More sleep!

Happy Monday from Nicole. Again I didn't get any entries in the blog, sorry about that!
Friday afternoon dad had some other visitors, a high school classmate and his wife dropped by, Roger and Paulette Erwin. Hopefully I spelled their names correctly, sorry if I did not! Danna stayed the night and was in charge of getting up with dad through the night and she said he was only up twice. Which was another good night of sleep! Mom did make it down to her chiropractor appointment and to get groceries and such in Shenandoah and saw Aunt Kathy while she was there. Mom enjoyed the afternoon, did some stuff outside and dad watched the Senior Bowl and some basketball on TV. All and all not a bad day.

Saturday night dad slept well again. Mom was shocked. He got up a bit late and had breakfast late and then went back to sleep. Mom decided to start shredding and going through the stuff on the desk. Dad was still sleeping when I got there about noon. Mom and I worked on organizing all the bills and statements for Aunt Dorothy and getting rid of extra papers around, waiting for dad to wake up a bit. We had lunch about one... and just when we were finishing up, Uncle Cliff and Aunt Brenda came to visit. We watched basketball and talked about lots of things. Mike is going to Scholar Day at Central College in Pella next week and I was trying to remember what went on when I was there, but that was a while ago and my memory fails me! But that was fun thinking back to 1991! : ) The only thing I remember was that one of the professors asked a current event question that I did not know the answer to, and that I visited with the basketball and volleyball coaches. Not very helpful. I am sure they have changed things up a bit since then, and I am confident that Mike will do wonderfully!

Today on my call I couldn't believe what mom said, dad slept through the night! He didn't wake up once and try to sit up! Today the new nurse was coming and the social worker, Virginia. So mom got dad all cleaned up for their visit, shaved his whiskers, and washed his hair too! Hopefully that went well. Mom also said that dad was pretty with it today, he asked if she was leaving this afternoon. She said yes, and then he asked who was coming to stay with him. So she told him, Cliff was coming and then Barb and Leonard Wilkens. He also asked about us kids. That was refreshing and he remembers talking to Andy on the phone last night! : ) { Both of Andy's kids are sick, so hope they are feeling better today! : ) }
That is about all that is new. Thanks for checking on dad!

Nic

Sleep!

Happy Friday! Nic again here, mom said that dad slept pretty well last night. He only woke up two times and went right back to sleep. She said when he woke up at 2 or 2:30 he asked if he had to go to work in the morning, she told him yes, and that he better get some sleep. It worked, or he just was calm enough to sleep most of the night! So mom was up and about this morning cleaning away. She had coffee earlier and was getting ready to make some more to enjoy it today! That is of course after she goes out to feed the birds and put the new insulator around the bird bath. Last night mom and I made an insulator for the north side of the bird bath. In an attempt to keep it from getting so cold, out of Styrofoam from the packing around the dresser. Amazing what you can do with some Styrofoam and duct tape!

Today at noon we, are having a conference call with the insurance case manager, Donna, to make sure we all understand hospice care. We all kind of have different ideas about hospice, so she is going to make sure we all get it today. Then we won't all be telling mom things to ask about. Makes sense. Danna is going to head down to Randolph for the call, Andy set up a bridge for us to call, Kirk and I are going to call in from here in Omaha, and Donna the case manager, is calling from Des Moines. Barb the nurse is also going to make her visit around the call.
Danna is going to stay this afternoon, then Stan and Shirley Schaaf are coming for the later visit today. Danna is then going to get the proofs from Mark Jewell of the pictures we had taken before her wedding reception in November. She is going to stay tonight because she has a haircut in the morning in Glenwood, also to make sure mom gets some sleep. : ) Mom has a few tasks for the night, but they should have a relaxing night.

