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| The Freesias from Anonymous - sent as Mom is in hospice. |
This has been somewhat of an odd week, but then, it’s also been a normal one for Mom.
Tuesday, the hospice nurse came to bathe Mom. It took 3 people. Mom is quite the fighter! She screams and pushes back no matter what they tell her. She does not want to take a bath - until she is in and under the water, then she’s in heaven. But, the nurse is absolutely exhausted after this, and it has become, I gather, a bit of an issue - you see, they’re not supposed to force anyone to bathe - that includes Mom. So, it seems a phone call and some conversations need to be had.
There is also an issue that seems to be making a resurgence - constipation. Mom is having more issues with her intestinal tract, again. She eats most of her meals, ingests plenty of fluids, and does some reasonable amounts of exercise (she follows Leddy around the cottage - that’s her exercise, as she is unwilling to participate much in anything else). Fortunately, they do her laundry twice a week, but Mom seems clueless as to what’s going on.
Her thinking is also becoming muddled again - as it was when we first placed her in hospice - but then it sparks back!
This morning, she arose perky and rosy. She ate breakfast (yes, she was appropriately garbed) and read her paper. She was in the dining hall for quite some time, then retired to her room.
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| Mom after a tumultuous struggle to take her shower |
When I arrived she was asleep in her recliner. I turned on a light and this seemed to really bother her. She then demanded I turn on another while turning off the first. She kept dozing off. Finally, she agreed to come out of her chair. She arose and complained of pain - she seemed dull-witted and unsteady. Her eye had a bruise-like mark (which had just appeared after breakfast - probably due to her scratching it), and she held on to the dresser as she made her way to the bathroom.
When she finally came out, she decided she needed a sweater, and then we went to lunch. Even while eating she did not seem to be the person described to me earlier. The staff mentioned this was on/off again and again. However, for some reason this seemed very much unlike her in the past weeks - I’m not really sure where this leads, if anywhere, but I’m on guard, just in case.
I did bring in a puzzle, as promised in Thursday’s post, but it seemed so out of touch with where she was today. There will definitely be more visits this week, as well as calls and conversations - just to see where we actually do stand.
On a lighter note, The RLC (Connie & Jean) came to pay their weekly visit to Mama earlier this week. And here is their report:
It was a cool, sunny day today, just right for a visit to Norma at St.Anthony's.
Connie signed us in at 1 pm, and we found Norma finishing her lunch. She always looks happy to see us; we sat at her usual table, the one closest to her room. We put Connie's walker in the room, and our coats.
Some ladies do stop by to chat; we are polite, but do not invite them to join us.
Norma was interested in the Wall Street Journal Connie brought for her. She glanced at the articles, reading a few captions (perfectly, of course) and beginning sentences. Connie commented on one that had a good cartoon with tips on how to know what a man or woman is really like, no matter how they present themselves at first. Norma read to us the numbers on the graph describing different positive and negative traits, and which gender considers each important. Some typical male and female traits made for a 3-way conversation. Of course, we are all amateur experts, with our limited experience.
Norma's speech, as always, showed she believes strongly in some ways to behave, and what is appropriate. She reminded us that we need to consider what might be responsible for what some people do. Her sentences start out strong, but the thought is not always completed. We just continue as if she had finished her thought. She did not mention that you and Lawrence interrupt your work days to shower with her.
Morina made coffee for us, and Jean paid attention, so she’ll be able to do that instead of asking the workers. Elsa brought Norma her dessert--two pastry goodies with an apricot (?) filling. She offered one, but we said it was for her. When, after a while, she urged Jean to eat it, she took a bite, was about to devour the rest of it, when Norma moved the dish and said, "I'm saving this for Tom." Gracious ladies that we are, we asked her to say Hello to Tom for me.
Those freesias are beautiful! I forget the name of the group that sent them; the card said they send flowers to those in hospice and something else. Bend, Oregon was on the card.
We stayed at the table all our time there, just chatting and watching what was happening around us. Liana (sp?), the very slim, beautiful dark-skinned young woman, put two tables together, brought in Bingo materials and called the numbers for six residents. We saw chocolate bars there for prizes. They had Bingo for quite a while. Neither of us heard anyone call "Bingo!" but maybe they did, quietly.
A lady came in with a cute little dog, a Sheltie named Spencer, she told us. She walked around the room, stopping to let people see the dog and pet him. When she passed by us, Jean asked if she had a trained "visiting" dog. She said the dog was not trained, but she had training. She asked Connie and Jean if we lived there. Jean told her they were visiting Norma, whom we have known most of our lives. She introduced her friendly mother, Shirley, in a wheelchair, and herself, Nancy. Shirley's room is the one just East of Norma's. We hope Shirley and Norma can be friends.
We saw residents there new to us, at least two using wheelchairs. Lucille marches along confidently with her walker. Connie and Jean each greeted her with a hug when we first saw her, but she did not speak--a little smile, maybe.
We said our goodbyes and left at 3:45. Norma had her WSJ to read until Tom showed up. It was already looking gloomy outside.
Not an exciting time, but time well spent with old friends.
And so it goes.
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