Sunday, June 28, 2009
Driving
Bob had to sign the truck over to Rob this week. It has been in his name all this time. We have tried to switch insurance from Bob to Rob, but we couldn’t do that because of the title. We have avoided this because we knew Bob would not take this well. We were right.
Bob’s birthday is fast approaching on July 17 and the tags are due on the truck. Rob finally said enough time had passed we needed to transfer the title. After filling out the paper work the last thing we needed was Bob’s signature. Rob handed me the form and told me to go get his signature. I took the form, rolled my eyes, and told him to at least come stand in the doorway to help support what I was about to explain to Bob.
I reluctantly, carried the form back to Bob’s room and started the explanation. I asked him if he drove anymore and he told me no, but he felt like he could still drive. He told me that he didn’t think he would have any trouble behind the wheel of a car. I sighed. “Well, that might be true, and you might be right in how you feel, but the doctor’s have told us that you can’t drive anymore. The doctors have all written on your medical files that you shouldn’t drive, and we have to honor what they are telling us,” I told him. He agreed that the doctors had told him he shouldn’t drive.
He finally agreed to sign the truck over to Rob and signed the form. I told him he was welcome to gift the truck to any of his children or grandchildren, but the truck would leave the house if he did that. He told me no, he wanted the truck to go to his son. “My boy has the truck, and drives it, and I still get to see it every day,” he told me.
After the form was signed, Rob sighed with relief, we left Bob in his room. It wasn’t long before he came out to find me to talk. He told me he felt old and worn out. I laughed and turned to look at him. “Pop, do you remember the last time you drove a car?” I asked.
“No, I don’t remember,” he said. “I know it has been a long time.”
“Well, I remember the last time you drove,” I told him.
“You do? When?” He asked.
“It was when Sarah was in the eighth grade and needed to take a test at the middle school. I was working and couldn’t get her there. You took her to the school and went back to pick her up. The school is less than two miles from the house. And that was almost two years ago now. That was the last time you drove anywhere.”
He stood there thinking, nodding his head in agreement.
“Pop, even though you may want to drive, there really isn’t a reason for you to drive. Where is it that you would like to go that Rob and I can’t or won’t take you?” I asked.
“Kentucky,” he answered. “I would like to return to Kentucky.”
Home, I thought. He wants to go home. Home; the place that is rooted in our hearts, the place that we can smell in our dreams. We all want to return to that place we know as home. I sighed and told him that I thought he would have some visitors soon from Kentucky. His brother, Dave is coming soon.
Wish us luck at the doctors this next week. Give Bob a shout this week and tell him driving isn’t all that great anymore. Too many cars on the road; and all those other drivers drive like idiots.
Bob’s birthday is fast approaching on July 17 and the tags are due on the truck. Rob finally said enough time had passed we needed to transfer the title. After filling out the paper work the last thing we needed was Bob’s signature. Rob handed me the form and told me to go get his signature. I took the form, rolled my eyes, and told him to at least come stand in the doorway to help support what I was about to explain to Bob.
I reluctantly, carried the form back to Bob’s room and started the explanation. I asked him if he drove anymore and he told me no, but he felt like he could still drive. He told me that he didn’t think he would have any trouble behind the wheel of a car. I sighed. “Well, that might be true, and you might be right in how you feel, but the doctor’s have told us that you can’t drive anymore. The doctors have all written on your medical files that you shouldn’t drive, and we have to honor what they are telling us,” I told him. He agreed that the doctors had told him he shouldn’t drive.
He finally agreed to sign the truck over to Rob and signed the form. I told him he was welcome to gift the truck to any of his children or grandchildren, but the truck would leave the house if he did that. He told me no, he wanted the truck to go to his son. “My boy has the truck, and drives it, and I still get to see it every day,” he told me.
After the form was signed, Rob sighed with relief, we left Bob in his room. It wasn’t long before he came out to find me to talk. He told me he felt old and worn out. I laughed and turned to look at him. “Pop, do you remember the last time you drove a car?” I asked.
“No, I don’t remember,” he said. “I know it has been a long time.”
“Well, I remember the last time you drove,” I told him.
“You do? When?” He asked.
“It was when Sarah was in the eighth grade and needed to take a test at the middle school. I was working and couldn’t get her there. You took her to the school and went back to pick her up. The school is less than two miles from the house. And that was almost two years ago now. That was the last time you drove anywhere.”
