he's a new man!

My husband met me at the nursing home (it's Wednesday) and we took my brother out.  We had dinner, he had already eaten, so we bought him a coffee.

Today, I also arranged for him to get his own phone.  I was so surprised when he told me he had already used it to call his case manager.  He hasn't done that for about 3-4 years!  He proudly told us that they had poker games on Tuesday and that he was going to play.  He plans on listening to the musical acts that are brought in on Sundays.  We made arrangements for me to leave him cash so he could buy food at the cafe they have in the home.

This new place is run much more like assisted living with nursing care.  He has free run of the building, he can go outside to sit whenever he wants, they don't seem to care.  He says the nursing staff is pretty good.

The only problem I have seen so far is that they are not shaving him and he obviously hasn't had a shower in a while.  I plan to call tomorrow to discuss that.  It might have to do with the Jewish holidays and that they have been short staffed because of that, I'm not sure.  (It's interesting though, he says only two patients fasted  I think the patients are too unhealthy to fast, it would be dangerous.)  My brother says that there are not many activities because of the holidays.  I told him that there are a lot of them in September and October, and then the schedule thins out!!

My life is much better.  Even with taking him out, I got home faster than I would have going to visit him at the old home.