So just a recent update on Dad. Last night at 3am he oddly tried to get up and go for a walk and fell out of bed. The nurses called me at 6am during the shift change to let me know. It's been reported that he only has a few bruises but they are keeping a close eye on him.
On one hand, I was very scared when I got the call. On the other hand, I'm actually quite impressed that he is actually motivated enough to try and get up at all. He hasn't been up at all out of his bed other than the hair cut he had when I last posted.
One thought is that yesterday was a very good day for Dad. He had a wonderful visit from Linda whom he has been asking about for over a month now almost everyday. Maybe he was so happy about the visit that he had that he thought he could get up like things were back to normal? Just a thought.
A while back Dad started asking about Linda who is an old romantic friend of his way back in 1997. I'm not quite sure how long they were off and on for but I know that she was around for awhile and he cared very deeply for her. She and Dad had even gone to England and was able to research a bit of our family history from Stroud. Apparently we had family members back there that had signed on to be an indentured servant. There was a furniture business that our family had back then. We tried asking Dad yesterday the details of this story and which side of our family was it and he said Pops. If anyone has the full story and details I'd love to hear them. After a few weeks of googling, I finally had found Linda online thankfully. Dad would speak of her but could not remember her last name. So, with diligence I was able to find her email address and connected with her thankfully.
Linda also brought a beautiful American flag that I was able to hang up on the wall for him and some pictures from way back when. Another great gift she brought to me were some old cabbage patch dolls that were mine when I was a child. Dad had given them to her for her grandchildren since we no longer needed them. She was there when dad got rid of all of our stuff when he had to move from the house we had in Oakley to Martinez, CA. I am happy to have these for my own daughter Mikayla.
During Linda's visit dad was very emotional and of course as always cried with almost every sentence he spoke. I think his fond memories are sometimes hurtful to him because he enjoys them but is also reminded that he could not create more like them in his condition.
As usual, he enjoyed a whopper jr. with cheese and two Hershey's chocolate pies. He told me to bring 5 pies today. One thing I've noticed with dad is that not only is he becoming more aware again and remembering things, but he also can talk much better on the phone. He has actually had the nurses call me twice in the last week. Both were early in the morning.
When I speak with the nurses, they tell me that he pushes the caller button every 5 minutes to ask if I am there or if I'm on my way so finally they ask him if he wants to call me. It's very sweet when he calls and unexpected. The conversation ususally goes like this:
Dad: Hi! -pause- Are you on your way Mel?
Me: Oh hi, Dad! (expecting the nurses and surprised to hear dad on the line) No, I'm at work but I'll see you tonight around dinner time.
Dad: -pause- Where do you work again?
Me: Bertram Capital
Dad: -pause- And where am I at again?
Me: Courtyard
Dad: - pause - oh yes, courtyard. - pause - so you'll bring me a burger?
Me: Yes, dad I will.
Dad: ok, see you then.
Me: Ok dad, I love you.
Dad: Love you too.
Me: Bye
Dad: -pause- bye.
Last night I had stopped by again later on because I had made extra copies of his photos from Linda. When I came back, he was talking to Marty so I said hello. He seemed to be talking a lot, it was very nice to see him interactive. All of these small things are such an improvement since his last visit to the hospital. I'm hopeful that with the daily visits, he will continue to improve.
-Mel