He stood there thinking, nodding his head in agreement.
“Pop, even though you may want to drive, there really isn’t a reason for you to drive. Where is it that you would like to go that Rob and I can’t or won’t take you?” I asked.
“Kentucky,” he answered. “I would like to return to Kentucky.”
Home, I thought. He wants to go home. Home; the place that is rooted in our hearts, the place that we can smell in our dreams. We all want to return to that place we know as home. I sighed and told him that I thought he would have some visitors soon from Kentucky. His brother, Dave is coming soon.
Wish us luck at the doctors this next week. Give Bob a shout this week and tell him driving isn’t all that great anymore. Too many cars on the road; and all those other drivers drive like idiots.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Happy Father's Day
Happy Father’s Day! Bob had a great Father’s day. It started out that he slept in till almost noon. I got him up and out on the exercise bike. We put in Dick Tracy and Rob sat on the couch while his father peddled. They watched the serial together and talked about the actors, the old cars, and the show. It was a nice time for father and son to spend a few hours.
That afternoon Pat and Tina came by for a visit. Pat’s Mother, Matti, had made a quilt for Bob. It is a beautiful piece of art. The workmanship in this quilt is beyond words. It truly was a labor of love. Bob opened it and we put it on his bed. He didn’t leave it there though. When it was time for bed he carefully folded it and laid it aside so nothing would happen to it. I put it in one of his drawers for safe keeping. I am thinking about getting a quilt hanger to display it in his room. That way he will get to enjoy it year round.
After the gifts were given we all went outside and sat by the lake to talk. Bob came outside on his own, to sit with us. It was nice having him there. We talked about anything and everything. Johnny and his family showed up to do some fishing and we sat and watched his family row around the lake pulling in fish after fish. I guess we watched them pull in about fifteen all together. They didn’t keep any of them, they threw them all back. Each time they threw one back I yelled, “That one was big enough for my frying pan! Don’t throw that one back in the lake.”
Around eight that evening Pat and Tina took off and it wasn’t too much latter that Johnny and his family left also. Bob had a great time watching the guys fish and visiting with his son and daughter. I can’t think of a better way to spend Father’s day.
I hope the rest of the Father’s out there got to spend some time with your children or at least got the hear from a few of them. Give him a shout this week and ask him about fishing.
That afternoon Pat and Tina came by for a visit. Pat’s Mother, Matti, had made a quilt for Bob. It is a beautiful piece of art. The workmanship in this quilt is beyond words. It truly was a labor of love. Bob opened it and we put it on his bed. He didn’t leave it there though. When it was time for bed he carefully folded it and laid it aside so nothing would happen to it. I put it in one of his drawers for safe keeping. I am thinking about getting a quilt hanger to display it in his room. That way he will get to enjoy it year round.
After the gifts were given we all went outside and sat by the lake to talk. Bob came outside on his own, to sit with us. It was nice having him there. We talked about anything and everything. Johnny and his family showed up to do some fishing and we sat and watched his family row around the lake pulling in fish after fish. I guess we watched them pull in about fifteen all together. They didn’t keep any of them, they threw them all back. Each time they threw one back I yelled, “That one was big enough for my frying pan! Don’t throw that one back in the lake.”
Around eight that evening Pat and Tina took off and it wasn’t too much latter that Johnny and his family left also. Bob had a great time watching the guys fish and visiting with his son and daughter. I can’t think of a better way to spend Father’s day.
I hope the rest of the Father’s out there got to spend some time with your children or at least got the hear from a few of them. Give him a shout this week and ask him about fishing.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Finally, an appointment with a specialist
Bob has an appointment with a neurologist on July 2nd. We are so happy we finally have an appointment with a specialist.
The new medication did not work well at all. For four nights we tried it and had the same results each night. He wasn’t sleeping, he turned ugly and mean, and was not very pleasant. So that medication was given a large “X” on the lid and set aside.
I made him go outside and sit for a few hours this week. At first he told me he didn’t want to go outside, but I told him if he wanted his lunch he was to eat it outside. “We’re having a picnic.” I told him.