Last night, I did go home to visit and got there just before Sandra Gregory brought over ham balls. We enjoyed them for supper and then put some in the freezer for later. Thanks, they were very good! I think Danna and mom are going to have them tonight as well : )
Dad knew who I was when I first got there, but he was slightly confused right before I left. I attribute that to being tired... He knew I was Nicole, just not sure on my last name... Not much else to report. The nurse was there yesterday to fill in, so she gave dad a bath and got him all cleaned up. He looked pretty good and sat up for a while after he ate his dinner. He must of got tired of watching the Apprentice, because that is when he wanted to rest again. Too bad Donald, he wasn't interested who got fired! Mom was working on some stuff for school and we did get the thing for the bird bath done, but that was about it. We just chatted and watched tv.
I think that is about it, hope you all have a great Friday and hopefully I will get a post done tomorrow and Sunday too! Thanks for checking on Dad...

Nic

1-27-05 message

Greetings from Nicole. Well, two long nights for mom and dad the last couple days. Dad is pretty confused, so he doesn't think it is time to sleep and keeps getting up. Of course mom gets up too. Sits with him and tries to convince him to sleep and to make sure he doesn't try to get out of bed.

Yesterday mom did get her errands done and stopped at the grocery store. Uncle Cliff stayed until about 2 PM. Today a new visitor from Tabor, Colleen Alley is coming for the 1st part of the afternoon, and Desi with hospice is still sick, so Barb the nurse is coming. Dad was sleeping when I called and mom hoped that today would go ok for someone new. I am going to go down after work today to visit, so will have more stories tomorrow.

I did talk to dad twice on the phone last night. The 1st was on my way home from work and mom handed him the phone and said "say hi to Nic" and he said, "hi ya Nicker" which made me happy and he talked to me a little while later when I called too. There is just something about night that he gets more confused and makes him not want to sleep....

Hope you all have a good day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

1-26-05 message

Good Afternoon! Nic again here. Well, I didn't get to talk to mom yet this morning, Uncle Cliff came down so she could run some errands, because they don't have school this afternoon. I ported my cell phone and in still in the process of it, so my communications have been halted thus far today.

Yesterday afternoon, Randall Smith stopped by for a visit. Randall was the person who initially hired dad at the bank during the winter months. He did enjoy those months and then eventually became a full time part of the Randolph State Bank. Dad did love his job at the bank. He enjoyed helping the farmers so much. Not only did he get to work with the farmers, use his math skills, but he also got to golf again! At Thanksgiving mom got out some old tapes of all of us and one was them on their honeymoon. They went to a coaches clinic of some sort and went golfing as well. Mom taped it over to vhs from her old film a few years ago. The tape was before she golfed, so she manned the camera. Little did she know that would be her spot for years to come. I think there were tapes of every event we were in once she got her new camera in 1986 or 1987. Everyone used to tease me in high school about it, but they sure enjoyed watching the collaboration tape she made for our 10 year reunion! Sorry, got a bit off the subject there....

Yesterday afternoon, Desi from hospice was sick, so Barb the nurse came instead. She was there until about 4 o'clock. That was after Mark and Benita Fichter left.
Last night Danna and Kevin did bring the new dresser down. Mom was pleased to get it home and decided that it looked pretty good in its new home. They also got dad up in the wheelchair and kept him up watching tv, in hopes that he would sleep a bit more overnight. I will let you know if it worked. They had a pretty good night.

That is about all the news on this end.

Hope you are all having a good day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

1-25-05 message

Good Morning everyone. Nicole here with another installment. I forgot to mention yesterday that Aunt Kathy called yesterday morning and that Barb Wilkens came with Leonard yesterday afternoon. Sometime I will not have to add on to my previous days blogs, but oh well. It still gets posted.

Yesterday afternoon, mom also mentioned that Ed Thompson from the bank also came out to visit. Mom had also ordered some Mary Kay from Lois and she brought that over as well. Mom confirmed that she did indeed drink her coffee on the porch and was looking forward to doing that again today!

