I pick the latter.
Sunday November 8th I got a call from Kansas saying my dad was in the car and they were taking him to the hospital. Thankfully I was with friends when I got the call so I had some supportive people to help me get through the shock. I love my Dad, I've always been nervous about him living at the ranch alone. It is a wild and lonely place, he kind of likes it that way, but still.
I'm digressing, back to the story..
So, they got him to the local hospital who wasn't really big enough to handle a stroke. They airlifted him to Via Christi in Wichita. He was there a few days then they released him on Wednesday. He was supposed to stay with his sister overnight then go home, but he really wanted to go home. Aunt Penny went with him so he wouldn't be alone. Brian went on to check on Mom in Dodge.
For those who are getting confused, here are the cast of characters:
Mom - June Kliesen, has Alzheimer's disease with Lewey Body Dementia and is in a home in Dodge.
Dad - Gary Kliesen
Aunt Penny - Dad's Sister
Aunt Judi - Dad's Baby Sister
Brian Kliesen - My twin brother, only slightly younger than I am.
Joel Kliesen - Our youngest brother, slightly less than 2 years behind Brian and I.
DJ Kliesen - My sister-in-law, Brian's wife. There is no end to her awesomeness.
Rori Kliesen - My niece, daughter and oldest child of Brian & DJ. She is 3 years old and full of everything Spectacular!
Lucas Kliesen - My nephew, son and youngest child of Brian & DJ. He is 2 years old and also full of Awesome!
There are also various cousins involved who adore my father, also known as Mr. Wonderful.
Caught up yet? O.K. moving on.
So Brian went to check on mom in Dodge, Aunt Penny stayed with Daddy and took him to see a Speech therapist in Ashland.
I landed in Wichita Mid-continent airport around noon Friday. My friend Melissa helped me get tickets and connections straight. She is amazing too!
My cousin, Jill, picked me up from the airport and it was nice to get caught up with her and her family. My other cousin Jamie volunteered to drive me half way to the ranch to meet Brian so he wouldn't have to drive all the way to Wichita to get me. He had driven more than 1500 miles in the last few days and I am quite sure he was exhausted.
We got back to the ranch around 9:30. the kids were still up as was Grandpa, AKA. Dad. He was exhausted and went to bed soon after we arrived. The kids were excited to have one more audience member but went to bed not too long after Dad did.
Dad has been uncooperative when taking his medicine, but we thought we would eventually get him to take them. Yeah, we thought... Sigh, I am still trying to get them into him.
His appetite is great, an improvement over the past few years. He has lost quite a bit of weight which is good, but he has also lost strength. We need to build that back up along with his speaking ability. His motor skills and dexterity are really good. Physically you can barely tell he has had a stroke at all. The stroke affected his deep brain tissue. He needs to re-path his synapses in the speech & analyzing center of his brain. This takes practice, no more than 15-30 minutes at a time with plenty of time to rest between exercises.
It is really hard to see such a vibrant, larger than life person in this state. I cried for quite awhile after everyone left. Brian, DJ & the kids went to Dodge to spend Saturday with Mom. We have not told Mom about Dad's stroke. She is having a tough time with the dementia and the hallucinations associated with the Lewey body part of the equation. Anything that upsets her has the probability of bringing on a pretty bad hallucination or nightmare. We have told her that Dad has a bad cold and doesn't want to bring it into the home where people could catch it.
We are hoping to be able to go see her Wednesday.
More updates to follow.
Love,
Brenda
