Happy Valentine’s Day!
This was, “For Sure” an interesting week with Mom.
Going back to last Sunday, just so you know, that after I had posted, Mom took a fall. She was in the geri-chair and decided she wanted to get up. Well, she did and then went down. She was fine and not at all shaken. So, they put her in a wheelchair.
Rather than push on the wheels of the chair for movement, Mom used her feet to putter about. They kept an eye on her and watched as she carefully parallel parked her chair by her room, then tried to stand up - plop! She fell again. This time she had a bit of a bump on her arm, but still had no complaints. So, we contacted hospice about putting alarms on her chairs. They were there the next day. Whew!
Starting with Monday, Mom wasn’t really all that keen to get up, but she did in time to eat a little, then greet Connie and Jean:
Dear Tony,
We signed in just after 11:30 am at St. Anthony's to see Norma. Her door was propped open by a wheelchair, with two caregivers in the bathroom helping Norma get cleaned up and dressed.
Jean offered to bring the big recliner-type rolling chair that was in the great room. Bridget said Norma had fallen twice yesterday, trying to stand. So the regular wheelchair is for her use now; it's safer.
Lettie was on duty; has been about a year since we had seen her. Lianna was the third caregiver we saw.
Norma was rolled out to the community room, looking good with her white sweater and blue jeans. We sat at a table. Jean brought Norma the glass of red juice from her room; she had no breakfast, so, might at least drink that, we thought. She did drink that in the next few minutes.
We asked Norma if she'd had a haircut; her hair looked shorter. Her nails had red polish, some worn off. Jean told her she will bring pink polish next visit. Sun was shining, and we spoke briefly of the warmer weather.
Connie had brought a Wall Street Journal. We spoke of what an interesting paper that is, and whether they had book reviews. Connie said, “Yes, Friday or Saturday. And the delicious-looking recipes--those are fun to read.”
Jean asked Norma if she liked to read book reviews. "It depends on where they are and where I am at the moment." Swear to God!
We asked Norma to read the first paragraph of one story, telling her, "I can't read the print from this distance." So she read two or three sentences clearly. That was great! Could not tell if she was taking in the meanings, but she certainly read well. She appears to read stories in any newspaper; it's nice to hear her read aloud. Caregivers say she reads her papers.
We then morphed (is that the word?) into a discussion on onions and how we use them in our cooking.
Jean mentioned that her sister Kathleen does not like onions; but she, Jean, really likes them. Connie told of cooking onion pieces with cheese soup; Jean told of the time my mom made creamed onions--not well received at her house. Jean asked Norma if she likes onions. "Like him or like them?" she asked.
Norma's vision is good. When we asked if she could see the words on the bulletin board--pictures of hearts with "I love you to pieces" written on each one--she repeated the words easily.
Lunch was served, with soup first. Bits of chicken with pieces of veggies. Without asking, Jean just started to feed her, giving mostly the meat. Four bites and no more.
Main course--an attractive plate of julienne cut string beans was next to a mound of small, thin noodles topped with a generous serving of ground meat in sauce and lots of shredded parmesan cheese. Surely she would eat that, we figured. Nope! No deal there. The one bite we offered was met with the firmly closed mouth you have seen many times.
Okay--no lunch, and Lettie took the plate away, telling Norma she could have it later if she wished.
But then dessert was offered--new interest. Did she want the raisin cookie offered or that gorgeous piece of chocolate cream pie? Three guesses. She polished off that pie in short order--by herself. Motivation is key.
A large colorful clothing protector had been put on Norma, to keep her sweater clean. After she had eaten, Jean started to take it off but she wanted to keep it on. She indicated that by holding it so Jean left it alone.
During our two-hour visit Norma at times would lower her head, close her eyes and rest them; did she have little catnaps or just rest her eyes? We could not tell. If Connie or Jean spoke to her, she came back to us. She always seems glad to have our company.
Norma was more engaged than in recent visits. Bridget brought three pills--one was the refused am pill. Norma did not want to take them, but she took one at a time, with water to wash them down.
By 1:30 Norma looked ready for a nap. We said goodbye to her, and she said goodbye to us. No more of the old "I'll go with you."
The missive from the two guests illustrates how Mom has been this week. Except---- She began rising before breakfast in a cheery and happy mood. She might eat a part of her breakfast, then dabble on lunch, and either refuse or eat a smidgen of her dinner. Sometimes, though, it seems as though she won’t eat the breakfast, will dabble with lunch, and eat even less dinner. But, her spirits were up.
Yesterday, Saturday, Mom didn’t arise until around 11 am. She ate very little lunch, then refused dinner. She did not even want to think about breakfast! The caregivers are discovering the art of dispensing her medications to her, as well. They have learned (these are newer caregivers, so give them a little leeway, here) that you give Mom her pills, explain what each is for, and she’ll take them. Simple! Some try to give them all to her at once, and that doesn’t end very pleasantly.
This morning, Mom didn’t want to get out of bed again. I had told Leddy that my brother and his wife were coming to visit around 1030, so she might want to get up and greet them. She did!
However, this morning when I arrived, she had received a bouquet of Valentine Roses and was nodding off at the breakfast table. My brother had left not long before. Mom was alert when she wasn’t dozing.
“Hey there!” I said as I arrived.
She smiled. “Oh, you’re finally here! It’s good to see you!”
“You look very nice today.”
“Thank you!”
“Look at those beautiful flowers. Who sent those for you?”
“You did,” she smiled.
“Did Lawrence come?”
“Yes. He was here and spent the day with me.”
This was all through nodding off.
Her breakfast plate looked relatively untouched, as did her yogurt, juice, and coffee. I attempted to give her a piece of bacon, which was refused. “I want to do that myself,” she stated, while picking at her sweater. She never did pick it up from the plate, although she did hoist her coffee cup to her lips and took a sip. That was it. Nothing more.
Not much more conversation was to be had. She wanted to nap right there. She had used up her energy.
We know it’s not the medication that’s doing this to her, now. We do know that this disease is so cryptic and enigmatic no one knows what lies ahead.
Perhaps she will be a little more alert tomorrow, as we’ve seen her go down like this before, but have an upswing in the ensuing days. Or, she will just continue on this path of deterioration. Only time will tell.
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