Joyce's KP Adventure mikepasini.com headlines
Happy Birthday, Joyce!
29 November 2025
Joyce woke up to balloons tied to her bed wishing her a happy birthday. Her 75th. Meanwhile I was buying her birthday cake when nephew Joe Pasini called to wish her a happy one. That started a day of phone calls from people she cares about.
I went to pick her up before the CNA had gotten to her or even the RN doing the wound care on Saturday. But I help her with her scheduled toileting each morning so the CNA wasn't really needed.
We did need the wound care RN so the CNA got her for us and she worked fast to clean the wound and get it dressed. I helped by holding Joyce's leg up so she could wrap the Ace bandage around it.
She wore the new top her sister Carol had given her when she visited. She was afraid to wear the wrap skirt. But then, I thought, she doesn't stand up to put a skirt on. She sits and pulls it over her head.
She did fine climbing the stairs and getting into the house. I've learned to stand behind her as she crosses the threshold, coaching where to put the trekking pole and which leg to step with. I hold onto her belt with my right hand and her left hand with my left to guide her in.
She thought she should remove the padded burgundy seats from the chairs. It was the first time she'd seen them. I had her pillow on hers to cushion her wound so she just had to sit on her chair.
I put on her favorite CDs and warmed up some frozen La Brea bread, cooked the lobster bisque and while all that was going on I made a steak salad with red onions, black olives, heirloom cherry tomatoes from Canada, blue cheese crumbles and some green onions. Tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
She had a St. Croix lemon-cello water before I opened the Carpene-Malvolti prosecco. We had the same prosecco had her big bash years ago at the Improvement Club.
She ate everything except she complained there was too much steak in the salad. I kept telling her there was only about four ounces of meat in there but as soon as I told her, she complained that there was too much steak.
In the dressing the thin slices of meat are easily chewed, which is a problem for her. But not today.
Then she had her cake and ice cream and opened presents, including a lovely alpaca shawl from her sisters and some books she can read in the afternoons before dinner from me.
She made it down the stairs with no trouble but she tripped over her own foot walking to the car, panicked and couldn't get her balance. I couldn't hold her up when she started falling over but I had my hand on her belt so I controlled her descent to the sidewalk. Then I helped her sit up.
Meanwhile I gray SUV coming up the street stopped and the woman in the passenger seat dashed over to see if we needed any help. Just to get her up, I said. "I'm not very strong," she warned me but I'd already lifted Joyce up a bit and she got the other side and together we got her leaning against me.
Joyce's right foot looked bent at the ankle but there was nothing actually wrong with it. Not even a sprain. She was just afraid to put and weight on her feet. But after a moment, as the driver joined us to help, she walked to the car and got in.
They asked if she needed to go to the hospital and I told them she was on her way to a nursing home. The woman suggested they get her a wheel chair there and I did that when we arrived. I thanked the couple for stopping and for their help and assured them she'd be OK. And off they went.
It was a little gift from the gods, I think. I couldn't have lifted her to her feet. I would have had to go into the house for a chair while she sat on the sidewalk. I can get her in a chair.
She felt her ankles as I drove back and reported no pain. I told the RN about it just so they'd know. She said she'd write up that she'd fallen but got up and was fine so they don't discontinue any walking. She didn't even need to ice it.
Meanwhile she was getting texts and phone calls so when we got back to the room she returned the phone calls after responding to the texts. That cheered her up immensely. I suspect she had forgotten all about the fall by then.
The two most obvious effects of her dementia are anxiety and memory loss. She can remember things like how much to tip someone or when the mortgage is due but can't remember what I just told her or if she's had lunch yet. And the anxiety is constant. Except at home with her CDs playing. But as soon as she stands up the fear overwhelms her.
But she turned 75 today. There was no stopping her.