General Update #97

07/28/2020

Dusty called Joyce to visit during his walk home and reviewed his day with her.

Joyce inquired if Dusty knew when she was getting out of Aspen Park and back to the farmhouse. Dusty relayed that it was Thursday or Friday that she would be released, then had to clarify NEXT Thursday or Friday after Joyce became excited about potentially being released on July 30 or 31. While slightly let down, she did understand that it would be next week. He promised that he would let her know as soon as it had been arranged by the Aspen Park staff, and assured her that she would be going home by the first week of August.

Joyce was glad that she would be able to get back to the farm and still have some summer left to enjoy out there.

Dusty reviewed her therapy work for the day and Joyce said that it consisted of her doing her standing/sitting exercise for her lower body and working through the occupational therapists checklists on processes and procedures related to daily living as an independent human being. 

Joyce asked about being a burden to the family when she returned to the farm and Dusty assured her that she would not be so and need not worry about it. Plans would be developed and input gained to ensure Joyce is taken care of and there is life balance for all parties involved. Dusty joked that she is at the mercy of the adult humans she raised, so she should be in good hands overall.  

Joyce said she would be looking forward to drinking well water from her faucet and sitting at the farm again. She loves water. 

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Connie and Phil arranged an in-person visit with Joyce at Aspen Park in the evening hours.

Dusty was invited but due to schedule conflicts could not join and wished them a fine visit. 

Connie texted later to report that they got to visit with Joyce for an hour and that it was nice. Connie hopes that when Joyce returns home again and around familiar surroundings it will help her.

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Dusty missed calling Joyce in the evening to check in with her for the night due to schedule conflicts.

07/29/2020

Dusty called Joyce to check during his walk home from work. She reported that she had a fine visit the night before with Phil and Connie and it was a surprise to her as she did not know that they were meeting her in person. 

Joyce reported that she was anxious for details about when she would be discharged from Aspen Park. Dusty promised he would notify her once he was provided a set date and time, owing to Aspen Park's staff still working through the details on their end.

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Dusty called to check in and wish Joyce a good evening.

07/30/2020

Rachael Kimble contacted Dusty about Joyce's discharge information. Rachael is still working with Lincare and Kindred Home Health on all the orders and documentation needed for discharge but wanted to schedule a confirmation date of Thursday, August 6 for Joyce to return home. Dusty confirmed that would be acceptable and he would arrive to pick Joyce up.

Checkout time set for 11 a.m. that morning.

Dusty asked to confirm if anything was needed from his side of things to facilitate the discharge process. Rachael stated that if he could bring in Joyce's walker that would be good. Dusty confirmed her walker was already on site and in use.

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Dusty called Joyce on his walk home from work and gave her the good news about when she gets to go home. She was quite elated and said that she could tolerate being at Aspen Park for one more week.

Dusty joked with Joyce about her excitement and if she would be able to remember she would be able to go home in a few hours when he called to wish her a goodnight. She thought that she would not be able to forget. Dusty joked that Joyce might not get to sleep tonight because she was so excited about the news and she confirmed that she might not. Phone call was cut short due to arrival of Joyce's dinner. 

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Dusty and Jess called Joyce to wish her a goodnight. Joyce had remembered that she was getting to go home next week but could not remember the specific day. 

Joyce had chicken, steamed vegetables and some canned peaches for the evening meal. She said that the food was good at Aspen Park but she sometimes found it "lacking." She looked forward to being back at the farmhouse and able to have some more control over her meals. She reiterated that the staff was quite pleasant to her, always nice, and that she had no complaints about the facility. 

Dusty and Jess reviewed their day with Joyce, discussed her plans for when she is back to the farmhouse, and gave an overview of the cleaning/organizing projects they were going to wrap up this weekend. Dusty confirmed he would be the one to pick Joyce up from Aspen Park and was going to work with his supervisor when she was back in the office on Monday to see if he could do remote work for 1-2 weeks to help Joyce settle into home life.

07/31/2020

Craig, Jess, and Dusty met with Joyce at 9:30 a.m. for an hour in-person visit on the Aspen Park front patio. Craig departed around 10 a.m. to get back out to the farm. 

While the morning was hot, there was a slight breeze and the staff parked Joyce in the shade of the entryway's covering. She was glad to see her visitors. Joyce was walked out to join everyone to much surprise. She was moving more effectively (upright, less hunched) using her walker than she had been pre-accident, so the physical therapy appears to have indeed been helping. Joyce stated that they had not done any physical, occupational, or speech/cognitive therapy with her yet, most likely waiting to do so until she was back inside post-visit with family. Craig noted Joyce's swollen legs and stated Joyce was missing her compression stockings. Joyce stated they were back in the room and would be put on later.

Joyce confirmed she was excited to go home in less than a week, though she did not recall the date and time she would be able to return home. 

She expressed at one point that she did not know where she was (thinking she was not in Moscow). Dusty explained where she was roughly situated geographically in Moscow using businesses Joyce was familiar with for reference. Dusty explained where Joyce was again later on, toward the end of the visit, as she thought she wasn't in Moscow at all. She briefly stated that she wasn't sure how she ended up at the Aspen Park facility but recalled it after Jess reminded her about her fall down the stairs in June.

Craig shared some of his plans for the day with Joyce and a good visit was had. She inquired about the status of the patio plants' watering needs being met and Dusty assured her that he and Craig were keeping up on them. Dusty warned Joyce that he had missed some steps in the planting process and that most likely caused some of the tomatoes to look weedy and thin rather than bushing out like they should be doing by now. Dusty confirmed the pepper plants were looking good. 

Dusty showed Joyce a picture of Zac and Nichole's newborn baby, which Joyce enjoyed seeing. 

Craig congratulated Joyce on being a great-grandmother.

Dusty and Jess shared their items they will accomplish on Saturday out at the farmhouse ahead of getting Joyce home on Thursday. Craig stated the swamp cooler should be installed and Dusty confirmed that was on the list. If Craig and Derrick don't get it installed and running today, then Jess and Dusty assured that they will get that taken care of tomorrow. Macroscopic overview of things to be done (therapy sessions and home care, diet, medications, etc.) were briefly discussed but assurances were made that the family would be there to support Joyce. 

The Aspen Park staff ignited their propane grill nearby toward the end of the visit, so Joyce got a sneak preview of her lunch. The staff were making grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for the residents. The Aspen Park staff thought that it would be a nice treat today for the residents to enjoy. 

Joyce was collected by the nursing staff around 10:35 a.m to be returned inside to her room.

Dusty and Jess thanked the Aspen Park team for their care of Joyce before departing for the day.