past the holiday blues

My husband has been more active in helping out with my brother lately, which has been very helpful.  He visited with him on Wednesday without me, and I was happy about that because the weather was pretty cold and it's hard to go at night, you just want to come home.

Today on Saturday, he went with me for breakfast.  We had an ok time, my brother was in a good mood, despite the fact we were 20 minutes late because it had snowed and we had to shovel snow at our house.  II did call to let him know, and it sounds like the staff must have told him this time around.  I think getting past the holidays really helps.

I was kind of startled when he started talking about the 9 patients who died at the nursing home between June and September of this year.  I didn't realize it was so many.  It mus be very difficult to live in those circumstances.  He told me that he was beginning to put on weight.  I am going to have to call the nurse practitioner on Monday and remind him to keep an eye on my brother's fluid retention.  I asked my brother to do the same, but you can't assume it's going to get done.

This weekend the weather is supposed to get so cold they are talking about closing the Federal building where I work.  Meanwhile, the staff is going to have to travel to get to their jobs in this weather or sleep over.  It's times like these that you really appreciate them.

At the restaurant there was a slight built in ramp going over the curb into the parking lot that was a little icy, and if my husband and I hadn't been right there to catch my brother he would have slipped and fallen.

But he didn't, and all was well.

back from vacation

I just came back from a 9 day vacation in California.  I went with my husband and daughter, and we visited my son, his fiance, as well as a bunch of friends from our college days.  It was relaxing and fun.  It was very good to get away from my brother for a while, to not have any responsibilities.  I called him once when we were gone and he was fine.

This is a lot different from when he was at the other nursing homes, when I always worried that he could get a cold, start vomiting, and die from bad medical care, which has almost happened several times.  It is such a relief to be able to go away for a few days and not feel guilty about it.

My brother was in good spirits when my husband and I went to visit him last Sunday.  We took him out for an afternoon snack and coffee.  I think his mood is better because the holidays are over.

We discussed a bit what happened at the nursing home when the weather got bad.  It got down to about 20-25 degrees below zero with a wind chill of about 40 when we were out of town.  I asked him if the nursing home was short staffed during this period and he said that most of the staff showed up, that only a few actually slept over to avoid the danger of commuting.  All three of us expressed appreciation for these folks.  Many of the staff are low income, but dedicated to the clients, and I think it's very important not to take that for granted.  I always make a point of thanking any staff that I see in the elevator, etc., for working at the nursing home and taking care of those who can't take care of themselves.  These are very difficult jobs and it is a shame and even unfair that the wages are usually so low.