Ron fell out of bed - more stitches :(

While I was out of town, my brother Jim received a call that Ron had fallen out of Bed. He has been transferred to a long-term care facility, a big step down from the care he had been receiving. He had medical clearance to be moved as his wounds are healing very well. He can't do much but lift his arms and legs. He can scoot a little bit while grabbing the side of his bed and pushing with his arm and leg. He went to reach for a water cup and fell out of bed, cutting his head on the right side of his forehead. He had a black eye too. I went and saw him this last Friday while he was in McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden/emergency. He stayed the night as they thought he was wanting to hurt himself. My brother Jim made a good point. This is progress, he is becoming aware of what is happening and he is very frustrated. We knew the process of healing would be difficult. He seemed fine at the time I had visited him and in good spirits.

I stayed with him 3-4 hours while I talked to several nurses and deciding if we should move him to a different facility. Ron remembered how he fell out of bed. He said the place in Roy is terrible. They want to steal my medicine and it took them forever to come when I fell out of bed. It is hard to know what to believe. However, a nurse at the hospital told me that the place in Roy was wonderful as he went there for years growing up to visit his uncle.

The type of care he will be getting is so different from what he is used to. It will be an adjustment wherever he is. We decided to move him to a place in Washington Terrace in Ogden. That will be happening today. I am waiting to here on a time.

While with Ron I finally tracked down one of Ron's best friends that lives in Las Vegas, Bill. He and Ron had a good talk on the phone and it is amazing to watch how he is while in a conversation. He seems to remember a lot. A few hours prior to that conversation with Bill he was mumbling all kinds of crazy stuff. He told me he saw Tim (my husband) and that he just walked by his room in a suit. I told him that it couldn't have been Tim or he would be in the room with us! He said wow Tim looks just like his dad (he doesn't at all, he looks more like his mother). I said no Ron, he doesn't at all. Ron said "I mean his other dad, you know, Randi's husband" He was talking about my daughters husband Joe. He seems to bring up Randi's name every time I visit for some reason.

Last week he remembered that Uncle Clyde (my dad's brother) came to visit while he was in town. My aunt Joyce, cousins Stacey and Scott as well as Colleen, Clyde's wife. That was so great of them. Ron said it was a good visit. My aunt Joyce reported to me her thoughts:

"The difference in Ron since we last saw him two weeks ago is amazing! He knew all of us and even knew it was 2014. However, he'd forgotten that both of your parents were dead until we reminded him. He even asked Stacie to tell him how his dad died. He said he wanted his mom to come see him, and I had to tell him that wasn't possible. Then he said, well then, my other mom. We weren't quite sure about that. He said his left hand was all messed up but we noted he could move it and wiggle his fingers. Stacie told him she was upset that we didn't get invited to any of his weddings. He said no one was there, then he asked, who did I marry? When we asked if he'd like any books, he requested a Book of Mormon, along with books by Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Sidney Sheldon. Stacie said she could bring some books that were not Mormon (in fact, pretty in-Christian). He said to her, look, I've seen too much stuff not to believe it's true. We met his roommate, who told Clyde he had cancer and was there just waiting to die. Too bad. I can't see him and Ron becoming best buddies. Hopefully, Ron won't talk him into giving him any cigarettes! We asked him how he felt, now that his lungs were clear. He said he felt a lot better but the cravings are still strong. All in all, the strides he's made were amazing." (reported from my Aunt Joyce Cottrell on Sept. 16).