Monday I interviewed two potential care-givers for dad. He sat in on the interview and listened, mostly. I asked questions for about an hour. I currently work as the recruiter for the software company where I work, so interviewing is something I have some experience with. I prefer the behavioral questions. Some I asked Monday were, Why do you prefer in-home care over a nursing facility? Tell me about a time you had to deal with an emergency. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with another person. Tell me about a time someone was not happy with your work (warranted or unwarranted); how did you handle that? And on and on they went. They both like to cook and bake. :) Dad just wants a hamburger patty and macaroni & cheese. One asked him, "Velveeta or Kraft?" He answered, "Kraft." I suspect it will be one of the first meals he has when he gets home.
These people have both done in-home care for years, and I will be able to visit with family members (references) of those they cared for. (On my to-do list.)
There are also individuals interested in helping with this, but I don't think I can handle the schedule. I need someone else to handle sick days and rescheduling and substitutes. I will visit with those interested, just to make sure I investigate all options.
I also phoned the Bank of Mansfield to set up any receiving of donations.
And, tonight, I am working on a project that's due tomorrow for a class I'm taking right now. I'm under the gun and paragraphs are not forming yet -- shoot! Sections aren't forming yet. :)
Thank you for reading -- and for your support and prayers for dad.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday 10-24-10
Today the soldiers showed up at 9:30 am. It did not rain on Saturday or on Sunday like the forecast promised. They didn't stay as long today because they really needed to see family some this weekend.
I didn't stay long today either; Alan was there with them, working around dad's pond, cleaning brush. Yesterday he needed some fence fixed and mentioned it to one of dad's friends who had just stopped by. The friend stayed to help. The fence got fixed.
Today was Malerie's 10th birthday. Mother brought her and Allison to Springfield and we had Malerie's party at Incredible Pizza. I know Malerie was worried that her birthday might not be all she had hoped with all of the work going on, but she told me tonight it was a great birthday. :)
Everyone has been so generous. This weekend, the new door got installed to the bedroom, the electrical is figured out in the bathroom, the hill has been leveled some, and they dug out around the retaining wall that needs to be fixed (with just shovels and hard work).
I have phone calls to make, materials to purchase, equipment (handicapped) for the home that I need to check on, and etc. before next weekend, when we will do this all again. Interviews for caregivers begin tomorrow (during my lunch hour). We will work through an organization for this need.
I didn't stay long today either; Alan was there with them, working around dad's pond, cleaning brush. Yesterday he needed some fence fixed and mentioned it to one of dad's friends who had just stopped by. The friend stayed to help. The fence got fixed.
Today was Malerie's 10th birthday. Mother brought her and Allison to Springfield and we had Malerie's party at Incredible Pizza. I know Malerie was worried that her birthday might not be all she had hoped with all of the work going on, but she told me tonight it was a great birthday. :)
Everyone has been so generous. This weekend, the new door got installed to the bedroom, the electrical is figured out in the bathroom, the hill has been leveled some, and they dug out around the retaining wall that needs to be fixed (with just shovels and hard work).
I have phone calls to make, materials to purchase, equipment (handicapped) for the home that I need to check on, and etc. before next weekend, when we will do this all again. Interviews for caregivers begin tomorrow (during my lunch hour). We will work through an organization for this need.
Despite what was reported on the news, this is not a one-weekend project. I will keep you posted, and I will try to upload pictures as we go.
Soldiers Begin Work
The soldiers arrived at dad's at 7:30 am. They brought a lot of food with them. A grocery store in Richland, Evan's Grocery story or Evan's Market (I'm not sure) donated food for the volunteers to eat while they were working on Saturday. They sent hot dogs and brats and hamburgers with buns and chips and potato salad. After they were busy working, and I had made the coffee, I was going to go into town to get donuts for everyone. I learned that Evan's had also sent donuts. Weldon Evans is the owner. Thank you, Mr. Evans.
Also, someone who knew about the renovation heard me say in a conversation we needed a skid loader. She just happened to know the person who owns Wildcat Rental in Rogersville, so she gave him a call. He agreed to LOAN (not rent) the skid loader for Saturday and Sunday. There were about 18 soldiers who came to help. A couple of them brought friends, but the rest of them were away from their families on their days off. Thank you for your help, Wildcat Rental! Someone donated the use of their truck to pull the skid loader, and a motorcycle group that I do not know the name of yet donated cash.
Even before they knew of this, Se-Ma-No Golf Tournament donated money to help with his care. Thank you for coordinating that, Steve Anderson.
