Documentary Day 3

Today the Documentary Crew and I went to visit Michael's Museum, shot some footage there, then returned to Skokie to visit Gregory. We spent approximately 30 minutes with him then it was time for dinner. We were able to set up in a way that the cameras did not invade the privacy of the other residents but their ambient noise did create a wonderful background of what life on the fifth floor of Lieberman is like.

Gregory has developed a cold so his engagement was slightly reduced but he did end up being able to feed himself more often then I have ever seen him do so! Dinner tonight was lamb stew with mushrooms, mixed vegetables, and orzo.

It was somewhat difficult to get food into his mouth when I was doing the work because he was so badly bent over to the right. When he does not feel well or is tired, his neck seems to give out and rests uncomfortable to the right. I have had OT/PT working on this but haven't seen any improvement yet.

Dessert was canned plums and I was very tempted to have one for myself. But I resisted temptation.

Gregory did feed himself, as I mentioned, but he was less engaged then he usually is if only because of his cold/cough. I told him that I felt bad he wasn't feeling well and I really did mean it! I am just getting over a cold myself so I know how bad one can feel.

After dinner we went back to his room, camera crew in tow, said our goodbyes and left. This time Gregory did not seem too upset that I was leaving. I told him, "I'll  see you tomorrow, OK?" and he replied to the affirmative.

This is the second time of shooting at Lieberman and we will be back tomorrow for whatever shots might come up but mainly for Gregory's "Painting" session. He has not been too successful with his finger painting but we decided to try once more for the benefit of the camera and the documentary. We think that his struggling with the painting backed with stills of some of his wonderful art work will help show some of the changes that have occurred over time.

Will keep you in touch as we continue. Actually this post was staged so that the camera could capture my doing a post. Earlier I had talked about how I turned to the computer, as Gregory continued to fail in his abilities, as a way of processing what I was experiencing, as a way to deal with my emotions, and as a way to keep family and friends up to date without my having to tell the same story over and over again.

When you watch the documentary then, you might see my fingers flying across the keyboard!