Welcome Home, Me
August 20th, 2017Not a South Florida Resident
Just a note to let people know I am now a resident of Marion County.
My Internet service will not be running until at least tomorrow, so blogging has been impossible. Today I had to switch cell carriers in order to get a signal, and now I am able to use my phone as a mobile hotspot. It works very well. I don’t want to go overboard, though, because if I use it too much, they’ll kill the speed until my next month starts.
You would not believe the things I have endured since I began packing for the move. My dad did a few highly inconvenient things at the worst possible moments, and it caused me a great deal of delay and vexation. Just to provide an example, he is now in the hospital because he grabbed his prescriptions and took too much of a heart medication. I told him to wait a few minutes so I could give him the correct dosages, but as soon as my back was turned, he grabbed the pills and started swallowing them. I have been to the hospital…let’s see…four times today. Guess how much time I’ve had to clean up the house and enjoy the property.
He’s fine; I should point that out. They’re just holding him until the excess medication wears off, which should be tomorrow.
Stubborn people with dementia are full of tricks. I am starting to realize that. They do things an inexperienced caregiver can’t see coming, and short of chaining them to chairs, you can’t do a whole lot to prevent it.
When I moved up here, I thought I would spend two days with the moving business and then enjoy life. Due to a whole bunch of totally unnecessary problems, I have not reached that stage yet. Tonight I may be able to sleep for more than six hours, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to enjoy more and put out other people’s fires less.
This is not the time to talk about the moving crew that left at midnight instead of 5 p.m.
Anyway, I’m cutting it short tonight. Overall, I am thrilled to be here, and the property exceeds my expectations. The people are great. The area is great. The transition is what’s not great, and it will end soon.
God’s generosity is far greater than I expected. I think I can assure you that I will have more-uplifting posts to share in the very near future.
August 21st, 2017 at 1:47 AM
Congrats, man. Very happy for you.
August 21st, 2017 at 6:48 AM
Its good to hear you’ve arrived safe. Hope your dad adjusts quickly to his new surroundings. I nearly lived with my late father his last few years. My sister and I finally got him to the point where he wouldn’t take his meds unless they came from the weekly pill box she or I filled for him. We had a spreadsheet to keep up with them because they changed so much. It says a lot about a person willing to look after older sick parents, its the toughest job I’ve ever done. I’m looking forward to some great posts from the farm!
August 21st, 2017 at 10:12 AM
Maybe the hospital stay was a respite for you to get some stuff done.
August 21st, 2017 at 11:16 AM
Welcome back to mostly America. And best of luck with Dad.
Some pharmacies will, for a fairly minimal charge. fill “Dosettes”, plastic boxes with a compartment for each day, and fill the proper meds and suppliments and etc. Some of those pharmacies even deliver. WalMart, believe it or not, was one of the first here to provide that service. You can of course do it yourself, finding someone else to do it is just a convenience.
I hope this is the beginning of a good new chapter in your life. Having dealt with relatives in various levels of mental competence I can tell you it is challenging but it is also personally rewarding.
August 23rd, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Congratulations on the new house; sorry about your dad. I have seen compartmented automatic pill dispensers that you fill and at the time you program it, it will pop open and that’s all he can take. It may be something to look into.
Hope the rest of the interval of moving is more enjoyable.
August 25th, 2017 at 10:37 PM
So glad you’re finally up there. Congratulations.