A fretful but interesting week.
Monday, my brother, Tom & his wife, Peg, came down from Seattle to visit Mom. I called ahead and told them to tell her that if she didn't take a shower there'd be no wine or ice cream for lunch.
It worked! She skedaddled right in!
When they arrived, they were concerned by the swelling in her legs. In fact, the edema was so bad they could barely squeeze her feet into her slippers. But they did and off they went to lunch.
The visit was pleasant, but they noted that Mom wasn't always coherent and mumbled a great deal.
After they dropped her off they went shopping for clothes. They bought pants, shirts, and a fleece type top. They handed them over to me to make the attempt to have Mom try them on.
Wednesday, the RLC came to visit. Mom kissed Connie on the cheek and then Jean (after Jean made mention of her omission). Mom seemed quite tired. She'd been to Mass earlier in the day, and this seemed to have sapped her energy.
They were able to play 3 rounds of Scrabble when Mom decided to put all the tiles away. She had the lead score, 37, but the others weren't far behind with scores in the 30's.
The ladies trotted off to allow Mom some rest.
Friday night Mom arose and began a frantic search through the cottage for her baby who was sick. This was something they hadn't seen Mom do. This was also a shock to me when I heard.
Saturday, Mom refused to come out of her room as well as change out of her night clothes. She stayed in so they brought her meals to her. She complained that she hadn't slept well the night before. This is self-explanatory.
Today, I arrived and found Mom still in her night clothes. I'm not sure if she'd taken breakfast. When the nursing aide came to check on her Mom shooed her away claiming she was in the shower and wanted privacy. Not quite sure she actually did bathe...
I brought in the clothes Tom & Peg bought and told Mom to try on the pants. She did it! Yes! No arguments or excuses. They were a tad blousy on her but they fit and they looked good. Then came the shirts.
Mom said I should try them on first to see if I wanted them. Um, No! She stated that lots of men were wearing them these days. I glossed over this and gave her some time to try them on. When I re-entered, she was wearing the fleece with no shirt on. She looked small in the clothes, but she also looked great!
And, too boot, she allowed me to put on a pair of the socks I found for her. We were able to get her feet into her sneakers, and she was ready to rock the world!
Her edema was still present, but not as bad as it was Monday. The staff told me it was quite alarming, but the next day it had lessened as it did each day since. She wore her stockings each day, and this seemed to help.
We then went to Jean's and had a lovely lunch of Boeuf Bourgogne a la Parisienne with Brussel Sprouts and Egg Noodles (no, the sprouts weren't mixed in - they were on the side). Mom had her ice cream with fruit cocktail as a condiment. She was happy.
She spoke of many things and seemed lucid at times. Dad is out of town on business, it seems, and my grandmother is so terribly busy that she isn't able to visit Mom all that often. Mom's brother who died has apparently moved to Idaho.
There was an instance in which Mom mistook me for Dad and asked me how my mother was.
"She's sitting right next to me. How is she?"
"You're not funny. That's just rude."
"Well, who am I, then?"
"You're my son."
"So you're my mother."
"Stop that. Don't play games with me."
This led to a distraction of "Wow! Look at all that traffic!" It worked.
To be honest, Mom was all over the place today. She told me, in the morning, she hadn't slept well the night before. Preparing to leave for Jean's, I asked her why she thought she wasn't getting good sleep. She retorted that she could fall asleep in record time and slept soundly through the night, and I shouldn't go around making things up. <sigh>
Where will Mom be, mentally and physically in the next 6 months? in the next year? I honestly can't tell you, but I've a feeling this season of disruption will seem a happy place comparatively.
Monday, my brother, Tom & his wife, Peg, came down from Seattle to visit Mom. I called ahead and told them to tell her that if she didn't take a shower there'd be no wine or ice cream for lunch.
It worked! She skedaddled right in!
When they arrived, they were concerned by the swelling in her legs. In fact, the edema was so bad they could barely squeeze her feet into her slippers. But they did and off they went to lunch.
The visit was pleasant, but they noted that Mom wasn't always coherent and mumbled a great deal.
After they dropped her off they went shopping for clothes. They bought pants, shirts, and a fleece type top. They handed them over to me to make the attempt to have Mom try them on.
Wednesday, the RLC came to visit. Mom kissed Connie on the cheek and then Jean (after Jean made mention of her omission). Mom seemed quite tired. She'd been to Mass earlier in the day, and this seemed to have sapped her energy.
They were able to play 3 rounds of Scrabble when Mom decided to put all the tiles away. She had the lead score, 37, but the others weren't far behind with scores in the 30's.
The ladies trotted off to allow Mom some rest.
Friday night Mom arose and began a frantic search through the cottage for her baby who was sick. This was something they hadn't seen Mom do. This was also a shock to me when I heard.
Saturday, Mom refused to come out of her room as well as change out of her night clothes. She stayed in so they brought her meals to her. She complained that she hadn't slept well the night before. This is self-explanatory.
Today, I arrived and found Mom still in her night clothes. I'm not sure if she'd taken breakfast. When the nursing aide came to check on her Mom shooed her away claiming she was in the shower and wanted privacy. Not quite sure she actually did bathe...
I brought in the clothes Tom & Peg bought and told Mom to try on the pants. She did it! Yes! No arguments or excuses. They were a tad blousy on her but they fit and they looked good. Then came the shirts.
Mom said I should try them on first to see if I wanted them. Um, No! She stated that lots of men were wearing them these days. I glossed over this and gave her some time to try them on. When I re-entered, she was wearing the fleece with no shirt on. She looked small in the clothes, but she also looked great!
 |
| Mom looking sleepily dapper. |
And, too boot, she allowed me to put on a pair of the socks I found for her. We were able to get her feet into her sneakers, and she was ready to rock the world!
Her edema was still present, but not as bad as it was Monday. The staff told me it was quite alarming, but the next day it had lessened as it did each day since. She wore her stockings each day, and this seemed to help.
We then went to Jean's and had a lovely lunch of Boeuf Bourgogne a la Parisienne with Brussel Sprouts and Egg Noodles (no, the sprouts weren't mixed in - they were on the side). Mom had her ice cream with fruit cocktail as a condiment. She was happy.
She spoke of many things and seemed lucid at times. Dad is out of town on business, it seems, and my grandmother is so terribly busy that she isn't able to visit Mom all that often. Mom's brother who died has apparently moved to Idaho.
There was an instance in which Mom mistook me for Dad and asked me how my mother was.
"She's sitting right next to me. How is she?"
"You're not funny. That's just rude."
"Well, who am I, then?"
"You're my son."
"So you're my mother."
"Stop that. Don't play games with me."
This led to a distraction of "Wow! Look at all that traffic!" It worked.
To be honest, Mom was all over the place today. She told me, in the morning, she hadn't slept well the night before. Preparing to leave for Jean's, I asked her why she thought she wasn't getting good sleep. She retorted that she could fall asleep in record time and slept soundly through the night, and I shouldn't go around making things up. <sigh>
Where will Mom be, mentally and physically in the next 6 months? in the next year? I honestly can't tell you, but I've a feeling this season of disruption will seem a happy place comparatively.
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