Friday night

It's Diane. When I started typing the title of this post, I put "Saturday." My goodness, my days have been so off this week!

I just got back from a few hours at the hospital with Dad. How did I get the job of being the first one to leave him for a night alone? Sheesh! The nurses might have thought I was just a tiny bit overprotective, with all my questions and instructions before I left. They reassured me that they would take good care of him, and I believe them. Sunghee is his night nurse again, and she is every bit as wonderful as Sharon said. And Alan, the CNA, gave me the direct phone number to the nurses' station and said we could call anytime.

Anyway, this post will not be very informative. Ryan really needs to write a post about Dad's physical therapy and speech therapy this afternoon. It sounds like Dad worked hard and did great, but I'll let Ryan fill in the details (hint, hint).

I got to the hospital right after Dad finished dinner, a "real" dinner of lasagna, along with various mashed/pureed side dishes. Apparently they upgraded his diet level after his swallowing evaluation this afternoon. I saw what was left over on his tray, and the lasagna actually looked good enough to eat. Now that's progress! At this rate, I expect that his dessert tomorrow will be something like peanut brittle. ;)

We had a quiet evening. I wasn't able to understand a lot of what he said, but I figured out a lot of what he wanted -- the blinds closed, a drink of juice, the blanket, to sit up, the pillow under his arm, etc. We watched a little basketball and Dad rested some before waking up for the bedtime routine..... Regular checks, medications, and a luxurious mouth and teeth cleaning from Sunghee. He got a phone call from Susan and Regan, which brought a big smile to his face. Right before I left, I read him all the new posts and messages from Facebook. He loves those. Please keep them coming!

When I told Dad I was getting ready to leave, I asked if he needed anything. He said no. I asked if he needed me to stay. He said, "Uh, no!" I laughed and said his daughters must think he needs a babysitter even if he doesn't. I gave him a hug and kiss, and he kissed my ear/cheek. I have to admit, I got a little teary as I walked down the hall.

That's all for now. Alison will be going first thing in the morning, so we'll likely hear from her next.