Pneumonia Free!!!

I was told yesterday that Rick’s chest xray showed he is clear of pneumonia. Praise the Lord! This bout of sickness, though, seems to have knocked him down a little. He isn’t eating as easily. He seems to forget to swallow at times. He is still on pureed food and nectar thickened liquids. He lost about 4 pounds during this time and hasn’t gained it back yet. It seems to be easy to lose the weight but difficult to gain it back. Too bad I don’t have that problem.  He is much more unstable on his feet. He gets his feet crossed and can’t figure out how to untangle them. He doesn’t pick his feet up very much and therefore trips on anything in the way. They found him on the floor in his room between the two beds. There is an elevated cushioned mat there that he tripped on. He wasn’t hurt, anyway, since it was cushioned. He isn’t controlling his bowels and bladder as well now. Of course, he wasn’t able to get himself to the bathroom before, but now it seems that he isn’t noticing when he needs to go. He has just gotten used to doing it in his pants. Sunday, I picked him up at the nursing home at 8:30 am to take him to church. He had just voided in the toilet, so I thought he was good to go. When we got to church we walked across the back of the sanctuary, thru the foyer, back to the Sunday School room. We were the first to get there. I was getting ready to sit him down in the chair. I smelled something. I felt the back of his pants and, sure enough, he had a big glob there. I took him to the bathroom and sat him down on the toilet. I said, "Rick, I don't even know where to start!" I tried hard to get his clothes off so not to get them dirty, but no such luck. It was a mess. All down his legs. I was thankful that Cheryl had not gotten to the church yet. I called her and asked her to go to the house to get clean clothes for him. Otherwise I didn’t have anything for him to put back on. She soon came with more clothes and wash cloth and towel. She stayed with me holding him up while I cleaned him up. What an ordeal. He has always been good about letting me know when he has to go. He would get squirmy or something. But he didn’t give me any indication this time. I think those days are leaving us fast. Between the pneumonia and the staff at the home not paying attention, he has just gotten used to going in his pants. Of course, he just completed 10 days of antibiotics and they always cause him to have very soft stools. From now on I will have a change of clothes in the car for him whenever he is out with me. I won’t be caught off guard again.