I was NOT aware that this was going be publicized, but the PR Sergeant from Ft. Wood showed up to be there for when the media showed up. She told me that KY3 from Springfield was on their way. They interviewed me, Sgt. Feick, and another soldier.
To watch that newsclip: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-story-homemakover-102310,0,1501414.story
The soldiers are volunteering their time, labor, and expertise, but dad is paying for the matierals. If we can get the project fully funded, we will be able to have that money to keep him home longer. If you would like to make a donation, please send it in dad's name (Wright Bogart) to The Bank of Mansfield, Mansfield,MO 65704.
Thank you so much!
Also, someone who knew about the renovation heard me say in a conversation we needed a skid loader. She just happened to know the person who owns Wildcat Rental in Rogersville, so she gave him a call. He agreed to LOAN (not rent) the skid loader for Saturday and Sunday. There were about 18 soldiers who came to help. A couple of them brought friends, but the rest of them were away from their families on their days off. Thank you for your help, Wildcat Rental! Someone donated the use of their truck to pull the skid loader, and a motorcycle group that I do not know the name of yet donated cash.
Even before they knew of this, Se-Ma-No Golf Tournament donated money to help with his care. Thank you for coordinating that, Steve Anderson.
I was NOT aware that this was going be publicized, but the PR Sergeant from Ft. Wood showed up to be there for when the media showed up. She told me that KY3 from Springfield was on their way. They interviewed me, Sgt. Feick, and another soldier.
To watch that newsclip: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-story-homemakover-102310,0,1501414.story
The soldiers are volunteering their time, labor, and expertise, but dad is paying for the matierals. If we can get the project fully funded, we will be able to have that money to keep him home longer. If you would like to make a donation, please send it in dad's name (Wright Bogart) to The Bank of Mansfield, Mansfield,MO 65704.
Thank you so much!
Deconstruction Begins
Renovations began this past Friday. Three soldiers came from Ft. Wood to begin the project. There was a lot of deconstruction that had to happen before the rebuilding could begin. The soldier in charge of the construction worked in construction for eleven years before joining the Army. He isn't simply there to volunteer his labor, but his expertise as well.
They planned to be back on Saturday morning at 7:30 am.
They planned to be back on Saturday morning at 7:30 am.
The Soldiers, The Project
When I sent out that e-mail to all of dad's friends, one person came back with a suggestion. He thought he had heard that the soldiers at Ft. Leonard Wood near Waynesville would do a home renovation for a disabled veteran. Byron called a contact there and made initial introductions, and I called later. We talked about what renovations might be done to the house, when dad served in the Army, and what next steps might be.
From there, it was about 2 months later before anyone came to the house to assess the situation to see if they could even help. They were very positive from the beginning. They took a lot of pictures, measurements, and notes.
Much planning went into the project. Sergeant Feick is the person who finally took ownership of the project to make it happen. He created a detailed materials list complete with prices. He is very conscious about costs and has been very careful about spending.
The soldiers will gut the bathroom and make it handicapped accessible. They will also put a different door to his bedroom so his wheelchair can fit through it. We also need to replace carpeting to make it a low pile so dad's wheelchair can maneuver throughe the house. They also level off a hill and put in ramps for him to be abel to get to the front door. One project they also agreed to has nothing to do with the accessibility of the house, but the retaining wall is leaning and is attached to the deck. It is pulling the deck away from the house and causing damage. They will fix that as well.
From there, it was about 2 months later before anyone came to the house to assess the situation to see if they could even help. They were very positive from the beginning. They took a lot of pictures, measurements, and notes.
Much planning went into the project. Sergeant Feick is the person who finally took ownership of the project to make it happen. He created a detailed materials list complete with prices. He is very conscious about costs and has been very careful about spending.
The soldiers will gut the bathroom and make it handicapped accessible. They will also put a different door to his bedroom so his wheelchair can fit through it. We also need to replace carpeting to make it a low pile so dad's wheelchair can maneuver throughe the house. They also level off a hill and put in ramps for him to be abel to get to the front door. One project they also agreed to has nothing to do with the accessibility of the house, but the retaining wall is leaning and is attached to the deck. It is pulling the deck away from the house and causing damage. They will fix that as well.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Beginning
At the age of 66, dad had a major hemorrhagic stroke. He lived alone in a small house in the woods, and led a private life, for the most part. When he had his stroke, no one knew he needed help for about 36 hours. Some employees from Se-Ma-No and other friends there to help literally broke a window out in his home to get to him and then called the ambulance. He spent all of December 2009 in St. John's Hospital.
