Well, it's been a long road to hoe, but Dad passed away on March 14, 2018.
While it was not a stroke that did Dad in, I'm sure the history of the stroke and diagnosed vascular dementia helped. Per the death certificate, the doctors called it "End Stage Dementia".
Lots happened since the last time I was on and even posted, but as a quick timeline...
Dad lived with me until April 2017....
April 2017 - Moved into Assisted Living
Septembe
Dad and I have had our moments over the past few months.
Today started an interesting thing. He seemed confused as to why the "buzzer/speaker" (controlled entry) moved on the wall. He was not sure of the address, he had to clarify the apt number. He said that today was the first time he'd been in the bathroom... feeling concerned... Sent him to his "Daddy Daycare", then called and gave them a heads up that Dad seemed a little confused, but I could not tell if it was because he chose not
It's been an odd few weeks since the last entry. I've been keeping a log and sharing with my sister so she's kept in the loop as well.
10-7-14 - After work: While walking the lake, Dad asked about how hanging works. I asked how that idea came up and commented about Nuremberg. I asked if there was trivia question at day center that started that, he said yes, but I’m not really sure. He could not be specifc. We explored the conversation a bit and I asked him directly if he was feeling su
Dad and I got out on Saturday and took a train ride to see the colors. According to him, he enjoyed the day and we just had nice afternoon.
The positive thing, is that he took the stairs by two on Saturday. Skipping a stair. He has not done that since the TIAs/Strokes started in January and he did it again on Sunday, after we went out for lunch.
I know I can't plan for him to be exactly better, but the fact that he can do that again, I call that a plus.
Okay...so well, it's been a few months since the first entry....
We managed through the tail of March and just into April, then I fell apart. I had tried to do the work at home thing, since Dad would not need me sitting on him every moment. Two weeks before Easter, I ended up taking 2 weeks off of work, thankfully, FMLA was still available and I still had vacation.
We got him settled at a very nice Adult Day Center, or "Daddy Day Care" as he calls it. Walker Methodist in Minneapolis.
First Entry - Getting the background in
January 4th - Dad complained of feeling clumsy. Foot not moving where he wanted it to go. Hand not moving right either.
January 6th - Mentioned the issues to a co-worker and she suggested TIAs. I called my doctor's office, nurse line triage and she said get him in asap. Called my sister and she agreed. Get Dad in asap. Her boyfriend also agreed. He saw this with his mom. TIAs are a "warning shot across the bow".
Convinced Dad to go to ho