Last night dad had his afternoon shake, but lost his dinner. He was chilling and mom has determined that is usually a sign that his may not keep down the meal. But he was feeling a bit better before he went to bed, but mom said it was a long night. Dad was up a lot last night. He was chasing cows. He would rest for about 45 minutes to an hour and then be up again. So they were both pretty tired this morning. Mom did say that he had breakfast and gotten him cleaned up and shaved. He was napping again, but expecting him up anytime.

This afternoon Mark and Benita Fichter and Desi from hospice are the visitors. Hopefully dad will get some sleep and not be up so much throughout the day. He needs his rest. Danna and Kevin are also planning a visit tonight after work. They are going to pick up the dresser and take that down to the house. I think that Chad, Kevin's brother is going to go as well, to help carry it in and up the stairs! : )

One last thing, mom's owls are back. She heard them yesterday morning when she was burning the trash. There are two of them this year. She saw one of them this morning and hopes to get some good pictures with her new binoculars.

Hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy this nice weather we are having. Have a wonderful day and thanks for checking in on dad.

Nic

1-24-05 message

Hello again! Happy Monday, daughter Nicole again, 1st one change from the Friday blog. Stan and Shirley Schaaf did not end up coming out on Friday afternoon, because Danna decided to stay all afternoon. Also Andy & Jennifer drove up from KC to stay with mom & dad Friday night & left on Saturday afternoon. He may also have a blog from his time at home.

Saturday Mom and Jennifer drove up to Omaha to Nebraska Furniture Mart, I met them there. Mom has been wanting to get a new dresser. She gave me an old oak dresser, that the drawers are hard to pull out in October. So she was trying to replace it. Mom was able to find a new dresser, it was not in, so Kevin and Danna will get the joy of bringing that down to Randolph. : ) We are very happy Kevin has a truck. While the girls were shopping, Andy stayed home with dad. Since dad was tired, he was a bit "out of reality" as we call it, he was not quite in 2005. Dad did not sleep well on Friday night, so mom took a nap in the afternoon as well. Since it was so cold and windy, she decided not to go to the Corner Conference Tournament game, but the FM boys did get 3rd, I think... So I stayed in Omaha Saturday night, too, instead of staying with dad while she went to the game.

Yesterday I ventured down with a few things mom needed for school and lunch. Dad slept pretty well on Saturday night, so that was good. They were both feeling a bit more refreshed. Mom had been busy, she had washed dad's hair and shaved him. So he was looking quite nice! : ) After we ate lunch mom went over to Tabor to get groceries for school and then she made some notes for Mrs. Wood, her sub for the mornings. Just before she got home, we had a visitor, Julius Schaaf. We had a nice chat with him and learned a lot about things they are making with corn. Julius is on a national grain board and is traveling a lot, so we were eager to hear about his adventures. I didn't write down which board, sorry... but it was nice to have another visitor! : )
I also talked to mom a few minutes this morning. They again had a pretty good night. She was expecting a busy morning. The Apria people were coming to install dad's cpap on the oxygen machine and the nurse Barb was coming. We also learned on Friday that Barb is not going to be dad's nurse much longer. She is going to start working in a hospital again, too much traveling in the winter for her. I am not sure when the new nurse will be coming, but I am sure Barb will help in the transition. This afternoon Dave Aistrope and Leonard Wilkens are the afternoon visitors while mom heads to school.

Mom was looking forward enjoying a bit of the nice weather we are having, if she had time, she probably drank her coffee on the front porch!

Thanks again for checking in, I did intend to put new blogs in all weekend, but Andy and Jennifer's trip to Randolph changed that. But we were very happy to see them and that they had a safe trip!
Nic

1-21-05 message

Daughter Nicole here again to keep you update on what is going on in Randolph, Iowa. Yesterday afternoon there was another visitor, Pastor Jack from the church in town stopped out. When I was driving home from work, I called mom back again, using my hands free on the phone, and we talked about the day. Wednesday when Bill and Alena Fichter came over, they brought an angel food cake. Mom said dad drank his shake (ice cream and carnation instant breakfast, to get some calories in him) and had some angel food cake. We also enjoyed the sunset last night... it was very pretty. Then mom got ready to head to the basketball game at Tabor. Glen and Sandy Howard came over to the house while mom went to the game. Mom said it was nice to see a game, but FM lost.

