Doctors

Cascade shuts down

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Fame

March 2 2016
Fame is fleeting at Cascade

/cascade on top of the nicest places

December 24, 2015



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Beef with the shuttle

 Kay was asleep when I got there today.  I sat there until the pill Technician came in which woke Kay up.  After the pills K ay took me on a walk around the hall several times.  Finally we returned to the room where I stayed until time to go. 

 Returning was the low part of my day.  The bus was very late.  About 11:30 I called the dispatcher to learn when I could expect it's arrival.  I was told in 6 minutes or so.  Finally about 10 minuts to 12 the bus arrived.  When I tried to get some information about why it was late I got some so very nasty response from the woman driver. It escell ated from there until she said she did not have to take me on her bus.  As it was nearly an hour late I told her I was going on her bus and that I was going to be late for lunch and my medication.  Before meals I get insulin. It happened to be Candy on the bus.  The driver took Candy into the building and was there for some time. When she came back I got on the bus   and started back to Cascade Vista.  On the way I called the dispatcher to learn why the bus was late.  After a short discussion I learned that I was on the manifest for this bus.  This means that when the driver went to work that day I was on her list to be picked up.  It also means that probably Candy was also on the list.  (passenger manifest) This is not the first ti me this has happened.  In a prevous time they held the same passenger (candy) over to go on my bus.  I think Candy had to wait a long time. I believe in this instance I was informed the bus had arrived early for me but Candy had been waiting around for me but finally they called me early to get on the bus. In my conversation with the dispatcher I don't think I mentioned my beef with the driver.  On the way back however we were met by a supervisor there at Cascade and another person in addition to a person from the Shuttle company.  We discussed my confrontation with the driver although I had not complained about her to Cascade or the Transit company. The manager from Cascade was on the receiving end of the diatribe from the driver. I guess I should have told them don't talk to me as I made no complaint to  anyone about the driver.  She must have been really nasty to the lady at Cascade for her to call the shuttle company and complain to them.  Might also  get an idea of how she treated me.  But as this is all about a driver I didn't complain about I feel pretty much at ease. They should talk to the people at Cascade  not me. I did not complain to anyone about the driver.  I have noticed that even drivers become domineering bureaucrats.  The higher up they are the more domineering they become.  Until as president they can start wars.  But drivers can become bossy as they are usually dealing with sick poor people who are used to being pushed around.  When they come up against people like me or the person at Cascade who  know the score they lose their their perspective on how to treat people and what happened can result.   

Kay fell today

 Weather is good today so I was able to take her out on the patio where we sat   until I thought she might get sun burned.  She didn't mind the hot sun.. When coming back to her room she stumbled and fell.  Not actually fell but sort of sat down.  She had been holding onto the hand rail with her right hand and the right side of the walker with her left. At the end of the rail she had to turn loose and in the transition stumbled and more or less sat down.  I was going to help her up but have you tried to lift 100 pounds?  I think I "might" have been able but help came immediately before I tried total effort.  So the lady care giver came and put her on her feet.   How things have changed.  If you watch the Arts channel and see those men dancers lift the ballet  dancers over their head make me have a lot of respect for their athletic ability. Some of those girls look real close to  100.  90 at least. Also try balancing on your  toes.  Better yet just try it on one foot.  I have the greatest respect for ballet dancers.  Nothing new on Hospice care.  Met a lady today who has been here about 3 months complaining about the quality of the egg salad and potato salad.  She is an expert cook from what she told me.  She also knows the shortcomings of those dishes which I am well aware of.  they never put onion, mustard, garlic powder and celery in the egg salad.  One of these days I will get a chance to ask the appropriate person why they make such tasteless dishes.  Is it on purpse or do they do it because it takes a little extra work to do it right?  At any of our family meals you would not see us doing anything but our level best to try to set out the most tasty dish.  

Cascade Vista

Hilary and Reams come to Visit Kay

 Before I tell what happened today with Kay I am very concerned the leaders of our country are trying to start a war with Russia.  If  you don't want war you had better contact your politician and get him working to stop this slide to war.  I am 92 and don't have much of a future. You may have a future so if you want to insure it you had better do what you can to stop the madness in DC by the so called learders of this country.

