The Rosewood Experience

I met with Tom, Mary, Bill, Debbie, and Dad at 11am for a tour of Rosewood Retirement home.  They had two apartments available and we looked at them both, then enjoyed lunch in the dining room.  Vannesa the Marketing Director is very competent.  Dad seemed a bit down, but the place is really nice.  There are a lot of activities and the people who live there control their own space and take part in meal planning, activity planning, and are generally a cheerful lot.  I think once Dad has a chance to experience it, he will do well. 

Rosewood is almost at capacity and so things may seem to be moving fast for him.  Personally, I think the approach Tom and Bill took with him is very good.  They are emphasing:

• That this is a rehabilation option that is NOT the hospital. 
• He will get to have his own place and yet be assisted. 
• This is a temporary arrangement. He can stay if he likes it or he can move back home when he gets stronger.

No decision was actually made.  He was going to speak to Bill about the financial arrangements and see if Rosewood can perform the medical tasks we need to have done.

From the Dr. Nguyen visit earlier today comes news that Hedari and Nguyen believe the fluid in Dad's abcomen IS becoming a problem and he will have it removed probably this week.  Bill says his breathing is being affected and Nguyen feels it's because the fluid is preventing his diaphragm from fully inflating his lungs.  Dad's red blood cells are increasing and we're hopeful this will help with his energy level.

Dad's pain is subsiding.  Bill told me today that he was trying Dad on just Tylenol, no codeine.  His bowels are behaving better, too.  We'll see how this works.

I am a little concerned with Dad's kidney function and Bill will make sure this is addressed by Hedari on Thursday.  His creatinine level is up to 2.9 which is fairly high.

It's great having Bill and Debbie managing everything.  There is a lot of information coming from a lot of directions and they do a great job of collating, passing it along, or finding descrepancies.  They are also great at giving us (Tom and I) stuff to do as well and I hope we're able to take a little of the load for them.  I can't say it enough - Thanks. I'm not sure where Dad would be if you weren't here.

John