on the road

[thisnewday]

by mid-morning today, i'll be on the road to pennsylvania. over the weekend, my dad was hospitalized with one of his migraine headaches and, although he's since recovered, the social worker at his residence has used it as a pretext for barring his return to independent residency.

in some respects, her concerns are valid and shared by his family. but she's also overstated them and interpreted them in a way that has alienated other family members and caused him additional distress. back in the 'sixties (jiggle your mouse if you're sick of hearing that phrase from me), i knew a unitarian minister who used to say, "just because hitler says two and two is four doesn't mean that it isn't." and i think that's a good analogy for what we have here.

so my mission will be to calm the waters, see what we can do about getting dad into compliance so he can stay where he is for the short term, and find a solution to his long-term needs, one that he's amenable to. (we've planned, proposed, promoted other things to no avail.)

all of which means i'm gonna be away from my lj for a while and away from my grandson. i left a lightning mcqueen puzzle on the mantle for him and, when he found it this morning, i explained it was a present for him because i was going away for a while to take care of my daddy. he looked at me with those sweet blue eyes of his and said, "so why don't you take the puzzle for your daddy?"

i told him that was very thoughtful of him but that i would be seeing my daddy but missing him.

best wishes to all,

larry

Comments

[olbuksings.livejournal.com]

i'm back, finally, and i'm ok, thanks. it took over three weeks, but we found an assisted living facility he liked, moved and/or donated household goods, clothing, furniture, made the financial and other arrangements and had him pretty much settled in by the time i left for home this afternoon. i'm pretty much exhausted, but it was worth it...

OK-ness

[swamp-rose.livejournal.com]

that was the physical stuff - now comes the mental/ soul processing

Is there someone you know near the facility who will visit him and report back?

Re: OK-ness

[olbuksings.livejournal.com]

good point. an important part of the mission, it turns out, was to repair neglected or otherwise damaged family connections. which, through the generous, touching, occasionally unexpected, cooperation of others, was accomplished.

in the end, i have to say that i'm really proud of several of our cousins and step-siblings and gratified by the warmth and cooperation of the caregivers we've entrusted dad to.

for now, we'll monitor the situation and, after a few days for decompression, begin work on a backup plan--moving dad to a similar facility in cny--should the need arise.