forum info and each resident gets a small storage area free. Extra storage, if available, can be rented for $10/month

We can store the carousels and photo albums there. We might be able to put the archival boxes there, too.

               We need to talk to Cecilia and get size and availability of extra storage.

Clocks   Grandfather Clock:          $450 repair clean and move

               All other clocks                 $250 each clean

               I have authorized per Dad only the work on the grandfather clock

Storeroom

               Organize and pack garage sale stuff

               Figure out sewing and bookbinding stuff

               The movers will be breaking down and moving the shelving

               I think that we move everything that is going with Dad to the apartment the day before they come to pack his stuff just to help us see what hasn’t been done

I think that is it. One step at a time. Can anyone think of anything else?

Remember, starting 9/14 cheese enchiladas are $2.99 at El Fenix!

Mary, have a great time in Nepal!!

XXOO

Helen Duran

Chef, Culinary Trainer

CISD Child Nutrition Department

214-496-7978

Agenda Ideas or Next steps

So here are the ideas I had about our next steps for The Move.
Plans:
Mary will be here from Wednesday to Wednesday
David is taking Friday and Saturday off
I am planning to take Friday off.
Adrian is taking off, too. Details TBD
Travis will be here Saturday

Friday night is Lobster night at Sevy's.

Contacts:
Senior Focused Moving
972-596-2468
Denise Miller
Movers
2 week notice
1 day pack, 1 day move, 1 day unpack: We will need a place for dad to stay for those 3 days
Start at 8 AM, all movers are employees of the company, no sub-contractors
Estimate $6,499 based on actual hours used: could go down or up
50% Deposit

They will pack everything
We need to very clear what goes with Dad
They do not move fine jewelry, RX, and firearms
Then we mark everything else as to its destination

• The Forum
• Landlock
• Westglen
• LA
• Salt Lake City
• Santa Fe
• Cleveland
• Toledo
• Seattle
• Atlanta
• Maryland
• Storage

We will have to arrange mover/shipper for all out of town destinations

Recommendation from movers:
Interstate Movers
NAVIS 972- 248-3400 (Steve)

Other
Presbyterian - John D
TBD

Oriental Rug Cleaning Company
214-821-9135
3907 Ross Ave, 75204
www.dallasrugcleaner.com

Andrews Refinishing
214-731-3060
2425 W Parker Road #5
Carrollton 75010
www.andrewsrefinishing.com

Heritage
Art Restoration

Bud Milner
Clock Guy
469-251-9090
He can take clock, repair it, and deliver to Westglen

While Mary is here she will work with Dad to ID everything that he wants to take.

That's all I can think of at the moment.
I'm sure that there is more.

Dad comes to his own rescue

Thank god that glitch is gone.

Googling.

Talked to Dad this morning. He was about to head to the St. Michael Farmers Market, then settle down to the British Open, Jordan Spieth in the front. Dave and Susan should be en route to Santa Fe and Helen and Will tot Bossier City.
So I have my nose in the computer as usual. Found out a lot about J.D. Then found the Presbyterian Historical Society—I emailed them to see if they were interested in any of the Egypt pics, polyglot Bible, etc. For a Presbyterian, he was pretty interesting.
Also found where the Hilda Holme collection is—I could never remember the name of the college she gave it to. http://collections.digitalmaryland.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/schh
Interesting. Maybe they want some more. ;-)
I'm going to talk to Ken Sanders about looking at some of the prints, etc. He's one of the most qualified people in the country for this and an acquaintance. Maybe he can give us a lead on someone closer to where they are.
Also, a first edition of Sapphira and the Slave Girl in a dust jacket sells for between $50 and $200 on collectors' book sites. So, thanks Helen.
We probably should set up an ebay business. Right.
Safe travels.

The Clock Man and Lawsuit News

When I got to Dad's today I called Bud Milner Clocks and he came right over.
Older guy, this is his retirement job. He's from Dallas but has lived in Atlanta and Jackson MS. He had a clock shop in the Promenade when Mother worked at Evert's. His real job has always been managing construction for Club Corp.
So much in common with Dad. Too bad that we hadn't called him before. I bet he and Dad would have been friends.
He took the front off the clock and pulled out the works. Some wires were tangled and  he tried to get them straight right then. Have either of you ever seen the inside of that clock? I had no idea how to take it apart.
Dad said that the clock used to have wooden works. I didn't know that either.
Bud couldn't get the wires straight and he will take it to his shop to figure it out. Since he is in the process of moving the shop he wont pick it up until he has a place to work on it. He will have it done before 9/1.
I asked Dad about whether he wanted the clock at the Forum or not. I think that he is thinking about you Dave. Bud can move it and the other clocks if we want him to.
AND
The lawyer who is working on the bus accident lawsuit called to say that Dad will get $25,000. That is after the hospital and the lawyer have been paid. Dad will get a check tomorrow morning. They will need to go and get the signatures notarized. I think that they will go to Chase for that.

I plan to go with.
More tomorrow.

