Yogurt, questions and sitting

Tonight (Nov 30) I am spending the night at the hospital again. On the way here I stopped at Good Earth and bought dad some yogurt and bottled water. He was able to eat soft foods today and mom thought the non-sugar yogurt would be dad's favorite. She was right. When I got to the hospital we gave dad some yogurt with pears and he loved it. Mom said that was the best he had eaten.

After mom left, I sat next to dad and he asked me a few questions. He had heard us talking earlier with the nurse about when dad went into cardiac arrest. He asked, "What did you mean by someone having a close call?" So I told him the whole story. He said he remembered going to the church and printing off the programs and then having the extreme pain in his back but that is about all that he can remember. He also asked me a question that kind of caught me off guard, he asked, "What is my life expectancy supposed to be?" Not exactly a fun discussion to have with your father. I explained to him that the doctor was very hopeful and that although the next few weeks are going to be critical, he expected dad to recover and get back to normal and walk and remember things easier. I did tell him that his physical activity would have to be limited from now on. Tasha and Bob later told me that the doctor had told them that he expected dad to have a normal life expectancy after this. A normal life expectancy is 76. He is 71. I hope he sticks around longer than that.

He also asked why everyone was concerned about his kidneys and why the nurses kept asking him the same questions over and over. He also asked if he was supposed to be able to answer their answers better. I told him it was normal for him to have a hard time remembering but the reason they keep asking him the same questions over and over was to exercise his mind and get it working properly again. It was good to see him thinking more deeply and asking about his situation.

Dad struggled throughout the night to answer questions like "When's your birthday?" "What year is it?" "Where are you at?" It was the second or third time tonight that the nurse asked this and he smiled and shook his head and said I don't know. When we helped him and then finally told him the answer he said, "I'm sure glad you guys are being so patient with me." I said "we always will, dad."

I also brought some family pictures to show dad and test his memory. I showed him pictures of Radley, Christian and Tara, me riding a horse with dad when I was younger, a picture of him smelling lilacs. He was able to identify everyone pretty well and the pictures of Radley made him smile and chuckle a little.

Dad needed a little more pain medication tonight to help him sleep. I can only imagine how sore he is getting from being in bed for so long.

In the morning he got a bath, ate some applesauce, brushed his teeth, etc. The nurse said she has never seen someone brush their teeth so thoroughly. It's really cute actually because he literally has to brush his teeth before and after each time he drinks, eats, or takes a pill and each time he brushes for quite a while. He brushes EVERY tooth. He even starts to close his eyes and fall asleep halfway through usually. The nurse said, "So that's why he still has all his teeth."

The nurses have been so happy to help dad because he is such an excellent patient. They said he is so easy to work with and tries so hard to do what they ask. They said it can be really difficult if the patient is angry or rude. Dad has been respectful and cooperative.

Mom told me that they added some tongue exercises to dad's daily routine. She said it was really difficult for him to do today (Nov 30). She also said they sat dad up on the side of the bed today and he sat there for 8 minutes. He's doing really great and making little improvements all the time.

It's just before 7 am and I am about to leave. Mom will be here in a couple of hours.