While Mom is not what she once was, she is still a force that is unwilling to quit!
The smell of Spring and new life is in the air, here in Portland, Oregon. Birds began singing early, the sun is shining and temperatures are in the upper 50’s. It’s Super Bowl Sunday and flowers are popping out to see who the new champs could be.
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| Mom smiling for the camera |
This has been a wonky week for Mom. We had reduced her dosage of Depakote to only 2 doses per day. However, she began trying to do things on her own, which was not very possible, given her weak abilities. She is no longer able to complete even simple ADL’s (Acts of Daily Living) without much help. She is now swallowing her Biotene rather than spitting it out, she refuses help from the toilet - but cannot rouse herself up to exit the room. She can no longer dress herself, either, but refused even the simplest of assistance.
On Tuesday, we changed her meds to 3 separate doses of the Depakote: one in the morning, one in the early afternoon, and one in the evening. This appears to be working well. She is more responsive, and as the week progressed she began rising earlier, eating better, and participating in more activities, although this isn’t saying much.
Wednesday, her 86th birthday, she was regaled with the presence of Connie and Jean:
Dear Tony,
It was 11:15 when Connie signed us in to see Norma. We had brought things to celebrate her 86th birthday.
Norma was lying in bed, either asleep or just with eyes closed. It's hard to know when she hears us (her hearing is good) when her eyes are closed. We greeted her with a Happy Birthday hug, as well as we could hug her abed self.
Morina told us Mom had had just a little breakfast, so we hoped she would eat more lunch, especially with us there to keep her awake. We each gave her our cards, which were received with interest and read silently. Jean set them on her dresser, where she could see them.
We held off on giving the gifts we had brought; Connie's was lots of chocolates with colorful wraps; Jean’s was ice cream with chocolate sauce. After lunch would be better, we agreed. (Jean was ready to have some chocolates, but it was not her birthday. Old habits die hard.)
Elsa told us they were expecting Jennifer, the shower lady, so had not urged Norma to rise and shine (Jean’s words) earlier in the day. Besides, Norma looked quite content in her cozy bed. Connie told Norma, "Now you are as old as I am." Jean chuckled at that, realizing it was true. But there's old, and there's old.
We commented on the weather, a bit of rain on our way to St. Anthony's but not cold.
Connie spoke of the election news. Cruz had beat Trump in the Iowa caucuses, but she thought Rubio would come out ahead of both of them. Norma said, "I was thinking that, too." The Wall Street Journal had news of national caucuses and primaries, plus many articles about World War II, in its latest issue. Connie left the WSJ for Norma to peruse later.
Morina came in with a full plate of lunch, the main meal of the day. She stood next to Norma's bed, using the electric control to elevate the head section for Norma's comfort when eating. She spoke cheerfully as she fed Norma what looked like meat at first, then other things. We sat in the two comfortable chairs there, watching and saying little to Norma. We wanted her to concentrate on her meal, especially after so little for breakfast.
A beautiful little star-shaped cake with red frosting was for dessert. The Dietary Dept. makes one for each resident's birthday, besides writing a Happy Birthday message with hand-drawn pictures. We were happy to see such a personal gift from them. Norma took one little bite of the cake, then Jean set it on her bedside table. We knew ice cream would be welcome.
Connie presented her candy gift, then set it on the dresser. Jean brought out the ice cream, kept cold with a freezer pack. Norma said, "That's very nice," as we began to feed her. No problem there! It was a good-sized serving, as Norma, like Jean, loves ice cream. She tired of eating after a while; we all continued our visiting. After a while, the ice cream had melted. A straw was pulled out of a glass of juice, and our friend polished off the chocolate liquid nicely.
Stacy, a Providence chaplain, came to visit. She had met us, she said. She visited a few minutes with the three of us, said she's been with Providence for 16 years, loves her work. We told her about our Scrabble games in the gazebo when the weather was fine. Jean added that Norma was a worthy opponent in that game.
Soon after that, Jennifer came in to help Morina with a Norma-shower. She greeted Norma, and Norma acknowledged that in her own low-key way. We gathered our things, said goodbye with a promise to see Norma "in a few days." We signed out at 1:15. It really did not seem like two hours.
The next two days, Mom was up and ready for breakfast early - in fact, she was up before the rest of the residents! Of course, she nodded off but then was alert (which means in and out of it) for the rest of the day.
Today, Sunday, Mom had been up early, again. She was in the mobile recliner at the table awaiting lunch. We had a pleasant little chat, which lasted for about 2 minutes before she cascaded into drowsiness, again. I had asked about her birthday, and she remarked that Jean would be a good woman for me to date - after all, we’re both the same age (well, 30 years really isn’t much of an issue, I suppose).
I brought her some coffee and asked her to smile for the camera. She told me I wasn’t very funny. Her voice is quite weak. Next, she asked me about “that place”. She began the sentence several times before giving up. When I tried prompting her, she told me to “grow up”. Such a sweet darling, that mother o’ mine.
Later in the day, I received a call that she had fallen. She had tried to get out of the recliner but her legs don’t seem to work any longer. She admitted to falling, and there were no injuries that Ledi could find, and Mom had no complaints.
They put her in a wheelchair, and she used her feet to get around; at least she can use those. It’s obvious her body is beginning to dwindle in its capabilities, as is her mental status.
So, the weather announcing a new Spring brings new life. What that means to Mom is anyone’s guess, but the roller coaster doesn’t seem ready for another upswing from where we are now. So, it’s a question as to what lies around the next bend.
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