CHILLY TUESDAY

When I arrived this evening, the heat was on in Mom's room. She and Sylvia told me they were cold today so the turned on the heat. On the other hand, I was out of the office on appointments this afternoon and had the car air conditioning on to cut down the humidity. Go figure. They have been walking around together the last few days and they planned to do that tonight.

Mom had therapy all day, and said she wants to stop it because her left leg (the broken hip leg) is sore in the thigh. Perhaps it is because she is building up some muscle. Anyway, maybe I will call and talk with the social worker Wednesday morning.

We are selling her car; if interested call Byron. 1996 Buick Century 90,000 miles, loaded and very clean on the inside.

Thanks for all your comments and postings.

Monday Update

During my visit tonight, Mom looked at the photos and explained everything. She said dinner tonight was very good, and that she had a good workout in Therapy today.

I wonder if any of the grandchildren: Laurel, robert, Margaret or Justin, are reading this blog.

Windy Day

My visit with Ruth was highlighted by a walk outside. It was windy outside, but warm so she didn't use her sweater (left it in the room). We sat on the EAST side, not the front tables where the wind was more pronounced.

She seemed in good spirits, but commented that on Sundays she doesn't get too many visits.

Her PT continues even on Saturday, and she is becoming more comfortable with the walker.

Old Photos

Yesterday when visiting Ruth at Heartland, Val and I were talking about old photos. I remembered this one of Ruth and Otto, a favorite of mine. Doesn't Ruth look fashionable with her pert suit and fox fur tails. So chic in the 40's! This photo was taken in 1945 before they were married.

The picture is of Sylvia, Mom's roomie, and her during their Friday evening stroll. They keep each other going, which is a good thing.

This morning Dave and I did a little furniture rearranging and rug relocation at Mom's, plus removing one of those (hideous) accordion doors between her kitchen and living room. This was all done on the recommendation of the physical and occupational therapists during their Thursday visit. Mom isn't too sure she's going to like it, but I have a feeling she'll see the rearrangement in her bedroom and wonder why she didn't do it earlier.

The Home Visit

For the first time since May 20th, Ruth visited her home this afternoon. Her PT & OT from Heartland followed and monitored her activities in the house. There are a few improvements that will have to be made, minor ones, but necessary to maintain her independence at home. Some furniture will have to be moved, her cupboards will have to be rearranged, some minor repairs will have to be made. Easy fixes.

Byron and I participated in the visit that included going to each room, demonstrating how she does things and then learning how she will have to alter her movements throughout the day.
It was a good visit and I think she enjoyed herself. As much as she can enjoy things.

Prior to leaving Heartland, the doctor came in and talked with her, they plan on keeping her for up to two more weeks. The PT & OT confirmed that while we were at the house. Their opinions mean a lot to mom so she listened. The longer stay is required to improve her strength, and work on developing better skills to manage movement in the house.

She had her hair done this morning and looked pretty sharp. She thanked me for keeping the house looking so nice and clean. She sounded good as well and is looking forward to Val's visit tomorrow.

Later y'all

June 24 Wednesday

My visit to Ruth this evening was jammed pack. She said she had no visitors today except me, said she had a full day of therapy and was looking forward to the trial run/home visit Thursday afternoon. She also talked about the Fireworks tonight in Detroit. She looked good, said dinner was better than normal (as did her room mate, Sylvia).

Thursday should be another good day for her. It will be the first time back at the home since May 20th.

Tuesday June 23,2009

When I visited with mom last night we sat outside and enjoyed a harmonica concert given by the husband of another resident here. Mom and her friends enjoyed it very much. She was in good spirits, was walking well with her walker and talking about the upcoming home visit.

The visit is scheduled for 12:30 on Thursday. Two people from Heartland will be coming to the house, and I'll pick her up about 12:15. We talked this evening about staying at the house for a while after the visit, maybe make wardrobe selections?, to which she responded "we'll see".

She enjoyed several visits today, neighbors from down the block from her came by as did June Hall and another friend. Her spirits are amazing. She appears to be positive about what she is doing here, is pleased with her progress and doesn't appear to be as down as she was before. Of course, that's what she shows me.

Observation about Falls

I have observed that Ruth has fallen three times that she acknowledges. All have been in the home, and all on level floors. She has never fallen on the stairs/steps. Thus, I think she should only be allowed to go up and down stairs: she won't fall!

With David in town now, things are looking up. This Thursday is a home assessment and perhaps by July 4 she will be out of Heartland Oakland and back home. Or somewhere suitable.

