Quick update

Thanks for all of the supportive comments! I'm still in Iowa and expect to be for another 10 days. This is the longest I've been here in winter for over 30 years! After bringing Dad back to his apartment from the health center we both quickly decided that being alone in the apartment is no longer an option. We are now, sadly, working on plan to move him back to the health center and empty out the apartment.

Rowan's new sweater almost done. I'll try to remember to post a photo before I send it off to him.

Feeling Like a Boomerang!

I got to be home all of 5 full days before the phone rang telling my dad was having some unexplained bleeding and was too weak to stay alone. Arrangements were made to take him to the nursing home part of the facility so he wouldn't have to go to the hospital and I grabbed a red eye flight out of Vegas back to Iowa.

During my last visit, we had signed my dad up for hospice care based on debility. Many people are unaware that a pattern of decline including weight loss, falls, hospitalizations etc. can qualify someone for this additional help. With the frequent visits and medical monitoring some of those folks actually improve and are discharged.

We have spent 4 days in the nursing facility working through the questions about who was bathing - hospice or facility staff, dealing with their structure and sharing a room with someone who watches television all day. After extensive discussion with the facility social worker and considering the options, Dad came back to his independent apartment yesterday while we figure out a plan to bring in more help.

We are fortunate that Dad has some financial resources to pay for care, which many do not. Still, there are many questions and not as many answers as I would like. I've also discovered there is a huge difference between helping families with these issues as a professional and living them as a caregiver. I try very hard to be patient and use humor when things get tough but I'm not always successful.

Keep us both in your thoughts please.

P.S. I am getting some quality knitting time in :-)

Rowan models

Rowan models his new "jacket", as he calls it. He likes the crayon buttons though they are too big for the button holes. The temps are supposed to drop to 7 overnight so the wool should keep him nice and warm.

Knitting in to the new year

The excitement of Christmas was accompanied by a lot of knitting time while watching Rowan or movies (depending on the time of day).

I finished his sweater and loved the yarn, the color and pattern. I even had enough left to make a matching hat. Unfortunately I shipped everything off today without taking a picture. I've asked my daughter-in-law to take one when it arrives so I can share it with you. If I finish my socks before returning home, I will deem this trip a knitting success.

Thanks for the encouraging words and support for my dad and I. I think it is going to be a difficult year for both of us and I foresee even more travel back and forth. I am cursing his decision not to move closer to us but understand this is his home.

Well, off for a couple of rounds of knitting and an episode of Bones before bed. Night.