5:00-7:00     I met Dr. Vesper in the lane gathering walnuts as I was on my way in.  I offered to help, but he was finished, so he moved his truck and I followed him to the house.  Rose and Roberta were in the kitchen area when we arrived.  Roberta brought me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  Rose was quiet, but seemed very comfortable and alert at this time.  After Roberta left, I set the table and took Doctor’s dinner orders.  He decided to make it a “left overs night”, making dinner prep a snap.  Roberta left the house in great shape, so there was little for me to do, creating a calm and relaxing evening.  Doctor stated he was hungry, and we were seated and eating before 6:00.  He and Rose both enjoyed hearty appetites with Rose receiving Targretin at this time.

7:00-9:00     The remainder of my shift ran on schedule and in routine fashion.  After dinner I washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  Rose continued to be bright and somewhat chatty, though not as talkative as the previous evening.  They returned to the living room to watch television for a few minutes after dinner.  At bedtime I gave them both their night time medications, including 1/2 Xanax for Rose, then took Rose back for her evening toilette.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed her teeth.  She had a moderate BM in her Depends, which she completed while on the commode.  Once I got her to bed, I applied her eye drops easily and said good night.  Dr. Vesper was trying to use his glucose monitor, but kept getting error readings.  He attributed it to the new lancets he had just purchased.  He tried inserting it into the device a couple of different ways, but to no avail.  He did not want pursue it any longer and elected to further research the cause in the morning.  He had his PJ’s on and was ready for bed when I said good night to him.

Dinner:     Chicken pot pie (Dr. Vesper), meat loaf (Rose), corn, roasted new potatoes, and jello salad.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  They both had ice cream (Lactaid) for dessert.

Visitors:     Randy Lindsey

5:00-7:00     When I arrived Tiffany, Rose, and Dr. Vesper were in the kitchen/living room area chatting with Sandy Hayslip and enjoying the end of the Bengal’s football game.  Tiffany filled me in on the day’s events before leaving.  Sandy followed her shortly afterward.  I chatted with Rose and Doctor for a few minutes, watered plants, replenished the dog’s food and water bowls, and readied the bathroom for Rose’s night time routine.  I then took Doctor’s dinner order, set the table, and began salad prep.  Rose was generally quiet, but focused up until dinner, at which time she became quite animated and chatty.  They both ate well and we enjoyed wonderful conversation with Rose laughing and interjecting frequently and appropriately.  She did receive Targretin at this time.

7:00-9:00     After dinner I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I checked Dr. Vesper’s glucose reading log and saw that he did use his monitor last night and this morning as indicated.  I reinforced the importance of his continuing to do so.  I then gave him and Rose their night time medications, including 1/2 Xanax for Rose.  Rose’s evening toilette was typical beginning with me washing her face and hands, then brushing and flossing her teeth.  Her mood was still bright, but more subdued by this time.  While on the commode she leaned slightly to the right, but uprighted herself after a few minutes.  Her Depends were wet, but not saturated, and she produced a small bowel movement while seated.  She was grateful and relieved when I got her to bed and even stated, “Boy, this makes me feel so much better!”, once I had her tucked in.  I applied her eye drops easily before saying good night.  Dr. Vesper was in the living room watching TV when I said good night to him.

Dinner:     Salad, chicken noodle casserole, and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  The both had ice cream (Lactaid) for dessert.

Visitors:     Sandy Hayslip

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Rose and Roberta had just finished Rose’s 4:30 toileting and Dr. Vesper rushing out the door to get to church.  Roberta spent a few minutes bringing me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  Rose was quiet, but alert and joined me in the kitchen while I began salad prep for the evening dinner.  I also set the table and watered the flowers.  I got a kick out of it when Rose began whistling while I worked.  I don’t think she understood why I found it funny!  Dinner was nearly ready when Doctor came home, and they were seated and eating by 6:30.  Though Rose ate slowly, they both enjoyed hearty appetites.  Rose received Targretin with her meal.