Michigan strawberries

As I type, Mom is writing checks. While it is rather quaint to do this via the mail (doesn't everyone pay their utilities, etc., online?), it does give her something to do. Keeping her checkbook balanced probably provides some mental stimulation as well.

When I arrived earlier today, she and roommate Sylvia were in the day room along with another resident, Fran, where they were sharing their stories about the awful meals they've been served here (and also Fran's former addiction to Xanex and her other many assorted ailments). I suggested they organize a group of residents (almost typed inmates) and go on a hunger strike if the food is really so horrible. I must admit that Ruth's lunch today -- a crab cake of sorts on a naked bun -- definitely was not very appealing. Fortunately I brought the girls some delectable Michigan strawberries, which they enjoyed for lunch and have enough for dinner dessert.

She continues to make progress. Hanging out in the day room instead of staying in her room is a positive step. Ambulating with the walker has improved, although she needs to work on stand up straight. She's taking care of her personal hygiene except for showering. And her hair looks better since she had it shaped a bit.

Dave comes in on Sunday and plans to stay for a few weeks. He'll be around on Thursday and drive Mom to her house, where they'll meet the Heartland occupational therapist and social worker who will assess her house and whether it's realistic for her to return. It's good Dave will be here so he can put his social work degree to work and line up whatever we end up having to do.

One last piece of news: yesterday evening Mom and I walked around the place, and ended up here in the "internet cafe." I sat her down and showed her how to play solitaire on the computer. It's been a long time since I've had to teach someone how to use a mouse, but I think she can do it if she wants. It seems to work for everything else.

The picture on the right

Mom says the photo on the right was taken at the house on 10 mile at Indiana in Pleasant Ridge about 1943. It is looking west. The other houses belonged to Mrs. Kaup, and others. The Car was a 1942 Buick. Grandpa (her dad, Chester) wouldn't let the girls drive it. Ben and Art were fighting THE war. Mom said Grandpa should have put it in a glass bottle.

More Steps and Walking

Visited Ruth this evening. She is here at the computer and wants to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, cards, calls and visits! She really enjoyed the visit today from Sheila Render (probably because Sheila brought corned beef sandwiches for mom and her suite mate, Sylvia). Today Mom's PT included more steps, a lot of walking including this evening when we went outside for a bit. She also had a visit today from Connie and played some cards. Earlier she also worked in the kitchen, making a typical breakfast for herself and cleaning up. They had to stop her from cleaning the entire kitchen (union work rules or something). She got weighed today and said she is about where she was before the hip break some 4 weeks ago.

Mom thinks she will be going home soon. Next week, staff will tour her house with her to see if she can manage. That should be interesting.

If you tried to call and got no answer, it is probably that she was out socializing or walking. Please post your comments.

Stepping Out

Mom is working on steps in the PT. She has done three or four (Monday) and expects to do more later in the week. Today she had PT for a long period of time including some walking. She is excited about returning home after she regains her strength and all that. Tonight she didn't complain about the food while Colleen and I were there visiting; but to be fair, we didn't ask her about the food.

She is using the walker she got two years ago after her last fall so she can get used to it. Yes, we dusted off the walker and removed the items which were haning on it.

Thanks to those who posted a comment. She enjoys your visits, cards, phone calls (what a surprise!) and the like. Thanks to Margaret for visiting today.

Food is improving?

I visited Ruth today and she looked great and was very cheerful. She had a 3 hour PT session this morning and it tired her out. She had enjoyed lunch, the best meal since she's been at Heartland, she said. She was to have another session at 3 PM. Yesterday she had her hair cut and coifed and looked like "her old self". Just wanted you to know I thought she looked terrific and was talking about going home.

Margaret

SHE WALKS AND TALKS

Colleen and I visited Mom Sunday evening, and took her for a walk around the facility and then outside where we sat for about 25 minutes. Mom used the walker from the facility and traveled up and down two of the corridors, out to the front, and back. She seemed to do okay. She thinks she will be ready to return home soon.

Last week, she had a visit from Pat Kuxhaus, Maggie Robbins, Edna, and Mona Hand. That cheered her up.

I really wonder if anyone is reading this besides David, Val and myself.

Weekend visit

My daughter Margaret, who lives in San Francisco, came in to visit her Grandma K (along with other requisite visits). We had some nice conversations with her Friday evening and Saturday around noon. On our way here on Saturday we stopped and picked up some ice cream for Ruth and roommate Sylvia, just in time for their lunch dessert.

She seems to be doing okay, although I think she's a bit daunted by the road ahead.

Thursday is another day

Visit with Mom tonight was short; Delores Kroswell was also visiting so I let them visit. Mom said she was fine (what a surprise) but again was now disliking the food. She said her therapy today was good and looks forward to Val's visit this weekend so she can walk some. She did say she had a rought time doing the steps on Tuesday and plans to try that again next week.

