November 27, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Changes.

We were too slow to change our routines. The first time Ken rolled out of the bed we should have installed a railing for the bed. What were we thinking? Three times it took plus one serious fall from the chair before we changed our patterns. Now the rail has worked and Ken has not fallen out of the bed since. The question we ask is why did he all of a sudden start rolling out of bed and end on the floor? One reason may be that his Parkinson's disease has gotten worse. Or perhaps the new diuretic he has been taking recently caused him to loose his sense of space. His feet and legs were swollen so our doctor prescribed an additional medication, which has worked. But he rolled out of bed. Today we went to an evaluation of swallowing at the University. The facilities and staff at the University Hospital are remarkable and extensive. This morning we met with a speech therapist who is also an expert in swallowing. She had Ken swallow water. And she watched and held his throat. And she watched him swallow chocolate pudding. Her suggestion to Ken was to slow everything down. Every time he takes a sip on the straw, he is supposed to wait. Then take another sip. His pattern has always to take three or four sips on the straw. Fortunately, he aspirated some water in the middle of the test, which was good. She wants him to have an X-ray of his swallowing so we have an appointment on Dec. 17. One appointment always means another appointment will need to be done. Ken commented to the young lady that he would take all day just eating and drinking. Most of Ken's patterns are fine. He already eats slowly and often eats at the table alone while I sit in the living room adjacent to the breakfast room. So once again, Ken must make changes. Our helpers are changing too. Mary Brown will stay with us from 9 to 9 on four nights and Kashina will stay the other three nights. Their task is to be sure that Ken does not fall. Ken has a good sleep last night and so did I. Our patterns have changed once again. We should have made changes earlier I guess. But here we go.