Donald / Dad Profile
Social
- He speaks English, knows Spanish
- Address him as Dad and remind him of your name
- Orientate him continuously during the day to the time, day, month and year
- Prompt him constantly to do positive things: talk, bath, shave, hygiene, trim nails, clean glasses, comb hair, brush teeth, drink something, walk around the house or garden, exercise, physical therapy, read, talk on the phone with relatives and friends, play bingo and chess, checkers, do puzzles all with the goal of being self sufficient and keeping his mind active
- Use the TV as a last resort; show him how to change channels how to adjust the volume to level 40.
- Favorite channels are the history, sports, PBS, Hallmark, (avoid violence and shocking news such as fires as he is liable to think the house is on fire or violence)
- The remote controls have on the back a list of suggested channels
- Put the phone on the loudest setting or on speaker phone
- Converse with him and avoid languages other than English and Spanish in his presence to prevent confusion as to whether he is at home.
Medical
- Wears glasses but no dentures nor hearing aid
- Hard of hearing so speak above normal level, be repetitious
- Check his listening and understanding by asking questions
- Prone to fall and is frail so he must use a walker with a belt to avoid a hip fracture
- If you catch him without his walker, help him immediately and bring the walker to him; Position the walker next to him so he when he stands, he remembers to use it
- Weak so cannot stand long by himself so offer him a chair to sit
- When he stands up, remind him to push up from the chair arms
- When he sits, remind him to guide himself down but finding the chair arm with his hand
- He should use the footrest of his chair to prevent swelling of the lower legs
- Has Congestive Heart Failure so he tires easily but he still needs to exercise
- Watch for swelling and redness in his feet and lower legs so please check by removing socks and shoes.
- BP averages 111, / 53,55 and he has a normal pulse 57,58,61 check twice a day (after breakfast and before dinner
- Prone to Constipation so give plenty of fruits
- Has dry skin so give him plenty of lotion over his body and keep him hydrated
- Likes a warm bath, scrub skin to remove scaling, barnacles and dead skin
- Not urinary incontinent so he does not wear a diaper
- Goes to bathroom by himself, doesn’t like help
- A sound sleeper who hardly wakes up at night other than to go to the bathroom
Religion: Active Roman Catholic
Married: Wife is Leonor (see her profile)
Family
3 Sons, oldest is Carl (wife is Kathy) who live in Puerto Rico, middle is Roy (wife is Erin) who live in Hawaii and youngest is John (wife is Gabriela) who live in Oak Park
Short Biography
Born in Ohio, There is another younger brother Roger living in Phoenix, Married in 1955. Lived in Los Angeles since 1956, was a logistic engineer in Aerospace for Boeing. Enjoyed gardening, swimming, reading, and vacationing to Hawaii. Attended daily mass and ate breakfast at Mortl’s Deli and lunch at PF Change, Pochito Mas, Maggiannos and McDonalads. Watches sports, history, game shows (Jeopordy and Wheel of Fortune and nature shows)
Nutrition
- Moderate strength of coffee (light roast) with milk and sugar
- No ice in drinks but a cold drink from the refrigerator is fine
- A little salt is ok
- Let him feed himself
- Avoid lying him down after a meal but instead have him sit up or walk
- Enjoys snacking
- Likes popcorn, ice cream and cookies
Daily Routine
Morning
Wake him up at 9 a.m.
Introduce yourself.
Orientate him to the time, day, and month of the year and do this continually throughout the day.
Be positive such as “It is a start to another wonderful day.”
Recite with him the Guardian Angel prayer.
Clean and put on his glasses.
Check his blood pressure.
Check if he is dry.
Get him out of bed slowly.
Put on shoes and follow him to the bathroom while he uses his walker.
Does he need to use the toilet?
Let him brush his teeth.
Have him wash his face.
Have him shave his face.
Put lotion on his hands, etc.
Change him to day cloths and put clean underwear, t-shirt and socks on.
Take him to den chair to watch television while you prepare breakfast.
Before 9:30 pm, Caregiver prepares breakfast.
Take him to the kitchen table around 9 to 9:30.
He feeds himself and please have the two morning papers (Los Angeles Times and Daily News) ready for him to read.
During breakfast, give him his medicines.
Check his blood pressure, pulse and temperature after breakfast.
Take him to the den chair and sit him down to watch more television and read the paper.
Caregiver cleans kitchen.
Do exercise / activities.
Give him a snack around 10:30 at his chair and prompt him to drink and also about the time of day.
If he falls asleep, you can take him to his bed for a morning nap.
Prepare Lunch.
At 12:30 give him lunch.
After lunch, encourage him to go to the patio outside to sit and look at the garden if weather permits.
Point out the flowers, birds, squirrels, sky trees, fruits, leaves – engage conversation.
At anytime he gets tired of being outside, bring him to the chair or to his bed for a nap.
Clean up after lunch.
Give him a snack at 3 pm and encourage him to drink always and about the time of day.
Have him do some activities: listen to music, look at photo albums, take him in the wheelchair out front, phone call to friends, read the newspaper, play games, do a puzzle, etc.
Take him to the chair in the den to watch television as a last resort.
Prepare dinner.
Dinner time is between 5 and 6 pm.
Take him to the table.
Check his blood pressure, pulse and temperature.
Feed him and give him his medicines and encourage him to drink..
After dinner, take him to the den to sit.
Watches evening television and prompt him to drink and about the time of day.
Watches television especially Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
Eats a lot of snacks in front the evening television shows.
Clean up after dinner.
At 9:30 or whenever he wants (as late as 11 pm sometimes,) prepare him for bed.
Turn off the television in the den.
Let him go to the restroom.
He brushes his teeth.
Change to nighttime wear.
Take him to bed and turn on his lamp by his bedside.
Remove his glasses and put it in the case.
Turn off the light by his bed but leave the light on by the Mother of Perpetual Help.
Leave the doors open.
He probably will sleep all through the night.