Thursday December 11, 2014

So, dad has been diligently working with his physical therapist working on strengthening his ankles and legs. Plus maneuvering with his walker. He has also been more diligent about using his inhalers to keep his chest clear. Well, things are going swimmingly! He's much stronger and getting around quite well! Yay! In fact, the physical therapist released him to continue his strengthening work on his own. Fantastic!

Dad had a busy Thanksgiving weekend. He had visitors from Rogers, Arkansas. Sharon, Ron, Tyler, Lindsey, Stella and Victoria spent the weekend in Olathe. Below are some of the pictures from the visit. Also, Jim, Lisa, Jami, Aubrie and Jacob were there to celebrate Thanksgiving. The Potter family also spent some time with the family in Olathe. Susans were in Fort Collins visiting Joe and Bernadette and little Ben, and us Bahrs spent the long weekend in Denver.

We ordered a big load of books to send to Pat Schartz to sell at the Auxiliary sponsored gift shop at the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital. She is selling dads books like crazy! We're all very excited about that. If any of you are interested in purchasing your own copy, you can go to http://www.lulu.com/shop/omar-schartz/no-more-homemade-butter/paperback/product-21429016.html (a self-publishing company) and you should be able to purchase your own copy there.

I will post another update after Christmas. For now everything is stable and very smooth. Thanks for all your well wishes and inquiries!

Love, Carolyn

Weds November 19

Many of us had the opportunity to visit dad this past week and weekend. Pat Turner was there to visit dad last week and they had a great lunch.  His dear friend Judy Redding also visited last week while she was in town visiting her son, daughter-in-law and their two children. He immensely enjoyed the visits with his great friends!

Over the weekend dad was visited by Jim Saturday morning. Jim was bound and determined to make dad some fried potatoes like Grandma Schartz used to make. He also brought fried chicken and homemade coconut creme pie! Dad said the meal was delicious. Jim had to leave by 12:30 to go watch Aubrey march at the KU game. Tony and Gretchen and Mindy also visited on Saturday afternoon for a while. Then Saturday evening Brit and I dropped by to catch up. We had a nice surprise as Jim and Aubrey dropped by again after Aubrey was done with the KU game.

Sunday was another busy day with me, Brit and Cindy visiting dad late Sunday morning. Shortly after we left Tony and Gretchen were on their way back to visit again Sunday afternoon before heading back to Amarillo.

Dad is looking good and is as sharp as ever! He got his fabulous walker with brakes and a seat, and he said it was most useful when he walked down to the dining room earlier that week.

All is well and stable! Love to all of you!

Carolyn

Sunday Nov 9

From the reports I've received, dad had a great day yesterday. The walker was delivered around noon (rather than 5:00-ish) and, although it was not the correct model, dad was very happy with the safety it provided! It did not have the seat on it, so it's going to be replaced Monday with the correct model. But dad said having the walker handy was like being able to grab onto the nearest tree for support. That's a grand endorsement! Susan and Cindy were excited with the way it provided immediate security for dad, and that made them very happy!

My girls Brit and Ali and their significant others Payden and Ben, spent some time with dad Saturday afternoon. Here is a picture of the five of them!

Left-Right: Ali, Payden, Dad, Ben, Brit

Ali got some great snapshots of dad telling stories about his favorite character (*cough-PatTurner-cough*) which stories they regaled with most enthusiasm, as you can see!

Dad is doing well. Susan and Cindy continue to fine-tune his surroundings with an eye toward safety and convenience.

Much love to all! Thanks for your words of support and encouragement!

Saturday November 8, 2014

Greetings family and friends, I wanted to start this blog so everyone could get as much information about dad as possible. I keep hassling Cindy and Susan for information, but I know they have their hands full trying to run a business and attend to all the new developments going on right now. So I'm going to try to keep a comprehensive narrative going here for all to see. And I say this 10 times a day and I'll say it again.  Bless dear Susan and Cindy (and Mike and Mike) for all they do and have done for all of us. Bless them.

Dad watching the World Series

 

 

Since dad's diagnosis he has had some interesting developments. Susan and Cindy managed to get a consultation with home health people. They were visited on Monday by a nurse and a physical therapist.  The nurse said he would  not qualify for home nursing at this point, and that there wasn't much she could contribute at this moment. The Physical Therapist however felt like there were many ways they could help dad.

 

In order for the physical therapist to be able to work continuously with dad, he would have to show improvement and/or added strength. Just whatever the goal might be, he has to show improvement. Dad wasn't too keen on the idea of PT because... "First thing you know they ask you to walk a half a mile. Then they tell you to walk a half a mile for the cool down..." Ha! I thought that was pretty funny.

 

On Monday the Physical Therapist mentioned that dad would find a walker very useful, and dad was immediately on board with that plan. He mentioned he thought he would like the kind with a seat and it seems that type of walker is standard these days, so that's what he's getting. The PT will start Monday, and specifically he/she will train dad on Walker Protocol, I guess. :-)

  

Cindy and Susan have talked to Aberdeen about what types of transitions are available, and the director of the Assisted Living wing of Aberdeen said that often in these situations, he can stay in his home as long as he wants. We can utilize the nurses at Aberdeen if he needs nursing assistance prior to or instead of utilizing home health.

  

So the plan is for dad to stay right where he is. We have no idea how this is going to play out, so for now it's all systems forward with dad's normal schedule.

  

So, what's next? Walker today, PT on Monday. Those are the only things I know about. The PT will meet with dad twice weekly.

 

I'll update this post every few days so we can all stay up to speed.

 

Regarding this blog website, I think you can leave comments, but you have to be a gmail subscriber, I believe. So, proceed as you wish.

 

Stay well - love Carolyn