Today I called home about noon. Danna came down this morning, since mom had a hair cut in Glenwood. Danna brought her a Starbucks, so she was happy on her way to get pampered. She said she called her sister Bev, using her hands free set for her cell phone, they talked until she was in Glenwood and had to go. She said dad slept pretty well last night. He woke up around 1am, again at 5am, and then he was up at 7am. She said they talked for about half an hour and then he rested for another 40 minutes and then it was time for breakfast. Danna is staying till 2:30 this afternoon and then Stan and Shirley Schaaf are coming till mom gets home from school. Since it is Friday, Barb the hospice nurse was also there this morning. She usually works dad over pretty good, so he will sleep good this afternoon. His pressure sore is continuing to improve, that is good news, but still requires him to not lay directly on his back. So far it has been an ok day. I will write again tomorrow with information from the rest of the day and any visitors that may drop in tomorrow.

Again, thanks for taking time to check in.
Nic

Update from Nicole

Daughter Nicole again here, I will attempt to keep this updated on a more regular basis. It had not occurred to me when I call home to see how things are going, I could take notes. From them I could create a daily blog for all those people who are curious. Sorry for being selfish with the info... Enjoy the post...
Also, I must note I did have an error in my previous blog, we visited on Friday, January the 7th. Sorry.
As I mentioned on my last post mom started back to school in the afternoons, so there are daily visitors to stay with dad and we wanted to recognize them and again show our appreciation. To keep this from being a huge blog I will simply put the days, plus the visitors. Last week Kathleen Vanatta sent some yummy pumpkin bars, and Benita Fichter made a yummy chocolate pie.

January 10 - Marv and Ed from the Bank
Dave Aistrope
also the hospice nurse Barb and the social worker, who's name is escaping me.. sorry

January 11- Mark and Benita Fichter
Desi from hospice

January 12- Cliff Scott (dad's brother)
Barb the hospice nurse

January 13- Me... Nicole Larsen
Benita Fichter brought some banana pudding
Dave Aistrope brought two salads that Lois made

January 14- Paul Barker
Stan and Shirley Schaaf

January 15- Danna & Kevin Hamele
Another visitor that I did not have written down was Gordon Scott (dad's cousin) did visit... I think on Saturday, but I am sorry Gordon... I will make sure to write it down next time...

January 16- I visited again... Mom was excited about the 50 pounds of bird seed that Kevin and Danna brought the day before... more food means more birds to watch! I convinced her to run to Shen. She wanted to get some stuff to reorganize the shelf over the washer and drier while she was off school Monday. I did a few tasks and made some chocolate chip cookies for them to munch on all week...
Cliff and Brenda Scott visited in the afternoon as well

January 17- mom did not have school so she was home with dad
Barb the hospice nurse visited
Susan Costello brought some medicine for dad that she picked up in Shen

January 18 - Mark and Benita Fichter
Desi from hospice
Danna came down after work and brought supper for her and mom

January 19 - Cliff Scott
Bill and Alena Fichter
Barb the hospice nurse also visited in the morning

Larry Giesmann dropped by in the afternoon.
That brings us up to date... hope I did not forget anyone

January 20 - Paul Barker
Desi from hospice
I talked to mom this morning and dad was having a good morning. He doesn't always remember what he has, but he usually knows he is sick, just doesn't remember when and why... Dad woke up around 8 this morning, so dad was just getting up again from his nap. Mom had been busy, she got all the wreaths down and the stuffed Santa off the porch. Plus she fed the birds, she told me there were 12 finches eating while we were on the phone...

