Have Nurse Will Travel

Monday was a fun day for mom. Louise and Dave came by to visit and then Robby stopped by. She didn't eat anything all day, but she did have a little juice. She was pretty out of it most of the day, but didn't sleep until the afternoon. And she still manages a smile now and then. This morning she woke up on her own and was smiling and trying to tell me things. How I wish I knew what those things were. I only gave her Lor tab this morning, with instructions to the aide that we could give her morphine if she seemed to be in too much pain. Megan said she moved very easily and did really well. I was thinking that maybe she would eat a little bit if she wasn't so drugged up. Not the case. I tried some yogurt and then some ensure shake, which she just let fall out of her mouth. She's all cleaned up now, with new clothes and just smiling at whoever walks by. I guess she is just not going to eat anymore.

It was a pretty busy weekend here at our house. Madeline & Isabell had their first dates. Uncle Brian came to see his parents, who are here visiting and Joanie drove up to see mom! Both Friday and Saturday Mom slept most of the day. She only has eaten a few bits of yogurt and a few sips of ensure shakes. I'm not sure why, but she holds the food or drink in her mouth and doesn't swallow. Sometimes it will sit in her mouth for a few minutes. She really enjoyed Joanie's visit. I think maybe Joanie thought Mom wouldn't recognize her, but boy did she ever. It was sweet to watch Mom smile at her and she even said her name! Now we know where Joanie rates, up there with Kathy. Today (sunday) she has been sleeping most of the day. We get a smile now and then, and whenever she wakes up a little we try to get her to eat or drink something. She ate almost a whole yogurt from Amelia.

Yesterday was full of ups and downs. She woke up happy. She ate a whole bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. But then I was pushing her over to her recliner and she leaned out to grab the arm of the recliner and she fell out of the wheel chair. Yikes! With Scott's help we got her into the recliner. She wasn't hurt, but a little shaky. The good thing is she shortly forgot what had happened. She rested comfortably until early afternoon when her legs started to hurt. She went from sleeping to sobbing in a matter of minutes. More morphine. Then more Lortab. More sobbing. By early evening she was feeling better and ate 2 yogurts! She was laughing and giggling so I snapped a few pictures. Once she even winked at me. I followed the same evening routine. 45 minutes before bed Lortab. Then right before she gets morphine. But when I went to move her she was still really hurting. She was up until after 11 in pain. Every hour between 8 and 11 I gave her more morphine . She w...

Good days have been followed by bad days. Yesterday Mom had a yeast infection and a new bed sore. She didn't want to eat. She still smiles, but was very calm and serious. This morning, as most mornings, she had a lot of pain from her shoulder. Her hand is still swollen. She is only eating a little yogurt and ensure. But she seems in good spirits today. It's hard to say. She really livens up when the kids get home.

The past few days Mom has been really good. Such a contrast to last week where I thought for sure she was on her way out. I think I've figured out how to keep her pain under control. She is talking a lot more again and smiling and seems pretty happy. This morning I asked her if she wanted her blanket on, of course as I was laying it across her lap. Then she said, "Nope. I don't want it." She definitely knows what she wants so it must be very frustrating for her not to be able to express that. I'm just glad she is doing better. She actually went to bed last night without crying at all! Isabell says it was because she was helping. Silly songs and stories did help keep mom distracted. She is still not eating very much. And mostly she eats soft foods. She has difficulty chewing so we are keeping the food easy to eat. As most of you know, the food part of this is the most challenging to me. But we keep a steady supply of yogurt and bananas going.

The past couple of weeks mom's pain has gotten worse. We had her on Lor Tab for a couple of weeks, but have just moved to Morphine the past couple of days. In the morning it is her shoulder that aches. The rest of the time she aches in her legs and hips. Of course I am mostly guessing since she can't really tell me what hurts. Not that it matters, pain is pain. Last Sunday night she actually woke up from her sleep crying out in pain. She was really hard to settle down, so Scott and our great neighbor, Jim, gave her a blessing. She actually said, "Amen". So sweet. Yesterday she slept nearly all day, which means she only ate a little oatmeal and a small can of mandarin oranges. She's not eating much anyway and is really losing weight fast. I love singing to her. My favorite song is Poor Wayfaring Stranger. The words are beautiful and I hope helps her find some comfort right now.

It has been a rough couple of days for Mom. She seems to be in more pain lately. The hard thing is she can't really tell me all the time. I can see her wince, but when I ask her she says, "No". Tonight I gave her some medicine and then was trying to get her to eat a little. She started crying and I said, "No crying Mom. You can't eat and cry at the same time." To which she replied, "I'm sorry. I'm trying to do what's right." We both cried a lot tonight.

Yesterday mom was in a serious fiesty mood. She refused to eat breakfast or drink any juice. But her OCD gets the best of her and she has to pick up and eat the pieces of waffle I lay next to her plate on the placemat. I haven't seen her like this in like.....ever. "Do you want some juice?" "No." "Eat a bite of waffle." "No." "Are you feeling a little fiesty today?" "Yes!" The thing about dementia is that she took a little nap and woke up forgetting that she was feeling fiesty.