Stop the world

Yesterday Jean said, "Stop the world, I want to get off. I'm serious this time.  I've gone far enough."

I said yes, he certainly has gone far.

Where am I?

When we got Jean up today, he asked,"Where am I?" This could be partly just a reaction to waking up from a dream, in which he was traveling. But he does seem to be losing some of his shorter-term memory, or at least it comes and goes.

John asked him if he remembered retiring, and where he used to work. "Not quite."

We told him he retired in 2009, six years ago, and he has been living here in Kentucky since then.
Then he said, "I've been in bed for six years?"

"No. This has just been your home base. You traveled all over.  You took many trips out west, to visit the family. You traveled to Panama, and the tour leader there, Mario, arranged for his father to take you on some private tours. Remember Mario?"

"No."

"Then you went to Iceland, and the following summer you spent a month in Switzerland, etc."

So this partial loss of memories makes it harder for him to orient himself in time and place.
I'm going to try to find and print some photos from the last years and put them up on his wall. I think he'll like that.

Jean received mail from a close family member, which made him happy, of course.
 He asked John to read the letter to him.
I know Grandpa looks as if he is asleep, but actually he is listening intently, and conserving his energy.
His condition has been up and down lately. Some days are not so good, other days are better.

Grandma Hoenshell

Yesterday, while glancing through some old photos that Julee had sent, I found this brief excerpt from a family history written by Julee's father (Jean's brother-in-law), Lee Blair. It's about Jean and June's maternal grandmother, Grandma Hoenshell.

"1940.  One of the great things about dating June was picking her up for a date, and being entertained by her Grandma Hoenshell while I was waiting for her. She always wanted to entertain me. At this time she was in her 70's, a slender gray-haired lady of true delight. She was raised on a farm, and had this story of coming back from town in a wagon with a load of pigs and going in a ditch and falling off. The pigs scattered everywhere. I heard this story almost every time I arrived at 1805 Commonwealth in Alhambra, and later when they moved to 1812 Pepper Street, just a couple of blocks away. She was such a great sport, and after we were married and we ate at a restaurant somewhere, she would always say at the end of the meal, "Well, that was worth a quarter!", and then "Lee, you forgot some money", referring to the tip."

"She was so proud of her beautiful daughter in Holton, Kansas. Mother Charles - Jessie - WAS a looker, and very popular in High School. However, Grandma Hoenshell spoiled her a lot, especially since she became a truly accomplished pianist."

"Grandma had mild stomach problems (always taking some slight medicine), but lived to be 90 and died in 1951. I remember her nose always had a patch of adhesive on the bridge of it - she had had cancer and it left a hole there which she always covered. June inherited this tendency and had cancer there in her midlife."

A Doctor's Visit

The m.d. who oversees the Hospice care came by to see Jean today. It was the first time. It's nice to see a doctor making a house call!  My father was a country doctor, and he made house calls all the time. So this was kind of nostalgic for me.
The doctor said Jean is doing well under the circumstances, and commented on his sense of humor.
He asked Jean what his biggest concern is, and Jean answered, "I want to move away from here." He wasn't joking. Freedom of movement is what he longs to have.

A while ago, Jean said he should watch the old movie, The Count of Monte Cristo, again.
"He was a prisoner too, and I'd like to see how he got out of it."

Jean has become a lot weaker, but at this point we can still get him up twice a day. He is not bedridden yet.  His appetite was quite poor for a while, but has improved again. This morning, though, he did not eat one bite of his breakfast, an omelette with country gravy, which he normally likes.  Hopefully he will eat a little extra this evening. For dessert, I'll make him a milkshake.

Giro!

Jean cannot read books or magazines much anymore, so the tv and videos have become important, especially those with subtitles, since he can't hear very well either.

Recently he enjoyed 'Exodus', a new dvd sent by one of his sons.

Also, he has been interested in bicycle races lately! They usually have sub-titles as well.

Lately it's been the Giro d'Italia. Such gorgeous scenery. Before that we had others, such as the 'Tour de Yorkshire' and the 'Tour de California'.  In California, they spent one whole day riding in and around Lodi, so he and John enjoyed seeing some of that.      

Next, we'll have the 'Tour de Suisse', with more gorgeous scenery; and then in July, the 'Tour de France'.  Maybe he'll get tired of it, but as of now, he still wants to watch the bike races!

Today is Jacob's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Jake! He and Grandpa Jean have been friends for a long time. This picture was taken when we lived in Duesseldorf, Germany. Jean was on a European trip,  and came by to visit.

When Jake and John did their epic bike ride from Kentucky to Utah five summers ago, Jean met them in Missouri as he was driving east back to home from one of his trips out west. They thought he would be with them just for a few days, but he insisted on accompanying them for the whole trip until they got to Utah. He was a big help. One thing he did was bring them food and water on some of those long stretches of 70 + miles a day in areas where stores where few and far between.