06-10-09: UP AND DOWN

Visited Ruth this evening. She appeared "down." After a bit, she told me she was depressed. She had therapy twice today, which is fairly routine. I wanted to take her outside for ride around the place but she said no. Her voice was weak. Compared to yesterday, this was two to three steps back. Perhaps Thursday will be better.

Determination and perseverance

Ruth working hard!

Tuesday was a busy day for Mom. In the morning, Byron and I took her for her follow-up appointment with Dr. Nowinski, who said she's healing quite nicely. Seeing the hardware -- two pins, one being around 8" long and the other a bit shorter, plus a large screw -- in the x-rays was pretty amazing. Dr. Nowinski noted that her left hip (the one she broke) is arthritic, and that she would probably continue to have some discomfort in that hip because of that and the injury. He said that she seemed to be doing well with her physical therapy and urged her to keep the good work up.

And she is doing remarkably well, according to her therapists during our "care conference" Tuesday afternoon. Byron and I participated, and Dave joined us via telephone. The social worker, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and nutritionist were present. They anticipate she'll be at Heartland for several more weeks, but felt it was a real possibility that she could go home. On June 25 the therapists will make a home visit to see if that's feasible. If it were to happen, she'd need to have assistance at the very least in the early morning and evening. But it's very encouraging to hear this, and to see how hard she's working in therapy. She did steps for the first time in therapy today, in preparation for those steps going into her kitchen.

She says she's having far less pain than she was even a couple days ago. Even though it's been only a few days since I last saw her, on Saturday, there was marked improvement in her appearance, attitude, and ability. I attribute it to her determination and the aggressive therapy she's getting there. They run a good program. Staff promptly return phone calls, the facility is clean and doesn't have that odor that is frequently present in nursing homes, and Mother says all but a handful of aids have been great (can't expect all of them to be personable).

Since she'll be there at least a couple more weeks, keep those cards, phone calls, and visits coming!

Looking at some photos that her roommate Sylvia's husband brought in.

Group photo from the Party

This photo was from Justin Kuxhaus (3rd from right in the back), or at least his Camera.

More later.

Sunday 6-7-09

Colleen and I visited mom late this afternoon. She was in good spirits, although no one else had visited her today. She is looking forward to therapy Monday and as Val mentioned, we are looking forward to the meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Noticable improvement

When I arrived Friday evening around 6, Mother and Sylvia (her roommate) were patiently awaiting their dinners. Mother appeared significantly better than late afternoon Sunday, when I last saw her. Even though she had a busy day with therapy, she wasn't fatigued, and of course having had her hair done perked her up considerably. Her hip still hurts a lot, though. Tuesday morning she sees the surgeon for follow-up (it was three weeks on Friday since her surgery) and I hope this issue is addressed. The swelling in her left leg has lessened, but just after I left late Saturday afternoon she had a doppler examination to see if a blood clot was present anyway (results not known at this writing).

Saturday afternoon I led the ladies -- Mother and her life-long friend Priscilla -- outside for some fresh air. We spent close to 45 minutes outdoors, enjoying the warm breeze. 

To her great relief, she is now able to toilet herself without assistance.

Tuesday will be a telling day. Besides the field trip to the surgeon's office in the morning, we (Byron, Dave, and I) have an afternoon care consultation conference with the social worker, physical therapist, and occupational therapist. We'll find out how she's doing and what kind of living arrangements will need to be made when she is released. Medicare covers 20 days of rehab, and her 20th day is coming up soon. I spoke with the physical therapist last week and he indicated that it wouldn't be out of the question for her to go home, but she would need a lot of assistance, especially getting in and out of bed. If going home is an option, they will assess her house to see if she could get around in it okay. It's safe to say her days of going up and down stairs are over.

Mentally, she's doing okay, but just okay. She's still thrilled about the party last Sunday but fearful and understandably depressed that she won't function at the level she was before, and possibly not go home again. But she is making progress, and we'll know better after Tuesday what we can anticipate in the upcoming weeks.

Hopefully we can post some pictures from the party soon. Mine turned out really grainy for some reason; if I can fix them so they look half way decent I'll put them up.

Getting Better Each Day

Colleen and I stopped by and saw mom Saturday evening. She was in bed. Between visits from life long friend Priscilla and daughter Val, plus some sort of medical procedure, she was busy all day.

She is looking forward to continued improvement with her therapy and stuff.

More later.

