Spitzboov's Visit to Argyle

Visit to Argyle - April 28, 2018 1:15 - 2:00 pm

Logistics - Found his residence without incident, and logged in as a visitor. Betty came in, too, and the staff made us feel welcome. It appears to be a fairly new facility. Argyle is on the 2nd floor, Room 219 in the Springs building which has an inside corridor connection to the visitor entrance. 

His room was large and reasonably cheery.

Met a nice lady exiting the elevator and asked if she knew where 219 was. Turned out it was Jennifer herself who was just leaving. I told her about the poster and she went back with us to help hang it.

She said he was expecting us and wanted us to visit him.

Visit:

Santa has lost his beard, but still has 1/2 inch stubble where the beard was. When we entered he was being fed by a staff member. He cannot feed himself, so I think it will be some time, if ever, that he will actively use a computer. He did have a computer there, and it was linked to the crossword corner page. But it was not near his bed. So I don’t think e-mailing will work. 

He reminded me he had dictated the entry that Jennifer posted a couple nights ago, so his memory seemed ok to me. 

While he was being fed, it was virtually impossible to talk. He was being served a delicious meal of salad, lasagna, pears and milk. The attendant was very nice to him, but it made me wince that he couldn’t feed himself. He had good color to his face and arms. He is on oxygen. He had an almost constant light smile. His right leg was amputated a few inches below the knee. He said he had a prosthesis but is not using it yet. He did complain of pain at the amputation site. 

After he was finished eating we talked a short while. I had brought him the weekend edition of the WSJ and several American Legion magazines. But I don’t thing he will read them soon since he can’t hold them in his hands. 

I asked if he was doing physical therapy and he said he was. But I wonder.

After about 45 minutes he seemed to be getting tired so we left. Before leaving I reminded him again how the whole site is rooting for him and wishing him well and expresses their concern.

Phone - The phone is right next to his bed and he can reach it easily. (If you call him and get no answer, I would just keep calling back. He indicated he would be glad to get phone calls.). Maybe his hands are too shaky. (I took his hand several times and they seemed steady enough, but that he needs others to feed him is telling.)

Al