Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011

Today was a great day! My dad was very talkative, and he was awake the ENTIRE time I was with him -- from 2pm until 9pm. This is the first time in a week that he hasn't fallen asleep while I was with him. Maybe I should take a hint...

I seized this opportunity today to show him all of the beautiful cards he has been receiving from his friends and family who can't be close. I also asked him about a million important questions, and I was grateful that I was able to receive some important answers. Most importantly, he gave the thumbs up when I asked whether he wanted to proceed with radiation treatment or not. I asked him twice: once at the beginning of my visit and once at the end. I used a thumbs-up/thumbs-down method, where he would give a thumbs-up for "yes" and thumbs-down for no. I asked quite a few questions about treatment and other things, and he gave a solid thumbs-up each time. To test whether he really understood my system, though, at the end I asked, "Are you Catholic?" Thumbs-down, immediately; he definitely knew what he was doing. :)

For dinner, my boyfriend, Chad, stopped by with our dog, Asha, who enjoyed eating the cookie crumbs off of my dad's lap. (The best thing about the nursing home is the evening snacks.) Today was a happy day.