His iPhone

We were out at a friend's house to watch the football game this weekend and Dad called my cell.  He had just gone for a walk and used the Nike app and the line that maps your route was showing up but not the map.  Did I know why?  Yep I did.

When Dad was in the hospital the first time after he went missing after a few weeks he started asking for his iPhone and we, as a family, weren't sure if he should have it.  He had tried to sneak out of the hospital a couple of times, there was concern about him making long distance phone calls and he had also said a few times that there was no way he was going into a home - he was just going to disappear if that happened.  My brother really felt that he should have it so we all agreed and he went through and checked his contacts and then my sister and I went through and enabled the restrictions - the main thing we wanted to do was turn on his location services (so that if he went missing again, we would be able to find his location if he has his phone on) and then NOT allow him to make changes.   We went through his location services settings and turned off everything except for Find my iPhone - mainly because then his battery wouldn't drain so fast.

Well, I knew the Nike app wasn't working because it wasn't turned on in location services... and he didn't know we had enabled restrictions on his phone.  I decided to tell him the truth - that we had turned on his restrictions so he couldn't make changes after he disappeared.  To be honest I was anticipating a not so nice reaction but he didn't seem upset.  I talked him through getting into restrictions, changing it so he could make changes to his location services and then turning on the Nike app.  I then told him he should leave the location services on because it also allowed him to find his phone if he ever loses it and lock it remotely so nobody else can get on it.  Not sure if he did though.

I woke up early this morning and was thinking about our conversation and me talking him through making the changes.  There have been LOTS of times when both of my parents have phone me with "electronic" related problems and my Dad is great at poking his way through them with me over the phone -  more than my Mom sometimes can, which surprises me because of the Lewy Body.  There are times when he is so mentally sharp and clear - and it is those times when he is on the ball that make me feel so, so sad about him being in the care home.  Don't get me wrong - I definitely feel he should be there and don't doubt that decision at all - I just feel sad because that's my Dad and when I talk to him or when we visit and he's doing really good, the care home is a reminder that he won't always be doing really good and as much as I have come to terms (for lack of a better word) with him being sick and that he's going to die - it's hard.  

Remembrance Day

Things are going good.  Dad and I have been texting again more often although we still haven't talked.  He texted today asking if the kids were off school and said he talked to my husband last night.  He wanted to make sure that the kids know their Great Grandparents fought in World War 2.  He has always loved watching the war documentaries that come on around Remembrance Day.  So does my husband actually - which reminds me that he wanted me to change our TV package for the weekend so he could have The History Channel.  Still haven't talked much to my Mom or sister but that's not intentional anymore.  It is amazing how much of a weight this has lifted off my shoulders and how much more free I feel.  I know that sounds crazy but I think any of you have been in any sort of situation with a sick family member before probably understand how that feels.  The one thing that has slightly changed is knowing that my Mom and sister are reading the blog at first made me feel like I should watch what I blog or how I word things.  In the last entry I would start to type something and then stop and think about whether or not it would make someone upset but did end up typing what I was going to in the first place because the bottom line is that anything I type on here I would say in a conversation with them so what's the difference if they read it or hear it.  Because of the lack of conversation I'm just assuming things are going good with Dad health wise - he certainly seems to be having more of a positive attitude and I pray that he really is feeling more at peace and not just putting on an act.  It's been one month since he moved into the care home.