Last week I also emailed a friend of mom and dad's from Westside, the old AR-WE-VA days. She was on the last basketball team that dad coached and is now running the paper in town. Janine is going to post the blog address in the paper, so that his old students and friends in the area can check on how he is doing.

Hope you are all having a good day. We thank you for your interest in how our DAD (Bill) is doing...

Nic

Pictures of mom and Dad

Hello all,

Here a two pictures that Danna took with her camera phone of mom and dad the other day.

The first picture is dad talking on the phone with me.


Here is mom and dad kissing for the camera.


Thanks for checking up on dad.

-Andy

Update from Nicole.

Well the first week in January brought ice and snow to Iowa and Nebraska, limiting the visits to see dad and mom... They didn't even get to go back to school at F-M till Friday... more days at the end of the year. We shoveled out here in Omaha and waited for a break in the weather to be able to go home. Finally Friday the 6th, Kirk and I decided to venture back. Southwest Iowa got more ice than we did here in Omaha, but also less snow. Mom was worried about us getting in and out of the driveway, but we managed. Dad was sitting up eating when we arrived. He had a pretty long day. The nurse usually tires him out on her visits and she was there on Friday. While dad continued to eat his egg, I made waffles for us to eat. One of Kirk's Christmas presents has turned out to be pretty handy. : ) We joined dad in his room and enjoyed our late dinner. Once we were done, he was ready to rest again. He was awake for part of the night, just listening to us all chat. Kirk had a $2 winning scratch off ticket, from his stocking, so he got two more tickets and managed to win another $2. Mom got to scratch that on off and was very happy and dad asked what was going on? I think his response was good job. He drifted off to sleep, we told him
good night and ventured home.

I went back for my Sunday visit, but stayed away from dad most of the day, because I was just not feeling quite right. There were many visitors to the house to keep him company. Aunt Bev and Dave came over for dinner and brought some yummy vegetable beef soup. After that, mom
was just starting to give Aunt Bev a perm, when two of mom's FCCLA girls came over to visit. They kept us entertained in the kitchen while we watched the perm take shape. Andy also came up from KC. He sat with dad and they watch the NFL Wild card Games. Dad even managed to sit up in the wheelchair for part of the game in the living room. A bit of a change of scenery never hurt anyone! A good day.

Then Monday mom started going back to school in the afternoons. In order to do this, there are volunteers, friends and family, who come stay with dad while she is gone. It can be a challenge, as people are very busy, even in the winter, but we appreciate everyone's consideration and help! I ended up traveling back to the farm on Monday night as well with some more medicine. I was again greeted by dad sitting up and eating his eggs for supper. It takes him a while, but he gets it done! I am happy he is eating some protein again! : ) Mom said he slept most of the afternoon, but had been up almost as long as she had been home from school. That was a treat and he was stronger. We had to rearrange the covers and he was able to help me lift him up. We get very excited about the little things. After that he was ready to rest. I was really happy again when I was leaving, because he told me "toodlelou", I don't recall him saying that much, mom did, but it still made me smile!

I better get to bed, I have the afternoon visit tomorrow, so I will try to write more tomorrow...
Nicole

Weekend update

Hi All! Daughter Danna here with an update to Dad's Blog site. Nic and I are going to be trying to keep this updated with the latest on what's happening back in the metropolis of Randolph Iowa. Thanks to Andy for loading up all we send! I hope everyone's holidays were Merry and you are all looking forward to a peaceful and prosperous '05.

Our holiday began with a little scare. Nic & Kirk headed down to Randolph on Christmas Eve to spend the evening with Mom and Dad. Andy's family as well as Kevin and myself had planned to join them Christmas morning. Dad ended up having a very difficult night and Mom gave us a call to come down, just in case. Kevin and I packed up and arrived in Randolph a little after 1:00 AM. With the kids already in bed, Andy and Jennifer decided to spend the rest of the night in KC and then come back first thing Christmas morning. Those of us in Randolph spent the evening in the "toy room", which has been converted into an additional bedroom for Dad. We chatted with him and around 3:30 AM he began to sleep more peacefully. Our first Christmas wish was granted.

