April 29 Visit - Minor problems resolved

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Today was a routine visit, but I found a few minor issues to address. Lillian was expecting me when I arrived and she gave me an update on Michelle. Michelle's hip surgery was successful and she will be discharged from the hospital Thursday or Friday this week. Michelle will do rehab here at Jefferson Creek, which is nice because Lillian will be able to visit her easily.

We looked through the mail and I found a bill for the cardiology appointment last month. I think Retta gets the notices from these online, but nevertheless, I put the bill aside. Retta, please let me know if you would like me to mail it to you. I can send it to you at our next meeting.

We hadn't spent any time on her calendar/date book lately so we took a look through it. I noticed that there was no book club meeting on the calendar in May or June. She said that she's missed the last meeting because it wasn't on her calendar. We added it for May, June, and July.

Next, I noticed there were more dishes in the sink than usual. Lillian said the dishwasher wasn't working, and she keeps forgetting to call in a work request. I took a closer look at the dishwasher - the child lock-out was set. I unlocked it and did a trial start of the dishwasher. Sure enough, it worked!  Funny how such a simple thing can become an obstacle! We loaded the dishwasher and got it started. I wrote down dishwasher detergent on her grocery list.

We did a quick review of her pill box and all looked good. Our visit time sped by this week!

Our next visit will be next Wednesday May 6 at the usual time.

April 22: Visiting at the Hospital

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Yesterday, Lillian called me and explained that her friend from Jefferson Creek, Michelle, had had a fall and was at the hospital. She asked if we could use our visit to to go visit Michelle. Since we had nothing else planned for today, I agreed.

Picked up Lillian at about 1:00pm at her apartment. Before we left, I did a quick look through the mail and checked her hearing aids. Then I drove over to the hospital. On the way in, we stopped at the gift shop and Lillian purchased a card and a small flower arrangement for Michelle. We asked at the hospital information desk where Michelle was staying and they let us know the room number and gave us directions.

When we arrived, Michelle was in bed watching television. I did not participate much in the visit, since I had only met Michelle briefly once before.  Nevertheless, it's good I was there with Lillian (and she didn't try to drive by herself) because the hospital is so busy and confusing to navigate, and the parking is really a challenge.

We stayed for about 20 minutes. Michelle had some pain and she seemed to tire quickly. We found our way back to the car, and headed for home. Lillian was upset at seeing Michelle in the hospital, and I assured her that the visit was a kind and thoughtful thing to do, even if it was short.

I walked Lillian back to her apartment because she still seemed a little distracted and upset. I asked if she wanted to talk about it more, but she said she didn't.

This visit was a little longer than usual, and Lillian paid cash for the (nominal) parking fee at the hospital. Our next scheduled visit is next Wednesday, April 29.

April 15: Tax Day visit

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Even though it's tax day, we didn't do anything tax related!  Today was a typical visit, no urgent needs or things to be addressed right away.

When I arrived we sat down to go through the mail. The pile was relatively small and there wasn't anything unexpected in the mail.  Next, I took a look at Lillian's pill box and checked the compartments. Everything looked fine - that she had taken the expected pills up until today and the compartments for the rest of this week had the expected pills in them.

It was such a nice day today that we decided to take a walk outside. Spring is certainly underway! We walked all the way around the pond on the property, and stopped to watch the ducks and ducklings. Lillian told me a story about reading the children's book "Make Way for Ducklings" to Kathy's kindergarten class many years ago as a part of a parent reading program in the school. She said ducklings always make her think of that book!

We walked for about 30 minutes and she kept a good pace. By the time we returned to the apartment, we were both quite warm. She sat down at the kitchen table and I got her a glass of water before I left.

I will visit again next week on Wednesday, April 22.

April 8: Visit at home after spring break

Reminder: This website is a demo and does not contain real information about Care is There clients or situations. Please see the About this site... page for more information. 

It was so nice to see Lillian after spring break!  She looked well and happy, and she was excited to tell me about her vacation with Retta's family last week. When I asked about her birthday last Saturday, she said that they had a special dinner and a homemade cake - chocolate cake with white frosting, her favorite!  She said that Chelsea and Megan had baked it for her.

First, I checked her hearing aids, and we cleaned them up and put in new batteries.

There was a pile of mail on the desk; much of it had accumulated from last week. We looked through everything and threw most of it away. There was a renewal notice for Ladies Home Journal, and I asked if she wanted to continue it. She said she didn't read it any more, so we threw the notice away. She also received a co-payment bill for the ER visit charges from back in February. Boy, that seems like a long time ago! We tucked it in another envelope to mail to Retta to pay.

Since there was nothing else that needed to be addressed immediately at the apartment, we took the ER bill down to the front desk and put it in the mailbox. While we were there, we stopped in the little library. Lillian spotted a new Kellerman mystery novel and signed it out. Then we met Alma in the hallway and visited with her for a little while. My hour visit was just about up, so I left Lillian visiting with Alma in the library. Before I left I made sure she had her apartment key with her.

I will see her next week on tax day, April 15.