Sustaining Elder Care/Road Trip to Texas – May 2026
/I made my monthly trek to Texas to see my dad last week. I made the usual stop at the Texas Welcome Center on US75 to eat my salad lunch and note the changes in the native plant garden near the building. The bluebonnets have lots of seed pods forming – with a few blooms remaining. The Texas Mountain Laurel was also producing pods.
An hour later…I found my dad in the activity room with a lot of other residents. It was ice cream sandwich day! He was soundly asleep! I decided that I would wake him up for the treat since ice cream has always been his favorite dessert. He enjoyed it --- but made no attempt to feed himself. Afterward we walked outside. I guided the walker since he can no longer see well enough to stay on the sidewalk. He moved very slowly but did make it around the courtyard and back to his room without stopping for a rest….and then he wanted to go back to sleep in his chair.
The next morning, I arrived after he ate breakfast. He was asleep in the chair! I noticed that he hadn’t taken his medications, so I woke him up for that. He managed to take them with a little assistance and then agreed to go for a walk. He had more difficulty getting up from the chair than he did in April. We walked indoors since the morning was wet and cool outside. He managed a normal walk, but when we got back to his room he wanted to go to sleep. He seemed to listen when he was awake but the only clear comments he made were about not being able to see.
My sisters are noticing his decline as well. We’re trying to keep him moving on his own (with his walker)…but we all are aware that it might not be possible for much longer.
