As Time Goes By...

A lot has happened since my last update. First of all Dad spent September 9th through 13th at Bruce & Bonnie's place in Redwood City. The trip got off to a rocky start when just prior to driving him over to Bruce's, Dad's upper dentures broke in-half. Bonnie made arrangements with their dentist to get them repaired and was able to get his a good discount. On their way back from the dentist, Dad was going up the stairs from their garage to the living room when he fell backwards down the stairs! They all spent most of Saturday in the Emergency Room at a local hospital and after tests, x-rays, etc., the results showed no broken bones or concussion. A few days later when he was back with us in Santa Rosa, we took him for a follow-up with his regular doctor. He still has soreness in his right shoulder and if it doesn't get better in about 2 weeks, he may need some physical therapy. Overall, he is doing fine. However, the dementia is a different story.

As time goes by we are seeing the loss of his memory progress. Today I showed him the following picture that Brenda Martinez, Uncle Joe's daughter, sent on Facebook:

I asked him if he recognized these people. He gazed at the picture for what seemed at least a minute or two. Then he said, "I think so." He added, "They are on some program..." Finally, I pointed him out in the picture and he looked at me puzzled, looked back at the picture and he said, "I don't wear ties." When I pointed out his brother Paul, sister Noemi, and brother Joe, he just looked even more puzzled and said, "Really?"

It is so very sad to lose your memory. After all, we've lived our lives building memories and experiences that we can reflect on in our old age. But when you lose those precious memories, all you have is a shell of a life that once was.

Time Flies Whether Your having Fun or Not!

So the best thing to do is to enjoy every moment of your life! It has been a little over a month since my last post and much has happened during that period.

On Friday, July 30, Dad went to spend the weekend with Bruce and family in Redwood City, which is about 85 miles south from where we live in Santa Rosa. Drive time is about 2 hours and that requires a "rest" stop in San Francisco, which about the half-way mark. When we arrived at Bruce's we all went out to dinner at Celia's Mexican Restaurant (It is one of the closest Mexican restaurants that have San Antonio style cuisine). On Sunday Bruce and Bonnie drove Dad back to Santa Rosa and they were caught in nightmare traffic so they couldn't long to visit.

Then on August 18th Joyce flew in from San Antonio to care for Dad while Shelley and I traveled to Southern California with Tabitha and her husband Kevin. This was our first real vacation break in a few years and we really appreciated the time off! Meanwhile, Joyce was able to spend quality time with Dad. She even got him on a schedule of taking a shower every other day!

Now some behind the scenes news. On July 29th, the day before we took Dad to Bruce's place, Shelley had suffered a "mild" heart attack. She is doing fine and her doctor had cleared her for travel. However, our life has changed again. We are very aware of how things can change in the wink of an eye. Now Shelley has new medications to take, a diet to watch, and having to learn to read internal signs of what her body is telling her. Like I said at the beginning, she is doing fine and I'm proud of her positive attitude she has developed (of course some credit goes to our little vacation too).

Next week on September 9th, Dad is going to spend  about 5 days with Bruce - bonding time!

Here we are on our way back home on August 24th and it is 105 in the shade!