7:00-9:00     The remainder of my shift ran in very routine fashion.  Rose and Dr. Vesper remained at the table while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I urged Dr. Vesper to use his glucose monitor, but he insisted on waiting for two hours after his last bite of dessert, which would make it 10:00pm.  I gave them both their evening medications (including 1/2 Xanax for Rose), then took Rose to the bathroom for her evening toilette.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed her teeth.  Her Depends was damp and she produced no urine or stool while seated.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily before saying good night to her.  I fed the cat and put Kemper to bed as well.  Dr. Vesper was in the living room watching TV.   He had still not used his glucose monitor.  I brought it over to him and again encouraged him to do so even though it was not yet “time”.  He promised me he would after I left.  I also made him promise to return it to the table for use in the morning before breakfast.  I said good night to him and left for the evening.

Dinner:     Salad, crab cakes, peas, and corn bread.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  They both had ice cream (Lactaid for Doctor) for dessert.

Visitors:     None

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Rose was with Roberta in the kitchen area while Dr. Vesper was watching TV in the living room.  Roberta spent a few minutes bringing me up to speed on the day’s events.  After she left, I chatted with Rose and Doctor, readied the bathroom for Rose’s night time routine, set the table, then began dinner prep.  Dr. Vesper said his back was bothering him and asked me to help him locate some ibuprofen.  I offered him two extra strength (1000mg) Tylenol instead, which he took at 5:30.  He took a short nap (45 mins) and stated he was feeling better when he awakened.  While I was cooking, Rose was quiet, but alert.  She remained this way till dinner time, when she became more chatty.  Rose enjoyed her usual hearty appetite, but Doctor ate less than usual.  He received a phone call from his sister and the two of them discussed future travel options at great length.

7:00-9:00     I began cleaning up after dinner while Dr. Vesper was in the living room still on the phone.  Rose seemed to be quite full, so I did not offer dessert.  Instead, I asked her if she would like to help me in the kitchen, but she answered with a resounding, “NO!”  As I as wiping the table, she said, “Now, wait just a minute!”  I asked if she wanted some dessert, specifically ice cream, to which I received an emphatic, “YES!”  I was tickled that she communicated that to me and apologized for not asking earlier.  Dr. Vesper returned to the dining room and joined Rose for dessert.   After that, they both returned to the living room to watch TV while I finished the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I gave them both their evening medications (1/2 Xanax for Rose), then took Rose to the bathroom for her night time toilette.  Rose remained chatty and fairly relaxed as I followed our usual routine.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed her teeth.  She had a large BM in her Depends and produced more while seated on the commode.  Clean up was somewhat tedious, but she tolerated it well.  Stephanie came by to fill the pill machine just as we were finishing.  I think Rose really enjoyed the surprise evening visit.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily before saying good night.  I confirmed with Dr. Vesper that he had used his glucose monitor and recorded the readings.  I then said good night to him and Stephanie before I left.

Dinner:     Rotisserie chicken breast, Parmesan noodles, broccoli, carrots, and jello salad.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  For dessert, they both had ice cream.  Doctor had Lactaid with his, and refused to eat the sugar free, though I encouraged him.  I did give him a smaller than usual serving.

Visitors:     Sandy (mowing) and Stephanie

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Roberta and Rose were in the dining area enjoying the view to the back yard while Dr. Vesper was napping.  As always, she spent a few minutes filling me in on the day’s events before leaving.  Dr. Vesper emerged just as she was walking out the door.  I took his dinner orders, then set the table and began preparing the salad.  Sandy arrived around this time, and he went outside with her.  Because we had an easy dinner planned, I then spent a few minutes replenishing the dog’s water and food bowls, cleaning the glass doors,  readying the bathroom for Rose’s night time routine, and then sitting and chatting with Rose.  She was quite animated and more chatty this evening than the previous two.  When Dr. Vesper came in, I finished dinner, and had them seated and eating by 6:15.  Rose received Targretin with her meal.

7:00-9:00     The remainder of my shift ran in routine fashion.  When it came time for dessert, I asked Rose if she would like some ice cream.  She replied, “Yes, but don’t tell anyone!”  After dinner, she and Doctor returned to the living room while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I gave them both their night time medications, including 1/2 Xanax with Rose’s.  Her evening toilette began the usual way with me washing her face and hands, then brushing and flossing her teeth.  Her Depends were nearly dry with a trace of stool in them.  She urinated very little while seated.  I took her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  She was quiet when I said good night to her.  Dr. Vesper was on his way to bed when I said good night to him.

