Thursday, September 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Dad!! Today is my dad's 88th birthday! I think he had a really good day. This morning, he had a doctor's appointment with Jane Kirkpatrick. She's great and so is her nurse, Rhonda. While we were waiting out in the waiting area, Dad was again counting people. At one point he kept counting and was almost up to 100. He also counted the fluorescent lights. In the exam room, Dad picked up the otoscope and he put it in each of his ears and then looked at me with a look like "oh my goodness". It was the same kind of look he would have given a child back when he practiced medicine, like "there's something in there that shouldn't be!" jokingly, of course. We needed to get a urine specimen so I took Dad in to the bathroom. I told him to pee in the cup and he would hold it, then put it on the back of the toilet. I would tell him again and he would do the same thing. One time, after I told him to try again, he grunted like he was really trying to pee, then he laughed and put the cup back on the toilet. We were not successful. After we left, I took Dad to LifeCare and then went to pick up a birthday cake at BiLo. I took the cake back to LifeCare for their birthday party. They had a crown and a Happy Birthday tag on Dad and made a big deal out of his special day. They were able to get the urine specimen for me during the day, so I took it by the doctor's office when I picked Dad up. Tonight, the family met at Scoggins to eat. My cousin Phillip and his wife Kathy came from Asheville. My friend Tammy, her husband Tim, and their grandchildren also joined us. Peter and his boys were there, Betsy and Grant, and Van, Simon and I. We had a great celebration and Dad really enjoyed it. Whenever anyone asked how old he was, he said 39. I took some pictures that I will try to post this weekend. Dad is now relaxing in his recliner in his pajamas but I'm almost ready to get him in the bed. It's been a long day for both of us! Susie