September begins a new year

I have seen Dianna daily spending one or two hours with her on each visit.  Bella has come with me most of the time. I am doggie sitting Bella while Lisa and Les are in Europe. Bella is good with the staff and residence of the Lodge and when I have been with Dianna she lays down and naps until we leave. As a rule my visits are 11/2 to 2 hours.
Over the last couple of weeks Dianna has been in her Broda chair in her room. Most times she is napping when we enter. I have been able to get her to wake but not always. She still recognises me and is always happy to see me. It is a quiet recognition now where as before she would get quite excited when I came into the room. Does this mean she is resigned to her situation? Hard to say. There are other signs that Dianna is more docile. Her speech is not as clear as it was. For some time now see has been limited to incoherent speech with the occasional word or phrase expressing an immediate response. It is no longer possible to get a yes or no from her.
On the positive side Dianna is seen by staff as a friendly person with a wonderful engaging smile. Three are some occasions when she has been abrupt with staff but these are few; if asked, she will tell you that she likes the staff.  Unfortunately because off her speech limitations she is not able to interact with other residents.
Two days ago the head of staff asked me how I felt about moving Dianna to another room in section 3. After looking at the room I decided the move would be good for Dianna. It does appear to have been a good move. I have visited her twice since the move and she says she likes it.  While smaller it is newly renovated and looks quite nice.  I got her a small flat screen tv which allows her to listen to music.  She does not watch tv programs.

Surprises

The visit on August 31 was not a pleasant one as Dianna was suffering from congestion. Her cough is not strong enough to get rid of the mucus and, in this condition she is very susceptible to choking. It is not a pleasant experience to see her struggling in these situations (this it's not the first time). It's clear that it takes a lot out of her physically. It was so upsetting to me that I left after a short visit. Lisa, Les, and Bella had arrived and stayed with her.

What really added to the situation was that it was our 51st anniversary. I had shared this with Di before I left but did not feel she either understood or cared given her struggle with congestion. 

When Lisa arrived home she's presented me with an orchid and a lovely card saying it was from Dianna. The tears flowed then as she told me  Dianna had wanted her to get me something. I didn't believe her because I knew the state Dianna was in. She assured me it was so..Dianna had wanted her to do this.

The next day we again went to see Dianna not sure what to expect. 
When we got there Dianna was much better. She was breathing without any  congestion and was quite pleased to see us. Lisa asked her if she had wanted her to get me anniversary gift. She said yes so Lisa told her what she had gotten for me. I was dumbfounded. Here I didn't think she really knew or cared about our anniversary. It was a wonderful surprise.

Another surprise came two days before when we received a card from Elaine Loehr wishing us all the best. In the card was a picture of Elaine with Carolyn Czarnecki and her sister, Marie along with Elaine's mother. A wonderful card Elaine. I read your kind words to Dianna and showed her the card. She recognized you and Carolyn but has never meet Marie. She was delighted to hear from you as was I.