Yesterday, my husband and I took my brother out for breakfast. During the summer I try to take him to a diner/greasy spoon for breakfast because it has outside seating, and I figure it's a treat for him to be able to go outside in an environment that is not the nursing home.
He ordered a bagel (he loves bagels), and I didn't make a fuss because it had been a long while since he had choked on one.
Well, he choked not once, but twice. The second time a huge piece of bagel came up. I ended up by removing the bagel from him with out too much protest.
I used to think he would probably die from pneumonia. Now I am beginning to think it will be by choking when no one is present to help him.
I have gotten to the point where I don't obsess about this kind of thing anymore. I can't be in his presence 24/7, so I (and he) have to live with it,.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
more on the hearing aid and also wedding plans
My son is getting married this weekend, so I have been a bit preoccupied. This is why the hearing aid issues are all the more aggravating. Not only is the new hearing aid not working, neither is the old one. In a panic, I called the new audiologist and pleaded with him to get the replacement hearing aid, which is supposed to sit over my brother's ear, not in his ear, expedited. It's a good thing I called, it suddenly appeared yesterday. Who knows how long it would have taken without intervention.
While waiting for the new hearing aid replacement, I took his old one in and paid $450 to send his hearing aid overnight to the factory to get the receiver replaced. I am figuring that it's important to have two working so that when one breaks down, he has another. My brother gets very isolated when he can't hear.
But he is very excited about the upcoming wedding. My son and his fiance have given him a speaking role during the service. He is supposed to give a 3 sentence blessing. I hope he knows when to stop!
Meanwhile, my son asked my brother what he wanted to be called. "just don't call me late to dinner". He is a riot sometimes.
I am hoping that the nursing home comes through and gets him shaved, showered, and late in the day so that he is clean for the ceremony. I am also hoping that the person that I hired to pick him up, deliver him to the event, and keep an eye on him, as well as drop him off at night, also comes through. There was a time when I seriously thought about not inviting him to the event because I didn't want the responsibility of having to take care of him that day. I am glad that I changed my mind.
More to come next week!
While waiting for the new hearing aid replacement, I took his old one in and paid $450 to send his hearing aid overnight to the factory to get the receiver replaced. I am figuring that it's important to have two working so that when one breaks down, he has another. My brother gets very isolated when he can't hear.
But he is very excited about the upcoming wedding. My son and his fiance have given him a speaking role during the service. He is supposed to give a 3 sentence blessing. I hope he knows when to stop!
Meanwhile, my son asked my brother what he wanted to be called. "just don't call me late to dinner". He is a riot sometimes.
I am hoping that the nursing home comes through and gets him shaved, showered, and late in the day so that he is clean for the ceremony. I am also hoping that the person that I hired to pick him up, deliver him to the event, and keep an eye on him, as well as drop him off at night, also comes through. There was a time when I seriously thought about not inviting him to the event because I didn't want the responsibility of having to take care of him that day. I am glad that I changed my mind.
More to come next week!
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