The damage done to his body is severe, but that is not true of his brain. Even while he was in the ICU for 7 days, he was putting names with dates and remembering stories. He can talk; he can feed himself; he was able to swallow again after about three weeks, and they took out the feeding tube. He can feed himself. He cannot use his left arm or hand, and he cannot walk on his own or for very many steps at once; he lost his sense of balance so someone has to be with him all the time.
When it was time for him to be discharged from the hospital, he could not go home. He needed 24/7 care, so he was taken to Parkview in Bolivar, MO. There, he was in, what they call, a Medicare bed to receive therapy and to get well enough to go home. After the allotted 90 days, he still was not well enough to go home. He was moved to the long-term care wing, and he sobbed for three weeks. It was devastating.
Of course, who would plan this for their life? No one. To add to the sadness, is the fact that he was a very healthy man. He was active, walked 3 miles every day he could, made sure he ate well, and he drank the "right" amount of water. He controlled his cholesterol with his diet, didn't smoke, took vitamins, and saw his physician when we was supposed to. He did have atrial fibrillation, but the stroke was a bleed in the brain, not a clot like AFib might cause. Nothing made sense.
He was getting ready to retire and he wanted to golf every day he could and do some traveling. Instead, he sat in a wheelchair, waiting for someone to take him to the dining room for meals, waiting for someone to help him in the bathroom.
The facility he is in is nice; the workers are caring, many of them there because they love their job and the people they work with every day. However, dad is miserable. He is so profoundly depressed and sad. While I was sitting with him on Father's Day this year, he asked me... "So, are we on a contract here or do we pay by the month?"
I replied: "I pay each month." He mumbled under his breath, "Okay, one more month."
I said: "What do you mean?" He looked at me and said, "I want to go home." I asked him, "how do you think we can do that?" He had some ideas: "Well, I don't know, but there are people who do that kind of thing, who live with people and take care of them. I can't do this much longer. It's getting bad."
I told him I would make some phone calls and see what I could learn. First I sent an e-mail out to dad's friends who I know best. Many of them I met during his stay in the hospital.
When I sent the e-mail out to Dad's friends, one of those people asked me if she could forward it on to others. I told her that was perfectly fine with me... so she did. And the response was absolutely amazing! I got e-mails from all over southwest Missouri from people I had never heard of. Sharing ideas, offering help, telling me about things to consider. It was Amazing!
The damage done to his body is severe, but that is not true of his brain. Even while he was in the ICU for 7 days, he was putting names with dates and remembering stories. He can talk; he can feed himself; he was able to swallow again after about three weeks, and they took out the feeding tube. He can feed himself. He cannot use his left arm or hand, and he cannot walk on his own or for very many steps at once; he lost his sense of balance so someone has to be with him all the time.
When it was time for him to be discharged from the hospital, he could not go home. He needed 24/7 care, so he was taken to Parkview in Bolivar, MO. There, he was in, what they call, a Medicare bed to receive therapy and to get well enough to go home. After the allotted 90 days, he still was not well enough to go home. He was moved to the long-term care wing, and he sobbed for three weeks. It was devastating.
Of course, who would plan this for their life? No one. To add to the sadness, is the fact that he was a very healthy man. He was active, walked 3 miles every day he could, made sure he ate well, and he drank the "right" amount of water. He controlled his cholesterol with his diet, didn't smoke, took vitamins, and saw his physician when we was supposed to. He did have atrial fibrillation, but the stroke was a bleed in the brain, not a clot like AFib might cause. Nothing made sense.
He was getting ready to retire and he wanted to golf every day he could and do some traveling. Instead, he sat in a wheelchair, waiting for someone to take him to the dining room for meals, waiting for someone to help him in the bathroom.
The facility he is in is nice; the workers are caring, many of them there because they love their job and the people they work with every day. However, dad is miserable. He is so profoundly depressed and sad. While I was sitting with him on Father's Day this year, he asked me... "So, are we on a contract here or do we pay by the month?"
I replied: "I pay each month." He mumbled under his breath, "Okay, one more month."
I said: "What do you mean?" He looked at me and said, "I want to go home." I asked him, "how do you think we can do that?" He had some ideas: "Well, I don't know, but there are people who do that kind of thing, who live with people and take care of them. I can't do this much longer. It's getting bad."
I told him I would make some phone calls and see what I could learn. First I sent an e-mail out to dad's friends who I know best. Many of them I met during his stay in the hospital.
When I sent the e-mail out to Dad's friends, one of those people asked me if she could forward it on to others. I told her that was perfectly fine with me... so she did. And the response was absolutely amazing! I got e-mails from all over southwest Missouri from people I had never heard of. Sharing ideas, offering help, telling me about things to consider. It was Amazing!
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