It's Time To Come Back

  The blog has been calling me. It's time I come back with the continuing story of  Mom. We now have a rotating schedule between us local of Mom's kids so that she gets a visitor everyday. It's not etched in stone, but we know if we skip a turn one day we better not skip the next one. We have a guest book there that tracks our progress.

   Even though Mom seems largely unaware that Pop no longer comes to see her. It does seem like not having regular visitors may cause anxiety issues.

   I like to take her on little wheelchair journeys through the nursing home and out in the courtyard, if she happens to be in her wheelchair already when I get there. I don' t know if she likes it or not, but I do. It makes me feel like I'm doing something for her. So now I push my Mom out on the very same halls that I used to push my Dad in on.


   It doesn't seem like Mom changes a lot. Her stares get blanker and her reality dimmer, but in very tiny, minuscule increments. A few days ago the nursing home called and notified me that her lab work is showing that she is dehydrated. For right now we are choosing to have the nursing staff make an effort to get more fluids in her, hoping to avoid a hospital stay for IV treatment.

  A few days later now........the Nursing home called to set up a meeting to discuss Mom's care. Steve and I were there a half hour early, so we spent that time with mom. She was noticeably worse than shen I was in a week ago. I had missed my turn on Sat because of other unforeseen obligations.

   Last time I was there she was in bed but she woke up and looked at me. She knew I was there. Today she was laying in a fetal position, her eye that I could see was half opened, but she didn't stir or respond to me at all, even though I talked to her, held her hand

and rubbed her back. The only time she reacted at all was when I turned her music on. Then she moved around a little, but still didn't respond to me.

  After our meeting we went to see her again and she was in the dining room, but she was sleeping in her chair. I don't think they will get her to eat anything.