Two friends came today and took me over to see Kay.  We went to the OCB and Kay  enjoyed herself immensly.  I can tell when she is enjoying herself as she seems to become able to communicate with others.  When things are just so so she will not try to say much  When she is having a good time she will try and does converse but with difficulty of course.  She can express what is on her mind to a certain extent or ask a question.  Kay ate everything we gave her.
  She had nothing to eat since breakfast so she was somewhat hungry and this indicated how she would eat at noon if given something to eat that she liked  It's too bad we are where we are as I am convinced that if we had not moved I could have kept taking care of her with the help of COPES.   I would be with her and not apart.  We now have all the information about her Endoscopy to give Cascade.  Hopefully they can adjust her medication to keep her from going further into Gerdes disease again. 








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Saturday visit with Kay

 I hate living in a place like this.  When you have spent a lifetime of making decisions to have to have someone else make them for you is a shock which is hard to get over.    Of course it is necessary but that makes it no less distasteful.  The employees don't make it any easier in lots of cases.  For instance there are so many severely handicapped people who can do almost nothing on their own.  So the employees tend to treat everyone as in the same condition. The management trains the employees to be spying constantly on the inmates many times not really knowing what is going on creating difficult contitions for the inmate who is being reported on. If I could get out of here I would do it in a heartbeat.  I am sure I could handle it alone but the longer I stay away from full independence the harder it would be to take over.  

Kay was in the Dining room today awake so I took her to the metal chairs in the hall were she did not wait for me to get into my bag for the truffles but she knew where they were and couldn't wait to get hers.  By the time I left she had had 3 of them.  Her TV was not working because it seems the signal from Cascade was not getting to the TV so we just stayed on the bed holding hands the usual way.  When I started to leave she said no but I think it was she wanted to go with me not that I was to stay.  I think I managed to get her to accept the fact that I was coming back tomorrow.  What a miserable life.  She needs someone who loves her to be with her all the time. I'm a sucker for a love song.  Makes me blubber some times!

I am trying to make a video that shows how much  I love her when I listen to love songs in some good movie.   

Visit to Kay friday 10-25 terribly handicapped woman

At lake Forest Park

I went to see Kay  as usual today.  I found her in the community room awake. Few were in it why I learned later was because they had a bus load on an outing.  I took her to her room because I was too exhausted to do anything .  I was awake part of the night. In the morning I went to Walmart to get a new supply of test strips.  The morning is short between breakfast and lunch when you have to get a shot of insulin at 11:00 AM.  We lay on the bed for a while and then she went to the bathroom.  In a couple minutes she did not come back and I went in to find out why not.  Instead of coming back to her bed she had gone into the adjacent room and was getting into one of those beds.  So I brought her back to to the right bed.  It took an hour to get there so I had less than a hour with her.  Doing what she did today is very common with the people there. Several times lately when I bring Kay into her room some man follows us in which is a little disconcerting.  He is not terribly old and in good shape but all I do is tell him this is not his room and turn him around and he will go out. It looks like there was a prospective resident visiting because when I went back the bus had another two to go back from the facility.   She was terribly handicapped and in a wheel chair with two oxygen bottles.  Her husband was with her and he was using a walker too.  I assume they were at  the Cascade Park Gardens to discuss entry to the facility.   The owner of the place came in at the time I was there and said hello to me.  They may have been having a look at the situation.  The lady seemed more in need of a rest home and not a assisted living facility although her mind seemed sharp.  They may even have rooms there for husband and wives for situations such as this.  I didn't go into that aspect when I was thinking of moving into the Vintage apartments. I thought I could visit her enough from there. I don't know what to do now.  Tomorrow I must look into the situation.  Maybe I could get where she is if they have any rooms available.  I have never seen any couples there although there could be and I just did not see them. I don't believe that though as I have been there too many times for that to happen I am sure.   Tomorrow I must check into the situation. I took some video of the woman who came from Cascade and you can see it here. For privacy I have blurred her face.  Her husband was at the back of the bus.  Folks there is another world out there you know nothing of.  I have nothing but compassion for these people. Just remember you may be headed for a similar experience.  There are people at Cascade who are no more than 30 or 35 years old. they have a lifetime ahead of them in wheel chairs.