Many of you have e-mailed me to ask how my dad is adjusting to the Board and Care facility he moved to a few weeks ago.

He is surprisingly content! Nearly everything we have worried about…hasn’t happened (yes, I do know Mark Twain wrote a quote to that effect).

Partly, I think we created a “soft landing” for Dad by introducing him to the Board and Care well before the actual move, then my mom stayed with him a few nights for the initial transition. Also, we had established a daily routine for him with Respite Care, so his days are busy.

Mostly, though, I credit the good Lord for blessing my dad in the midst of a losing battle with Alzheimer’s.

And there are still some funny moments!

Last weekend, I received a call from the manager of the Board and Care: “Suzanne, there’s been an incident with your father.”

Uh oh.

Turns out that another elderly AD patient had flagged Dad as he walked past her room. She insisted that she needed an ambulance (she was having a panic attack).

Dad–ever so helpful–somehow dialed 911 (we don’t know how he did that! He has trouble dialing.), directed the paramedics to the woman and insisted–INSISTED–that they take her to the hospital despite the caregivers’ pleas to the paramedics that they knew how to handle this woman’s panic attacks.

So, somehow, my dad mustered up his most authoritative voice…enough to convince paramedics how to do their job…even though they had responded to a call at an Alzheimer’s facility!

Dad has been duly informed by the Board and Care facility that he is NOT to make phone calls without a caregiver’s help.