Joyce's KP Adventure mikepasini.com headlines
Cinco de Mayo
5 May 2025
Skilled Nursing Facilities are very observant. At least as far as holidays go. Golden Heights navigated Passover/Easter with a celebration of Spring. May, however, is easier to party with Cinco de Mayo celebrating Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
On my Sunday visit, the staff had already decorated the Pacific room with colorful banners spanning the ceiling, blowup cacti and sombreros, and a vibrant poster on the wall.
Joyce played Beethoven on the piano earlier but we returned for a portrait before I had to leave.
She didn't want to play the piano. And she didn't want to get up. And she didn't want to get dressed.
But she had been in bed all day Saturday (the one day a week I don't visit) and since Friday evening, in fact. And she hadn't played the piano in a few days because the Pacific room TV was tuned in to Britain Has Talent every day.
But after she got dressed and walked steadily to her wheelchair in the other hallway, and after she played the piano, she felt better.
She had a few bites of Salisbury steak for lunch, couscous too, even some cantaloupe. I had to ask at the main desk for the high protein Boost because the two nurse's carts I checked had none. But she drank that. Her weight, which I check each day, has remained stable at around 115.
The other big event this Cinco de Mayo is another MOCA test of her cognitive abilities. To get an idea how she'll do, I asked her a few of the questions I remember.
What city are you in? She knew. What building is this? She knew. What day of the week is it? She thought it was Friday and was surprised it was Sunday. What's the date? One day off. The year. She knew.
I think that's an improvement but we'll see later today. I'll report the results to Dr. Khanna tomorrow when she calls around 9 a.m.