After he ate his sandwich I handed him a small bowl of peanuts and told him to open them. He told me he didn’t like nuts. “That’s alright. You don’t have to eat them. I want you to open them and then throw them on the ground for the squirrels to eat.” I told him he needed to do things with his hands and this would be good for him. He started throwing the peanuts on the ground without opening them and I had to pick them up and hand them back to him. He fussed that they were too hard to open. I showed him how to press on the seam of the peanut to get it open. Well, he finally sat there and opened the rest of the peanuts and threw them on the ground. It was worth feeding the squirrels just to have him doing something with his hands.
He “fell” again this week. I wouldn’t call it a fall really, but more of a kneel. He went to sit in his chair and sat in it sideways, and more or less kneeled to the floor. He came out of his room telling me that he was hurt. I looked him all over and told him I saw nothing. He told me to hang on a moment and he would go back to his room and get some blood.
I followed him back to his room, looked him over, talked about how he “fell”, and then suggested he get cleaned up. After he got cleaned up he felt better. The next morning he tried and tried to find a bruise somewhere from his fall, but try as he might, alas there wasn’t a single bruise that appeared. Every bruise he tried to point out I sadly had to tell him it was old. I do think he was a little disappointed in not having any battle scars.
Rob and I went to the medical supply store and bought a few more hand rails, and a rail for his bed. That way he can hold on to something to pull himself up and support himself when he sits down. He was all confused when we installed them on Saturday, but he will get the hang of them in a few days.
Tina, Bob’s daughter, and her husband Pat bought a new truck this week. They brought it over for us all to see. It sure is perrrrty. It has that nice ‘new car’ smell. It has so many buttons and gadgets on it, I couldn’t begin to tell you what they were all for. Before long they will have a car that you sit in, state your destination, and the vehicle will drive you where you want to go.
Well, Bob may think that his driving days are over, but I am here to inform you all, that he does just fine with driving us nuts daily. Give him a ring this week and ask him how the magic are playing….the first game with the Lakers wasn’t very good.
The new medication did not work well at all. For four nights we tried it and had the same results each night. He wasn’t sleeping, he turned ugly and mean, and was not very pleasant. So that medication was given a large “X” on the lid and set aside.
I made him go outside and sit for a few hours this week. At first he told me he didn’t want to go outside, but I told him if he wanted his lunch he was to eat it outside. “We’re having a picnic.” I told him.
After he ate his sandwich I handed him a small bowl of peanuts and told him to open them. He told me he didn’t like nuts. “That’s alright. You don’t have to eat them. I want you to open them and then throw them on the ground for the squirrels to eat.” I told him he needed to do things with his hands and this would be good for him. He started throwing the peanuts on the ground without opening them and I had to pick them up and hand them back to him. He fussed that they were too hard to open. I showed him how to press on the seam of the peanut to get it open. Well, he finally sat there and opened the rest of the peanuts and threw them on the ground. It was worth feeding the squirrels just to have him doing something with his hands.
He “fell” again this week. I wouldn’t call it a fall really, but more of a kneel. He went to sit in his chair and sat in it sideways, and more or less kneeled to the floor. He came out of his room telling me that he was hurt. I looked him all over and told him I saw nothing. He told me to hang on a moment and he would go back to his room and get some blood.
I followed him back to his room, looked him over, talked about how he “fell”, and then suggested he get cleaned up. After he got cleaned up he felt better. The next morning he tried and tried to find a bruise somewhere from his fall, but try as he might, alas there wasn’t a single bruise that appeared. Every bruise he tried to point out I sadly had to tell him it was old. I do think he was a little disappointed in not having any battle scars.
Rob and I went to the medical supply store and bought a few more hand rails, and a rail for his bed. That way he can hold on to something to pull himself up and support himself when he sits down. He was all confused when we installed them on Saturday, but he will get the hang of them in a few days.
Tina, Bob’s daughter, and her husband Pat bought a new truck this week. They brought it over for us all to see. It sure is perrrrty. It has that nice ‘new car’ smell. It has so many buttons and gadgets on it, I couldn’t begin to tell you what they were all for. Before long they will have a car that you sit in, state your destination, and the vehicle will drive you where you want to go.
Well, Bob may think that his driving days are over, but I am here to inform you all, that he does just fine with driving us nuts daily. Give him a ring this week and ask him how the magic are playing….the first game with the Lakers wasn’t very good.
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