Thursday, March 10, 2011

Where do i begin


I KNOW I'VE BEEN MISSING IN ACTION. I'VE BEEN RUNNING ON EMPTY. AFTER OUR TRIP, WHICH WAS SO WONDERFUL, i WAS PREPARING FOR MOM TO MOVE TO Lone TREE. She's moving into an assisted living facility that is 6 blocks from my house.
Mom had broken her thigh bone,in December. She then went to rehab till November. She was healing up in her body but not her mind. Here is someone that has lived in a big condo,alone and reading her books and reading her newspapers and riding her exercise bike. Cooking minimally and mainly living on soup and sandwiches. Always in great health, very content with her daily routines. At 85 years old she was doing great. Her memory has started to slip last year. Nothing to serious just old age memory loss. Then it started getting worse. Family would stop by and she couldn't recognize there faces. "WHO ARE YOU" was common question. We were all concerned and a little bit of denial in there. Then she fell in the bathroom on a rug. A whirlwind ever since. Confusion set in at rehab, Angry, depressed, worry.
2 months in rehab and plans for mom were underway. Assisted living sounded like the ticket. Found a great one right here close to me. But, after an evaluation they decide she needed to be in a memory care apartment in the same facility. It was just like the assisted living with a little more care. So still independent and plenty of room for all her things.
We move her and she is doing pretty good. She's there 1 week and 4 days. She's just getting used to it and I get a call very early in the morning. I was told mom had a fever and was throwing up and diarrhea, and a very very painful belly. Longer story short, she spent the next week in the hospital getting gallbladder out and getting stones out with a scope through her mouth. yikes!!! Then back at the skilled nursing place in lone tree. Back to square one. Doesn't remember anything, and acting like she is possessed by the devil. All this is reaction to pain meds and anesthesia. It's been an uphill battle ever since. Things seem to be getting back to normal. Her mind and memory are leveling off and back to normal, or as normal as she can be. My life has been on hold. Spending almost all my time with her. Trying to get her over this setback. She's back in her apartment and doing better. I'm trying to get her back into a routine. She seems a little lost. I am weening her off me. She is in good hands, Great people taking care of her. So, maybe i can get back to my life. I'm going into Sharon and barb withdrawal. I need to exercise, ride my bike. Get the house clean, plants watered, get some Cathie time. WOW what a ride this has been.

3 comments:

Gary said...

cc,
It was good seeing your post this evening, girl what a plate full you have!!! Hoping that you can find a little time to “decompress” after all the care you have been giving your Mother. I am sure the sheer worry alone is a heavy weight for you let alone attending to her. It’s good that you found a facility close by that you feel comfortable with. Take care and I hope you have time drop us a post to let us all know you are doing ok. - G

A Wild Thing said...

Oh girl, my heart goes out to ya...I remember my Granny on meds, a frail lil' ol' lady that couldn't walk, trying to climb outta the hospital bed to go home, took 3 of us to hold her down, such strength for someone who couldn't even straighten out her atrophied legs...whew, what a trip that was!

Take care of yourself Cath, know that I'm thinking of ya and if there's anything I can do to help,I'm a hop and a skip away...

Love ya girl!!!

Sharonfix

Bohemian said...

So glad to see that your Mom's transition is working out... still working on all that with my Mom... yeah, what a ride! But, we've bought the ticket so we're on for the whole ride...

Dawn... The Bohemian