What a busy week for Mom!
She had the doctor's appointment on Monday.
Next, the RLS (Connie & Jean) came to play Scrabble and to visit.
Mom played quite well, even though she liked keeping 8-10 tiles at a time (by this time, the ladies realize there's just no following THAT rule!)
The rest of the week went relatively well for her. She played Bingo and did what normally happens during the day in her cottage at St. Anthony's.
Tonight, though, brought the reality of the situation closer to home.
When my brother went to pick her up, Mom was fully dressed! for bed! and was in bed....So, she arose and dressed quickly (for her). It took only 45 minutes from his arrival to their departure. I'm jealous; usually it takes her much longer when I'm around.
Before I arrived at dinner, she talked about her earlier (in the day) conversation with her mother, among other subjects.
When I arrived, she asked if I was living with my brother (who lives on Vashon Island, Washington). I asked her why she would make such an assumption. Her reply was that she saw me enter his house. Now, I'm not sure if she's stalking me in her visions, or ....
She is still having troubles with her leg, this time complaining of pain down her right quadracep. So, I gave her a Vicodin, which she took, quickly, and then I realized she had already consumed at least 2 glasses of wine. Oh well...She's not driving.
Her thoughts and opinions were nearly all non-sequiturs. I had no idea our grandmother was Norwegian. Yet, she told us she was. I asked, "She was Norwegian?" "No, she wasn't. Where did you get that idea?"
I asked her about her week, and she told me she did the usual things. I asked if she went with her Klahanie group (the hiking group for the Olympics from Sequim and Port Angeles). She stated that she did some things with them this week, and with her book groups, as well.
She also asked where her friend, Nadya (from Port Angeles) had gone. This was clearly a hallucination, but I told her she needed to leave to get back home to her family. Mom found this acceptable.
On the way home, she told me her grandmother, on her mother's side, was Italian, but then realized she would do much better with the family if she were French, so she converted. I questioned this, and she looked at me as though I was crazy! "You can't just convert like that. She stayed Italian!" The things I learn about my heritage (but none is true).
She was quite tired, as well, and her speech began to lag and become muffled and difficult (I would, at first, blame the wine and Vicodin, but having seen this earlier in the week I knew it was just the progression of the disease).
Although she stated quite clearly that she was not hungry, she came out and devoured most of her meal. And there was no ice cream this evening.
She had such a delightful time (It was truly a wonderful meal) dining, watching Shirley Temple, and conversing, she didn't want to leave. Finally, my brother and his wife convinced her they had things to discuss and wanted to get to bed, but couldn't if she was there. She saw no issue with her presence during their discussion, but finally we were able to get her to venture out to the car.
At St. A's, squared away into her room, she sat in her chair, and I kissed her on the head. "I love you," she said with a faint smile. "I love you, too," I remarked as I left.
I will assume that, perhaps, within the next few months the dinners may not be feasible for her as the disease progresses. My brother expressed his concerns over this, but only time will tell. Maybe she'll show us!
She had the doctor's appointment on Monday.
Next, the RLS (Connie & Jean) came to play Scrabble and to visit.
Mom played quite well, even though she liked keeping 8-10 tiles at a time (by this time, the ladies realize there's just no following THAT rule!)
The rest of the week went relatively well for her. She played Bingo and did what normally happens during the day in her cottage at St. Anthony's.
Tonight, though, brought the reality of the situation closer to home.
When my brother went to pick her up, Mom was fully dressed! for bed! and was in bed....So, she arose and dressed quickly (for her). It took only 45 minutes from his arrival to their departure. I'm jealous; usually it takes her much longer when I'm around.
Before I arrived at dinner, she talked about her earlier (in the day) conversation with her mother, among other subjects.
When I arrived, she asked if I was living with my brother (who lives on Vashon Island, Washington). I asked her why she would make such an assumption. Her reply was that she saw me enter his house. Now, I'm not sure if she's stalking me in her visions, or ....
She is still having troubles with her leg, this time complaining of pain down her right quadracep. So, I gave her a Vicodin, which she took, quickly, and then I realized she had already consumed at least 2 glasses of wine. Oh well...She's not driving.
Her thoughts and opinions were nearly all non-sequiturs. I had no idea our grandmother was Norwegian. Yet, she told us she was. I asked, "She was Norwegian?" "No, she wasn't. Where did you get that idea?"
I asked her about her week, and she told me she did the usual things. I asked if she went with her Klahanie group (the hiking group for the Olympics from Sequim and Port Angeles). She stated that she did some things with them this week, and with her book groups, as well.
She also asked where her friend, Nadya (from Port Angeles) had gone. This was clearly a hallucination, but I told her she needed to leave to get back home to her family. Mom found this acceptable.
On the way home, she told me her grandmother, on her mother's side, was Italian, but then realized she would do much better with the family if she were French, so she converted. I questioned this, and she looked at me as though I was crazy! "You can't just convert like that. She stayed Italian!" The things I learn about my heritage (but none is true).
She was quite tired, as well, and her speech began to lag and become muffled and difficult (I would, at first, blame the wine and Vicodin, but having seen this earlier in the week I knew it was just the progression of the disease).
Although she stated quite clearly that she was not hungry, she came out and devoured most of her meal. And there was no ice cream this evening.
She had such a delightful time (It was truly a wonderful meal) dining, watching Shirley Temple, and conversing, she didn't want to leave. Finally, my brother and his wife convinced her they had things to discuss and wanted to get to bed, but couldn't if she was there. She saw no issue with her presence during their discussion, but finally we were able to get her to venture out to the car.
At St. A's, squared away into her room, she sat in her chair, and I kissed her on the head. "I love you," she said with a faint smile. "I love you, too," I remarked as I left.
I will assume that, perhaps, within the next few months the dinners may not be feasible for her as the disease progresses. My brother expressed his concerns over this, but only time will tell. Maybe she'll show us!
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