I made it home almost a week ago from a reasonably successful trip helping my almost ninety year-old father come home from a rehab facility.
After I wrote my last post things got busy quickly. Dad came home on 24 October. The first day or so was practical care: Dad was getting used to living at home rather than having all the help he'd had in the rehab facility. I was chief dish-and-bottle-washer (as my mother would have said), and spotted him as he got used to using his walker for daily tasks.
Things got better fast. By Sunday, 26 October, he was up making his own breakfast (oatmeal and raisins, which he eats 365 days a year) with just a little help from me. Because he was discharged as housebound, he qualifies for Medicare-covered in-home services from a registered nurse, a physical therapist, and an occupational therapist. The first RN visit happened while I was there. I was extremely impressed with this firm and their staff: they were incredibly supportive and caring - and focused on getting him back in his usual game.
I fixed and froze almost two weeks of dinners before I left on the 28th. My goal was to relieve my sister Jill from needing to cook every day for him. I took off and Jill stepped in to continue the practical care.
He's now able to fix all his food, and his occupational therapist has fired him because he's already doing everything he needs to do at home. I'll head back down shortly after the first of the year.
