Personal Post

I had a meeting about Dad today, and then I went to see him while he was having lunch. He has become territorial and aggressive, to the point that we have ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine what changes to environment or medication would help him; and help the people who care for him. There have been several times recently that he has almost hit either a resident or caregiver. Needless to say, this would be a very bad thing. I sat with him as he ate. He's now at the point where a fork needs to be put in his hand and he needs to be reminded often to actually eat the food in front of him. I spoke to him occasionally but, remembering how we had discussed our mutual love of just being silent together, I just sat with him, trying to radiate calm. Mostly because the environment around him was not. Residents around us screamed, slapped their heads, hummed tunelessly, and groaned as they sat at their tables. It was never quiet, and I could see that some of the screams and physical actions were bothering him. It made me think once again about the possibility of moving him, of finding a smaller facility with fewer residents. I'm sure these vocal and kinetic symptoms of dementia will show up in any facility, but perhaps just having fewer people around and less commotion would be better for him. Its just so hard to know.