Dinner:     Salad, pork Bolognese, and peas.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  They both had ice cream (Lactaid for Doctor) for dessert.

Visitors:     Sandy Hayslip

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Rose was with Roberta in the kitchen area and Dr. Vesper on his way to church.  Roberta filled me in on the day’s events and stayed while I gave her some tips for flossing Rose’s teeth.  Unfortunately, I was unable to give her a practical demonstration as Rose was unable to tolerate it at that time.  I also tried to demonstrate use of the bite block, but it is much too small, easily dislodged and potentially aspirated.  I would strongly advise against it’s use except in a professional setting.  After Roberta left, I set the table and began prepping for dinner.  Rose was generally quiet, but alert during this time.  Dr. Vesper arrived home before dinner was ready, and the two of them snuggled in the living room while watching television.  When I inquired about his arm, he showed me the wound, which was significantly improved!

7:00-9:00     The remainder of the evening ran in uneventful fashion.  Dr. Vesper and Rose had hearty appetites and we enjoyed lively conversation.  Rose laughed occasionally and would interject her two cents worth.  While I was clearing the table for dessert, she actually called Doctor by his first name!  He was so excited and I was disappointed to have missed it.  Unfortunately, we could not get her to repeat it.  Rose did receive Targretin with her meal.  After dessert, they returned to the living room while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I gave them both their evening medications, including 1/2 Xanax for Rose.  I then took Rose to the bathroom for her night time toilette, beginning with washing her face and hands, then brushing and flossing her teeth.  Though Roberta and I tried to replicate this setting earlier, I was far more successful at this attempt at flossing than earlier.  I was able to be quite thorough with all aspects of her dental hygiene.  She did have one area of inflammation that I will discuss with Mossy.  It may have been a result of food impaction.  Once finished with that, we commenced her toileting.  She had a moderate stool in her Depends which she completed while on the commode.  As always, she tolerated clean up like a trooper.  I took her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  She was her usual, loving self when I said good night to her.  I fed the cat, then said good night to Dr. Vesper.  He was still reading and watching TV in the living room when I left.

Dinner:     Salad, salmon burgers with fresh aioli, and corn with arugula salad (Blue Apron dinner courtesy of Jessica).  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  They both enjoyed ice cream (Lactaid) for dessert.

Visitors:     none

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Dr. Vesper was in the living room and Rose in the bathroom with Roberta.  I reported to him that the gate was open when I came, and he stated that he was the last one through and it had been at least an hour since then.  I called Mossy to ask what steps I should take and while we were talking, the electricity went out.  The gate has a battery backup and it appears its malfunction is unrelated to the outage.  Mossy called the fence company while I called Duke to report the problem.  When Roberta finished with Rose, she brought me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  I set the table, took out the garbage, readied the bathroom for Rose’s night time routine,  then discussed possible meal options with Dr. Vesper.  He decided to sleep on it while Rose and I went outside and enjoyed the warm, still air on the back porch with Kemper.  When Doctor awakened around 6:30, the power had just been restored, but he had a taste for Frisch’s, one of the options we discussed.  When I asked Rose, she adamantly agreed!  Per his request, I drove into town and picked up carry out for the two of them.

7:00-9:00      Rose and Dr. Vesper both ate well, however, Rose’s appetite was not as voracious as usual.  She did receive Targretin with her meal.  After dinner, they returned to the living room while I cleaned up the kitchen, washed a few dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.   I asked Dr. Vesper to let me examine/change his dressing, but he declined, stating that it was doing well.  At bedtime, I gave them their evening medications including 1/2 Xanax with Rose’s.  Rose’s night time toilette ran in routine fashion beginning with me washing her face and hands, then brushing and flossing her teeth.  She was quiet all evening, but became more verbal during this process, which is common.     Her Depends contained a moderate stool and she produced another  BM while on the commode.  Clean up was somewhat tedious, but well tolerated.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.   Dr. Vesper was in the living room when I said good night to him.  He promised to be extra diligent in locking the doors and setting the security system since the gate was still open.  We also decided to not lock the door on Kemper’s cage when he went to bed.

Dinner:     Rose had a Big Boy and Dr. Vesper had a Brawny Lad.  They shared an order of fries.  Dr. Vesper had a chocolate shake (Lactaid) and Rose drank kefir milk.  They were too full for dessert.