Moving Business

Spoke to the movers. We have an appointment on Friday 7/27 at 10 AM at Dad's apt. It would be great if we have an idea what will go to where by then.
SCREAM!
I also spoke to the clock guy in the apartments. You know, the blue truck that has the Clock Man on it?
He works in the storeroom on the 4th floor.
He said he can come by anytime to look at the Waddington clock. He can also can move it. We need to find out from Dad how he feels about it.
Dave, you may need to make some room...

Signed Up! (Almost)

Dad and entourage met with Cecilia to finalize the deal. Signed tons of papers, including a lease agreement for one year. Deferred on signing others which required more information. And of course he did NOT give them a check, so the deal is still not totally closed. He told Cecilia that he had to discuss writing a check that size with his banker and that they would have to move some funds to cover the check. So he's got to take the check later in the week, presumably with the filled out forms. She was fine with that.

(Of course the first thing that Dad told me when I went in to pick him up was that he had just talked to Mary at Chase and told her what he was going to do. Once again, Dad the negotiator, retaining ultimate control over the deal!)

We went to the apartment and took full measurements. Helen and I both have copies. Now we can start playing with the plans and see what works best. The bed room is tiny, living area large.

Had lunch in the Dining Room. Food was good, but bland and slightly overcooked. My guess is that Dad will get real tired of the food, real quick.

BUT the move is on. Target is Sept 1.

Another Sunday

Another Sunday at the Apt with Dad.

Dad and I picked up Susan after church and went to Lakewood Barbecue for lunch. They really do a nice job on their brisket, true Texas Meat Candy. Dad really enjoyed not standing in line to order and eating off a plate rather than wrapping paper. Blackberry cobbler was state of the art!

We spent the afternoon documenting all the furniture in the apartment. Photos and measurements. I will try to get everything into a document that is sharable. Then we can see what will fit and what won't.

The room he chose is the one with the round window. It is the least expensive, but not the smallest of the rooms we saw. I'm going to pick him up in an hour then we have the meeting with Cecelia at the Forum presumably to close the deal.

That's it for now!

No, no one's called the movers. I did find the brochure!

A Day at a Time

Dad came by the store yesterday on his way from exercise to Central Market. Looked good, didn't seem too tired. Walked in without his cane, but seemed fine without it.

He didn't need beer or anything, just wanted to let me know that he had made an appointment with Cecelia for next Monday. That's the 17th, I believe. At 10:00 am. He thought I might to go along. Probably Helen as well since she'll be back from Oregon.

As he told Mary, he thinks he'll take the simplest and smallest layout because it seems to have more wall space for furniture and art. He doesn't see much of his stuff fitting under windows. Also the least expensive.

Our plan is to meet Dad for lunch Sunday after church and then go back to the apt and start measuring furniture and we'll review the layouts then.

And be home in time for dinner and GAME of THRONES!!!

Changes Afoot

Been a good year for Dad.

Still following his weekly routine, staying busy with his exercise classes, routine doctor visits, various groups he's part of at church. He's mentioned several times that he's ready to stop ushering, but when his turn rolls around he doesn't stop. Cause that's who he is and what he does.

Several months ago he called a family meeting. Specifically he did not want it to revolve around a meal. Can't express the gravity of this request. The gist was this:

"I don't know if you're thinking about or not, but I am and I don't think I'll be able to live this life forever."

He was thinking about funding and the future.

And of course I know I'm thinking about it all the time.

So last Sunday, having passed his  92nd birthday, Dad made the decision that it is indeed time to move out of his apartment and into Senior Living.

GAME ON.

Deedon in Utah

We had a simple mac and cheese dinner with Anna and Michal the night Dad arrived, with wine of course. BTW, he wore the Depends things, but they're a nuisance because there's no fly. I told him now he knows what it's like to be a girl and then I cut a front slit in one pair. But he really had no problems like that while he was here.

Glen and I went to pick him up the next morning for the drive to Boulder and Dad was not in good shape. He said he had woken up "with the worst headache I've ever had in my life" and realized his whole body and every joint hurt. He didn't do anything but tried to sleep. Hours passed and the next thing he knew he woke up and realized he didn't hurt anymore. But it must have been quite severe—he said at one point he thought he was going to have to cancel the trip. We figure it was altitude sickness, which is highly unpredictable. But given the recent bout of pneumonia and the 3,000 or so extra feet, it makes sense.

The drive down was longer than usual—I had arranged to visit a crazy cheesemaker in Cainesville. Dad came in and met Randy and tasted the tomme and enjoyed it. But he was exhausted by the time he got to Boulder and then we had a little crisis because there were two beds in the bedroom and apparently no sofa bed in the living room. Dad did NOT want to share a room and insisted on sleeping on the sofa which I was not going to let happen.

We shelved it, took a toes up, then went to dinner at Hell's Backbone, where Blake treated Daddy like the amazing treasure he is. He was very happy, but tired, and drank no wine. Back at the suite, I won the bed battle and I slept on the sofa with Glen on the floor until I realized after a few hours that it was a sofa bed after all. Not sure where the original assessment came from.

