Reenie Visit May 20-22

I had a lovely visit with Alison over Memorial Day weekend. Describing my recent trip to Europe in April, we reminisced about places we had both been to. When I mentioned that I visited Edinburgh, she broke into a perfect (and hilarious) Scottish brogue. And she was her usual frank self—commenting that Danny’s turning-white hair and moustache made him look old in photos. When he asked whether he should color his hair, Alison smirked and said yes, “Grecian Formula”.

She spent time outside in the front of the building—the weather was gorgeous. We worked on having her stay in her chair as long as possible.

We also worked on her “exercises”. She and I set a plan where she lifts her right leg 10 times, then her left leg 10 times, then her right arm, her left arm, flexes her right foot, her left foot, her right hand, her left hand, and lifts her head up off the pillow and turns to the right and left. 10 repetitions each.

The challenge will be to get her to do them on her own without prompting. I suggested that whenever she feels sad or hopeless or frustrated, doing the exercises will help her feel better, that she is actually doing something and getting stronger.

It would be helpful if someone could make some kind of sign that Alison could look at to remind her of the list of exercises.

Alison is moving noticeably better than the last time I visited. She was moving both legs and arms. She can even use her legs to lift her behind off the bed and shift around a little—something she couldn’t do previously. So she is definitely stronger.

At the moment Alison is not allowed to eat or drink anything by mouth (NPO). The speech therapist who evaluated her a few weeks ago thought Alison was not swallowing well enough. Hopefully Alison will get stronger so she can start eating again. She wants to. I asked that she be evaluated again ASAP to see if she is ready.

Administrative stuff…Alison’s application for long-term assistance (Medicaid, basically) was FINALLY approved. So she is no longer in financial limbo. The state will now pay for her care.

It doesn’t pay for physical therapy for rehabilitation, however, so I’m investigating whether I can hire someone to come in to help with that.

While I was in Baltimore, I visited a lovely facility called Encore at Turf Valley in Ellicott City, Maryland (not far from Baltimore) that has a bed available. BridgePark sent over Alison’s records and Encore is reviewing them. I will talk to the Admissions Director on Monday (she has been out of town since Alison’s records were sent). The initial report I got from the person filling in for the Director was that Alison might be rejected due to her history of yelling/screaming. But I’m hoping that won’t be the case, or at least that I can gather additional information that might help persuade them to admit her. Alison was pretty calm most of the time I was with her.

Rolina still helps out with Alison four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat) but note that her hours have changed to 10-2.

More soon…
Reenie