Christmas Day was a mixture of happiness and concern. It was a blessing to have the entire family together for lunch and gift exchange, but we continued to worry about Dad throughout the day. We were lucky to get to have Grandma Scott with us this year. She rotates Christmas's amongst Kathy, Cliff and Dad, so it made it extra special to have her their this year. Andy and Jennifer also brought along Diane, Jennifer's mother. She is always a delight and gave Mom a wonderful scarf and inspirational poem to accompany it. I'm certain Mom will cherish both for a long time to come. We enjoyed watching Ali and Zac opening their gifts and of course were anxious to see which one they liked best. Blocks and trucks ruled.

Since Dad was still feeling weak, I went to Omaha for Kevin's Christmas, then came back to help Mom Christmas night. We had a very nice evening and I enjoyed waking up in my old room again! Mom and I spent the day on Sunday cleaning up after Christmas and watching movies in the Toy Room with Dad. I headed for home about 4:00, just as my Aunt Kathy and Renee's & Matt's son Justin arrived. They were on their way back from Shenandoah and stopped in to wish all a Merry Christmas.

Monday the 27th was Mom's birthday. Mom had lots of visitors that day as Aunt Betty, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Donna and Aunt Bev all came down to visit Dad and Mom. Mom & Dad enjoyed the company and Bev gave some great pointers on helping Dad move around. That evening Nic, Kevin and I came down to celebrate by cooking waffles and eating a Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake. Dad was feeling better and enjoyed watching Mom open gifts.

On the 28th Nic and Kirk came down to spend the night in Randolph. On the 29th I came down. Mom and I enjoyed a chuckle when Dad asked why I was getting all dressed up on the morning of the 30th. Of course, I was getting ready for work and had been hanging out in sweats most of the weekend.

The 31st was Dad's birthday. He enjoyed visits from Uncle Cliff and Debbie Wake. Mom made a quick trip to Glenwood for a haircut at Sue (Dougherty) Stouder's shop and supplies for a birthday casserole for supper. That evening Nic & Kirk, Kevin & I came down to celebrate. We enjoyed a couple of adult beverages and a Ham & Cheese casserole. Dad had a tough day that day, struggling to keep things down. Not the best Birthday present, but he enjoyed the company and the cards.

On the first day of 2005 Uncle Cliff came down to visit again while Mom ran over to get a few things at school. In the afternoon I came down. Mom and I spent the rest of the day tidying up around the house. Mom was pretty tired because Dad didn't sleep much overnight. I was glad she went out for a quick walk while I sat with Dad. She was excited to get all the way up the hill and back before it got too dark. Dad was still having trouble keeping down food and lost his soup in the evening. He enjoyed a good back rub from Mom in the evening and watched some of each of the many good football games. He smiled to hear that Iowa won. He would have really enjoyed seeing all of that one. Same with Texas.

Dad didn't sleep well again on Saturday night. Nic came down on Sunday and spent the day helping out Mom around the house. She went back to school as she was having trouble running a program for grades. Nic enjoyed spending time with Dad while she was out.

I was planning on going down to stay last night, but Mother Nature had other ideas. The freezing rain and potential for snow kept me in Nebraska for the evening. A phone call with Mom told me that Dad had been feeling poorly in the morning, but was feeling much better last night. He even sat up on his own in bed with little struggle and was able to sit up for some time with little assistance. He was also able to get over to the commode! These are all very good things in our minds.

There is the update. From here it should be shorter as we won't have to play catch up. Thanks to all who are checking in.

2005 is here

Hello, this is Andy. I wanted to let you all know that dad ushered in the new year with mom. They watched the countdown on TV. Dad has had several visitors this past week and wanted me to say thank you for stopping by and saying hi.

-Andy