So a good night's sleep, a leisurely breakfast with Jen, a nap and a good drive around Boulder and the monument. Dad continued to feel dizzy and unsteady on his feet, so we didn't get out of the car much.
Dinner with Blake again—Glen and I declared it close enough to celebrate our anniversary, so we drank sparkling. Daddy didn't sleep well again—probably the combined effect of altitude and alcohol.

Easy drive to SLC, and home in time for a good rest before dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and a fun evening watching Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney at the Edison, which has a Mighty Wurlitzer and an amazing organ player who accompanies the films. Right down Dad's alley.
Tuesday we drove up to a saloon in Huntsville for lunch—seems like everything meant driving up another few thousand feet. Another nap, then soup and sandwich at home with the World Series and Sam who had just returned from Boston.

And so it went—a drive out to Golden Spike the next day, which fortunately had a wheelchair available, then a nap, then a Bacchanalian dinner at The Paris, whose owner is generally acknowledged to be the biggest a-hole in SLC but he ADORES Dad—served a 7 course dinner with significant wines and comped the whole thing. (Eric had to take a break to talk to his lawyer about some assault charges.) He's been waiting since last year to have Daddy back—messaged me and Anna earlier this month to make sure he was coming. Amazing gesture, but too much food and wine for all of us. Whatcha gonna do??

Our last day, we went up to Deer Valley for lunch—highest altitude yet. Dad was panting hard and slightly panicked when we got there, but partly because he needed to pee and there wasn't a restroom close enough. After that crisis, he settled down to enjoy his bloody mary, topped with wasabi foam in a black sea salt-rimmed glass.

So. The visit was wonderful. Everyone here loves Daddy so much. We're so lucky.

But this will probably be his last visit up here. Dad's balance is so shaky and the lack of oxygen was really hard on him—I would have rented a wheelchair and asked Dr. Wiggins for an oxygen prescription if I had had any idea. I think John Rector used to get oxygen when he went to Vail, right?

Anyway, see you all at Thanksgiving.

News from the other side

Thursday night Chamberlains had gulf oysters for $9 per dozen.
Will was out of town and I went with Dad.
He ate 2 dozen oysters.
Technically he shouldn't be eating oysters
Impaired immunity and oysters are not the best combination.
But who am I to take away pleasure at this stage?

On Friday, we went to Sevy's. He feels guilty that he relies on me and wanted to take me to dinner to say thanks. I let him.

Today he had an appointment with Dr Secor's P.A., Ashley. Dr. Secor came in at the end of the appointment.
Dad has a tendency to downplay his symptoms when talking to the doctors. I speak up but he minimizes what I say. I'm not sure he remembers everything either.
The doctors say that there are 2 possible reasons for the diarrhea.
The first is that they don't know. Its kinda like the Parkinson's: if you respond to the medicine, you must have the disease. Imodium and pro-biotic taken every day. Dad says it tightens the stools and he has time to get to the bathroom. They added Pepto-Bismol to the mix
Second, it could be microscopic colitis. The only way to find out is to go in and do a biopsy in his colon. Because of the warfarin they don't feel comfortable cutting him at all. They are concerned about the bleeding.
Dad is concerned about the flight to SLC.
I suggested Depends, at least on the plane.
That didn't go over too well but I think that he is considering it.

Also, he has been feeling too dizzy to drive comfortably. When he feels that way, he calls for a ride or he doesn't go.
That's a good thing but then he doesn't go to work out, or the Parkinson's class, or his balance class.
Maybe we can get him comfortable with Uber.

News from the other side

Thursday night Chamberlains had gulf oysters for $9 per dozen.
Will was out of town and I went with Dad.
He ate 2 dozen oysters.
Technically he shouldn't be eating oysters
Impaired immunity and oysters are not the best combination.
But who am I to take away pleasure at this stage?

On Friday, we went to Sevy's. He feels guilty that he relies on me and wanted to take me to dinner to say thanks. I let him.

Today he had an appointment with Dr Secor's P.A., Ashley. Dr. Secor came in at the end of the appointment.
Dad has a tendency to downplay his symptoms when talking to the doctors. I speak up but he minimizes what I say. I'm not sure he remembers everything either.
The doctors say that there are 2 possible reasons for the diarrhea.
The first is that they don't know. Its kinda like the Parkinson's: if you respond to the medicine, you must have the disease. Imodium and pro-biotic taken every day. Dad says it tightens the stools and he has time to get to the bathroom. They added Pepto-Bismol to the mix
Second, it could be microscopic colitis. The only way to find out is to go in and do a biopsy in his colon. Because of the warfarin they don't feel comfortable cutting him at all. They are concerned about the bleeding.
Dad is concerned about the flight to SLC.
I suggested Depends, at least on the plane.
That didn't go over too well but I think that he is considering it.

Also, he has been feeling too dizzy to drive comfortably. When he feels that way, he calls for a ride or he doesn't go.
That's a good thing but then he doesn't go to work out, or the Parkinson's class, or his balance class.
Maybe we can get him comfortable with Uber.