Wednesday, February 2, 2011

February 2, 2011: Groundhog's Day

I had to go to the dentist today for a tooth that has been bothering me. The dentist thinks I'll have to get it pulled and get an implant. I haven't been taking such great care of my teeth lately - little busy with other HUGE problems.

I got to Manor Care by 3 PM. Poor Jim was in his room sitting in his manual chair having a lot of pain. His call light was on but no help was coming. I wheeled him down to the physical therapy room. The therapists were quick to adjust him in the chair. He probably would have had to wait another 30 minutes at least until the shift change of the nursing staff was complete and someone would check on him. He has absolutely NO natural cushioning so he gets very uncomfortable sitting so long. I had his CNA (certified nursing assistant), Lolita feel how bony he is. She thought something had happened to him, maybe in his childhood, that caused him to have such a bony butt. That's just the way he is built. I wish I could donate some of my derriere fat to help him out.

Jim was able to open his cell phone and press a speed dial button after I strapped it on to his hand and put the bluetooth in his ear. He called his parents to wish them a Happy Groundhog's Day - a goofy Carpenter tradition.

He also was able to press the button on his bed controls and lower his head. That will help him make his own adjustments. I put a strap on the TV remote and put it in his hand. He was able to turn the TV on and off all by himself. I told him that "my baby is growing up" but he can't leave me like children do when they become adults.

We played one game of Hello Kitty Rummikub. I just couldn't resist buying it at Walgreens. We used to play rummikub with Jimmy and Lupita every weekend. This game has thicker cards that Jim was able to pick up. Plus, the cards are just so cute.
He's graduated from the toy cell phone that I bought him. It would light up when he pressed a button. I think that it really helped him get strong enough to use a real cell phone, bed control and tv remote.

I fed him dinner. I had to leave soon thereafter. I wanted to get home before the roads got icy. It never got out of the 30's today. It might even snow tomorrow and Friday. I hope I will be able to get to the home during this cold weather.

I got to work late today. The power went out and it was too dark at 6:30 AM to do anything. Then I had to pick up Mom's sitter, Alberta at the bus stop. The bus was late and she was freezing. There were lots of traffic problems because many of the traffic signals weren't working because of the rolling power blackouts. I may leave later than normal tomorrow so that the roads will have a chance to thaw.

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