When Mike's Mom lived with us, our little Glory fell in love with her. Joan basically helped raise her from a 5-wk old tiny puppy to her full-grown stature of 17 pounds (she acts like she is much bigger and of course she is our growler). Everytime we visit Joan in Phoenix where she lives with Mike's sister, Barbara, we try to take Glory with us (Joan calls her Perky and I think believes that 'Perky' used to be her dog.). This past weekend we went to visit with Mike's brother Bob for an informal post-Thanksgiving trip. 
We also got to visit with Barbara's younger son, David, who has enlisted in the Army through the National Guard and had just finished his first weekend of training. He demonstrated his skills on the keyboard for us, a hobby of his that he would love to make a career someday. Joan actually got out of bed to watch his fingers fly, although she couldn't hear the actual performance. Check out Joan watching the performance, as well as David's fast-flying fingers, and Glory's appreciation of David's composition in the video below. I'm having trouble with the video, but will see if I can load it tomorrow.
Thanks to Barbara and her doctor, we were also able to turn the fun visit into a practical one. We were able to get Joan signed up with a Hospice group who does home health care. She will get a nurse visiting 1-2 times per week to monitor her health, a home health aide at least once per week to help her bathe. This should provide Joan with very close monitoring of her overall health and especially her cardiovascular health, chrondritis, dementia/mental health, and colon condition. Because the nurse will see her regularly, she will be able to monitor her closely for any changes in her condition. Joan will be re-evaluated every 3 months to see if she is still eligible for Hospice care. Some patients have been on Hospice care for more than 2 years. And, the good news is that it is 100% paid for thru Medicare. And, it will give Barbara quite a bit of relief as most doctor's visits should be eliminated.
