Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SATURDAY August 20 2005

6:00 A.M. UPDATE

5:00 P.M. UPDATE

Erin reports ...

     A nice couple wanted a kitten for their very sweet five-year-old daughter named Claire. Claire fell in love with Loverboy at first sight--"The one with stripes," she said pointing to him. (Todd Carr took a picture of Claire, Loverboy and the dad.)

     I know that Loverboy will be good with kids (as he let my little guitar students hold him and pet him yesterday at their lessons). And the stay-at-home mom will be able to monitor the situation, so it's a good environment!

     "Claire goes to school two days a week, so the cat will have a break too," the dad chuckled.

     They were thinking about declawing their new cat because of furniture, but we talked, and they agreed to use the other methods--trimming nails, scratching posts, etc.--and not to declaw. (I'm afraid that most people in the Dallas area just don't know about the alternatives to declawing.)

     I told them that it would be best to have Loverboy inside so they would never have to deal with the tragedy of the kitty being hit by a car.

     This family was open to all of these ideas and quickly bought supplies after all of Frisco Humane Society's
paperwork was filled out. They wanted to show Loverboy his new forever home!

     Congratulations Claire and Loverboy!!! We wish you many years of happiness together!

   Thunder

     Thunder's grandpa came in for a crate for Thunder. They had thought that they would have to return Thunder because of his chewing on their furniture, but they agreed to begin to crate him when they were gone, to solve the problem this way.

   Little Boomer

     Little Boomer had some people interested in him today. We exchanged telephone numbers and will be talking.

Erin's report from Friday evening ...

     When Dana and I got to the hospital Friday afternoon, Uncle Pete, Uncle Tom and Aunt Linda took a much needed break and got some lunch.

     During the afternoon the speech therapist came in and told us a lot of information about strokes. She said
Grandpa could recognize 75% of the pictures she showed him yesterday. To go as far as to say he is hungry and point to the food picture was too much for now though, she said, as his brain is still swollen and needs to heal.

     The physical therapist worked a little with Grandpa and all of us. She said to ask him to raise his leg or arm occasionally, but don't make a big thing of it because he is so frustrated right now. She doesn't know how much of his movement is involuntary, or if he will do anything on command.

     Because of the medication that they are having to sedate him with, Grandpa falls in and out of sleep. Trying to get out of his bed drains him of energy too.

     Aunt Linda was going to look at skilled nursing facilities this afternoon and Uncle Tom and Uncle Pete stayed by Grandpa's bedside as Dana left for his second shift job and I left to teach my few music students.

     This is most difficult for Grandpa.

My report from today ...

     I arrived at the hospital early this morning before the shift change (which is at seven o'clock) and got to talk to Dad's overnight nurse, who said that they had had to give Dad a different sedative at midnight, because after carefully attaching cushions to the sides of the bed so Dad couldn't climb out that way, Dad tried to "escape" via the end of the bed!

     Dad was sleeping peacefully when I got there, and when he woke up at about 7:30, he was glad to see me, but after a few minutes he started to complain about something in his unintelligible language, and the more I tried to understand him, the more upset he got until finally he tried to pull his diaper off, so I asked him if he wanted to go to the bathroom, and he shouted, "Yes!" Then I said, "Go ahead and go in your diaper," and he got even more angry and shouted, "No!" I asked if he wanted me to get the little urinal bottle on the table and help him, and he said, "Yes!" So, I did, and it worked, and he immediately calmed down and was peaceful again. In fact for the rest of the day he was in a pretty good mood.

     When the CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant, whom I referred to as an "orderly" yesterday) came in to bathe Dad, she asked if I would stay and help her turn Dad over, so I did, and Dad was very cooperative throughout this whole procedure. She told me that before Dad had always kicked and struggled when they'd bathed him and changed his clothing and bed clothes.

     I also got Dad to eat a whole small bowl of oatmeal this morning, the first time he's eaten that much food.

     When I left the hospital at about 3:30 to come to his house to do this update, he was in pretty good spirits and my brothers were with him and will stay till late this evening.

     Things are looking better!

Emailed to us by Volunteer Photographer Todd Carr ...

     Can you raed tihs? Olny srmat poelpe can. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs psas it on !!