ANOTHER DAY OF IMPROVEMENT

Visited Mom late this afternoon on my way to a tax seminar. She seemed about the same in appearance. She told me she had a busy day with therapy, both physical and group. Friday she is to work in the kitchen. She walked up and down the hall for a while today, using a walker and with staff help. She had some visitors from Church. She is looking forward to going home.

A busy Wednesday

Mom had a busy day, Wednesday, June 3, 2009, with PT and an activity. She made a poster. She also is becoming more mobile. Or so she thinks. I was her this evening and Sheila (Krippendorf) Render and Ken (Sheila's neighbor across the street) came by for a visit; I left and stopped to make this post. Ruth also had visits from two women from her Church including June Hall.

Mom/Ruth says her therapist is like me: bossy. Got to get that man a prize of some kind. While she didn't walk today, she said she was busy with other stuff. Mom is complaining about the Food but then she isn't eating much anyway, regardless of who is cooking. She is somewhat optimistic about returning home. She mentions pain in her left hip which is to be expected.

The level of care and attention is good, but Ruth could use to be more expressive of her pain and other needs and less effort to be self reliant at this stage of things. The heavy emphasis on PT and activities is good for her. She did decline my desire to push her around the facility for a ride, including going outside. That bothered me.

Best time to visit is later afternoon or evening, or anytime you want, but she has therapy in the mornings and afternoon.

Colleen and I (Byron) visited Mom (Ruth) Monday night and showed her prints of the pictures I took Sunday. Amazingly, several of them were pretty good. Mom again was in a quiet mode: very quiet.

It is now 3 weeks since her hip broke. She told us her therapy and rehab is going okay and she has actually done some walking, with staff holding on to her and she was using a walker. She mentioned she still has pain in her left hip; for her to mention it is significant. She is still "tethered" to her bed and/or wheelchair. As you might expect, she does not enjoy that.

We will miss having David around.

Maggie Robbins sent an e-mail after her visit on Monday and the pertinent portion follows:

Hi All,
Just wanted to tell you that I visited with Ruth this afternoon. She was in PT and I spent about an hour with her there while she worked out. She really puts forth an effort, too. It seems like a really nice place and the staff is very helpful and friendly. She seems to be savoring the memories of the party on Sunday and she talked a lot about the day. You all did a great job and it was a special day for a special lady--we will all have happy memories of her 90th!

June 2 - David Leaves Oak Park

True to form, I pulled out of Meadowlark around 5 this morning. Topped off the tank, got some coffee and headed south. The rain was nice, kept me legal, and the drive was uneventful. Gas got progessively cheaper as I went through Ohio, what a relief. Crossed the bridge into Ashland at noon, met with some friends, had lunch in the park and finally got home about 2:30.

Why did I pack all this stuff that I didn't wear?

When am I going to learn to pack long pants when I come up there?

Prior to leaving, I cleaned the bathrooms, watered the plants, closed the windows, took out the trash and yes, I vacuumed. Finally.

Spoke with mom a couple of minutes ago, she reports she was up doing quite a bit of walking today using a walker and assistance, also said she had a nice visit with Margaret. Since her dinner tray had just been delivered, I let her eat and ordered a pizza for me.

Later y'all

June 1, 2009

After receiving a call from Colleen & Byron I headed to Heartland to see what was going on. It appears she had a rough night last night with some vomiting and a little accident in bed. Because of the problem she had with vomiting while at Beaumont, I asked her nurse if there was blood or any other problems. She said no. Mom also confirmed that. What I learned from her roommate Sylvia, is the doctor was called and they gave mom an injection to help her sleep and she slept okay. Don't know what times all these events took place but will look into that shortly. I had a bunch of stuff to take home and launder and will get that done tonight while packing my car. I still plan on leaving in the morning and returning in a couple of weeks. The in-room log has been updated, and at her request, all presents in her room have been taken back to the house.

That's it for now.

A message from Ruth

I brought mom to the Internet Cafe at Heartland so she could read the blog and comments. I then asked her if she would like to say something. What follows is in her words:

I want to thank everybody, and want to thank them for the wonderful life I've had with them. The party was wonderful, a special thanks to Ann Mooney for her assistance. It was wonderful to see so many people especially my cousin Doris May Manssur and her daughter Nanette.

(through tears) Seeing Diane and Rebecca [Mikan] was wonderful. I didn't expect it to affect me the way that it did. It was wonderful to have both sides of the Kotowski family and both sides of the Sikorski family together. It was just wonderful.

I still can't believe it.

It was wonderful seeing how much fun Rob and Justin had. I'm glad they're getting to know each other in Seattle. Thanks to Rebekah for that.

The only other thing I can think to say right now, is Thank You, to family and friends. It was just wonderful.