On Tuesdays Dad goes to a day group. The staff are amazing. They make him feel so welcomed, relaxed and are so willing to listen to whatever Dad has to say. They're so patient.
They play games such as quoits, have party days, play with tambourines whilst dancing to music. They have a sing along with a pianist. Dad was in a choir as a boy and participates vigorously. I have often heard his voice, above the others, floating down the hallway, when I go to pick him up. In the garden there's a bird aviary, a bus stop, letter box and benches amongst the flowers.
I get a much needed 4 hours to myself.
Monday evening, both my daughters stayed over and we spent Tuesday together. It was great therapy for me filled with lots of much needed laughter.
Something that I learnt earlier this year which helped Dad to sleep through the night without getting up 3-5 times wanting breakfast, wanting to get in the shower and to get dressed. Dad would do this if he knew he had an appointment at the Drs, hospital or any outing. He would become so stressed, worrying about all the elements involved in being ready to go. Every night he would ask what was happening tomorrow. I learnt that if I said there was nothing planned he remained in bed and slept through till morning (most nights). At first it seemed a high price to pay, to never have anything to look forward to, but during some of those night time awakenings, Dad could get quite aggressive when I suggested he go back to bed. This approach has worked, stopping Dad from stressing and eating breakfast at 2.00 am. There are still the occassional night time awakenings, screamimg out and getting up, where he is afraid because he doesn't know where he is. Seeing that fear is definately the hardest thing for me to cope with. Luckily, so far I have been able to break Dad out of his fearful state and calm him down. So things, overall, remain relatively optimistic with Dad still having some terrific days.
No comments:
Post a Comment