Is it possible that the dehydration might have a medical (not neglect) cause?

Hopefully we'll find this out today. The ER wants info on how the nursing home is administering fluids, and we're gonna talk to the nursing home too.

Is it possible for a family member to be there with him during the day, even if it's just for a few hours? maybe your mother?

Probably not. My mom would need a ride there and her memory is getting pretty bad these days.

That's too bad, tommyrot. My mom was unable to feed herself, so we tried to always have someone there for at least 2 meals a day. The staff were good about helping their patients eat, I should note, but they had their hands full.

Aging parents, man, it's just so hard!

Is it possible that the dehydration might have a medical (not neglect) cause?

Hopefully we'll find this out today. The ER wants info on how the nursing home is administering fluids, and we're gonna talk to the nursing home too.

If he's peeing more than usual, or even sweating too much, that could be enough to dehydrate him, too. I hope you can get to the bottom of this!

I saw Awesome Doctor this morning for my heart-exploding blood pressure. I told him that, too: when he walked in, I said, "Well, my heart is going to explode. Or maybe my head, like in that movie 'Scanners.' I'm not sure which."

"Hold on," he said. "I want to get my phone so I can record it if it happens right now!"

He deserves the title of Awesome Doctor.

He said he's not terribly worried about my blood pressure, because it's not remotely close to stroke-level high. But it is definitely too high (it was 154/100 today, which actually made me laugh, because WHAT THE HELL, BODY???), so he doubled the dose of my blood pressure meds. Apparently the dose I had been taking for years was lower than the lowest recommended dose, so now my dose is the actual lowest recommended dose.

I asked him what could be the cause, because when a health measure changes, there has to be a reason, and if it's something I can change/prevent, I want to. He said, "You aren't going to like the reason." I said, "Don't say my weight -- I've lost weight, AND my blood pressure was normal for years even when my weight was higher!"

He said, "Oh, not weight -- you're getting old."

So I clutched at my chest and said "Nooooooo!" He laughed.

So apparently my head won't explode, and I have more drugs. No big deal. He told me it'll probably help if I can increase my workout intensity -- walking the dog is, admittedly, not the same as walking a 15-minute mile at the gym. But that's not a weight-loss thing; he said a little more exertion is good for a body that sits all day at work, which is true.

Sometimes I forget I'm technically a "senior" employee until I have to tell a much younger coworker that I'm trying not to over-commit to a presentation we're supposed to give because I've got too many leadership updates due tomorrow.

I'm glad you head isn't going to explode. Today, at least.

One of the search and rescue kids is in the hospital. She is a very thin girl to begin with who stresses over every little thing on a good day. She goes to Arapahoe High School and hasn't eaten since the shooting, so they are putting in a feeding tube. She called CJ on the way to the hospital, apologizing for...I'm not even sure what. I think he is going to go out to the hospital to visit her today. I want to do something for her, but I have no idea what.

Oh god, that poor kid.

Glad you're not going to explode, Steph.

Man, I just reviewed a crapload of terrible job applicants, and a couple of OK ones. Depressing.

I apologize in advance for anyone who is having productivity issues today. I have the day off, but have to pick up mac at 2. It seems I am actually going to be productive today, so yeah, I stole it.

- laundry in
- dog dishes washed
- car cleaned out (not vacuumed)
- litter cleaned

I have 2 bags of clothes/stuff to go to thrift stores and a storage bin of NOT MY books to go to half-price books, also mail ready to go.

Let's hope I can keep this up for tomorrow also!

re: the article about man and dog on foodstuff. There is a go fund me link for them that should be added - it is over $20K, so maybe not a link, but a note recognizing that not all people suck. It looks like maybe some of the funds will go to the org that trained the guide dog.

Thanks for all the advice last night. Rose is doing better today. We did take her to the ER because when M picked her up at daycare last night her fever had risen to 104.7, and I was worried it could keep rising. We had a pretty decent ER experience, fortunately; they got us in and out as quickly as possible, about an hour and a half in total. The advice was just what you all were saying: Tylenol/ibuprofen, keep her hydrated and keep an eye on her. I was very relieved when I got to the ER last night to see that she was acting basically normal; a little fussy & clingy, but otherwise her usual inquisitive self, which is a good sign.

She slept well last night and after taking another dose of Tylenol this morning, her temp was down to 99.1. I'm sure it will fluctuate a bit, but am very relieved that it's responding to medication.

I like your doc, Steph.

I hope I can syphon off a bit of msbelle's productivity as I am trying to clean up the den today.