I've kept planning to provide an update once I've had a chance to talk with Dad, but after last week's flurry of phone activity, I hadn't been able to connect with him. I finally got through. It turns out the ringer had been silenced on his room phone.
It was not the most encouraging call. I'm hoping that he was just distracted by the TV news in the background, but he was very quiet, and what he did have to say was, in essence, "I want to leave," and, "Therapy isn't getting anywhere." Of course it's natural that he wants to leave and that he should have times when he is discouraged. Hopefully, though, this is just a down morning, not how he's been feeling for the last week.
But as far as leaving goes, that is scheduled for June 2. We are making the arrangements for him to move into a residential care home, a converted house with as many as seven other residents. Everybody has their own bedroom. There are two caregivers there during the day and one overnight. The food is all prepared there in the house, and all medical/therapy care is provided there. Speaking with Dad's therapists and case workers, as well as some friends with elderly parents, the clear consensus has been that a home, with a higher caregiver ratio, would be a better fit for him than a larger care facility. And I also think Dad will be more comfortable in a house. It won't be his house, but it is as close as we can get, at this point.
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