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When Someone You Love Pees On You

My father isn't the steadiest. Sometimes, the Parkinson's is bad enough that he wants to go places in a wheelchair. If it's just him and me, that means I take him to the bathroom. Monday, he needed to go get his hearing aids fixed. And he wasn't very steady AND it was a bit icy, so we took the wheelchair.  The place doesn't have a handicapped door, but it does have a ramp. Getting the door open AND getting the wheelchair inside was awkward, but doable. At least I didn't have to lift him up the stairs. He needs to go to the bathroom. I go in with him, get him out of the chair, get his pants down, and all goes fine.  We have our appointment and go to pay and, low and behold, his credit card is declined. Now, I'm their power of attorney, both health and financial, so I note this, use his other card, and decide I'll call them later. No use fretting about it with him right there. I drive him back to the care facility and he needs to go again. This tim
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I Don't Want Fingerprints

A friend suggested that writing a blog about my parents might be a way for me to find some solace, or at least some humor, in the whole thing. So here goes - let's see if I manage to keep this up. I take care of my parents, who do not live with me nor do they live together. They live in a community which includes independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing care. Originally, they had a duplex together; now mom is in assisted living and dad in in skilled nursing. Mom has normal pressure hydrocephalus and is losing her memory. She has terrible balance and tends to hunch over to use her walker, no matter what the therapist says. Dad has mid-stage Parkinson's, which sometimes makes him weak enough he needs to use a wheelchair, though he uses a walker when he can. Saturday, Mom calls me to tell me that her computer doesn't work and her phone keeps asking for a fingerprint, which she doesn't want. I told her I'm not coming over, but eventually I give i
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