Except for the heroin

Big day over here at the Senior Sauna.

First, we may have inadvertently found an awesome way to both segregate NCIS from the rest of the house AND make the household climate acceptable to those of us under age 81.

The weather turned warm today...in fact, downright muggy. So my daughter, who kept her dorm room at a temperature appropriate for penguins, was not happy with having the heat on. Who could blame her? So she flipped on the AC and Dad was NOT HAPPY. (I blame Mom. She spilled the beans.) So I took matters into my own hands and brought up a space heater....and....AND.......I put it in the library where the new TV is. That's right, if Dad wants to stay warm, he has to stay in the library!!!! It's a win-win for EVERYONE!! He's toasty warm in that 78 degree room and I don't have to hear NCIS.

*does victory dance*

But the big day was really all about the doctors. We took Dad to his first medical appointment here in Wisconsin. And, it was at a Memory Care Clinic. Yeah, remember yesterday when he wanted to leave? Well, that idea was pretty much slapped out of his head by a bunch of people surrounding him talking about...HIS DEMENTIA.

I'm making it sound rude. It wasn't. They were respectful and kind and treated him with dignity and when they administered a memory test, he FAILED IT WITH FLYING COLORS. Any thoughts I had that he doesn't have dementia were completely erased. I hate to say this, but THANK GOD.

Anyway, the best part was the vast network of doctors that they have to which they can offer referrals. Oh and a nurse and physical therapist are going to come to the house to evaluate him and give him therapy.

*giant sigh of relief* 

I think we have a ray of hope of managing all of this!!

But two GREAT things also came out of today. First, when we got home, Dad was EXHAUSTED (even though we used a wheelchair at the doctor's office due to a long walk through hospital hallways.) He spent most of the morning just sitting. Still, he was spent. When we got home, he headed straight for the couch and literally almost couldn't make it. I stopped him short of sitting on the arm of the couch and he LITERALLY couldn't move his feet. I took the opportunity to point out how an inability to move would make that much-wanted return home impossible. He said nothing, either because he couldn't remember asking to return home or because he knew I was right. I'm going with the latter.

The second GREAT thing was this snippet of conversation between the Physician Assistant and my Dad:

P.A.: "I'm required to ask, do you have any history of abusing drugs?"

Dad: "Nope....except for the heroin."

I'm sorry, but that is freaking HILARIOUS. The man has a dark, dark sense of humor that even shines through dementia. I love that.