Moving on her own power

When we dropped by Sunshine Terrace on Saturday afternoon, Diane Fiefield was there with flowers she had brought. She said as she arrived Alda was mozying down the hall ON HER OWN POWER! I have noticed that they don't put the footrest on the wheelchair. I've seen her moving her feet as they push her, but I've never seen her actually moving the chair by herself. Amazing! She said that Diane had helped her move from the wheelchair to her recliner. That sounds like a one-person assist, doesn't it? I'm totally shocked that an older person would even attempt to move Alda - so Alda must have been able and willing to help.

I had made lemon squares, which she seemed to enjoy. She indicated she was cold, so I got McKenzie to show me how to adjust the temperature. While you can't just set the temperature higher, you can turn the heater on to a fixed setting (high, medium, low). The heat just poured in.

The hand towel I had seen earlier in the week was on the back of the recliner - almost as a protective cover. I asked Alda what it was doing, but she told me it was just a hand towel that she used in the bathroom. I have rags that look ten times better. No kidding. It was threadbare and the binding had separated from the cloth. I was going to say something to them, but decided to just take it so it couldn't be used again. I have a ton of hand towels I don't need, so I'll just bring one of mine when I return.

It was another beautiful day in Cache Valley so we TRIED to get her to go on a walk with us in the wheelchair, but could not talk her into it. I would think she would be anxious to leave the confines on her room, but she wasn't at all interested.

We called Lynda for her birthday. Alda just lit up talking to her. I heard her tell Lynda that she wasn't staying at Sunshine Terrace much longer as she was doing much better. She was going to move to Legacy House. When I queried her after, she said that no one had told her she was moving to Legacy House, but that they had determined that herself. She knew that Bob and Norm were coming on Monday morning (at ten) for an evaluation with the case worker. She was very much aware of days, times, and events.

As we left her with the television blaring and the heat pouring in, she was happy as a clam.