Hi everyone,
Dad, Kathy and Lenny are still upstate. I started the day with mom. She was eating breakfast when I got there. I had to wait for the aide to finish feeding mom. I then set her up for her day. I cleaned her hearing aids and put them in and placed her glasses on her face. I then started her PT. As I went around to the other side of the bed I noticed that it was crooked. I saw the headboard was slanted. I then saw that the left back corner of her bed was off the floor and resting on a chair! The left leg of the bed was off the ground and the bed itself was "ON" a chair. I called to a nurse and she came in and we both just couldn't believe it. The nurse took the bed remote and lowered the bed and the leg touched the ground. We then slid the chair out. I can't believe they fed her all lopsided. Her left hand was sore and she winced a few times when I was working on it. I tried to have her lift her legs with the blue ball under her knee but she was unable to do it. I talked to her about the speech therapist coming today and that she had to do whatever she asked her to do. I also told her that we know she asks her to do things we know she already knows but that she has to do them to show the therapist that she CAN do them. I left and Carmine came next. He has been doing speech therapy with mom at least once a week. He came in and the facility's speech therapist was already working with mom. She questioned Carmine about he works with mom and asked if he physically prompts her to do oral motor exercises. He said no that she follows commands. The speech therapist said well she doesn't with me! Carmine walked over to mom and said, "Dotty, open your mouth." Mom did it! (He confessed later that he was gonna give it to her if she didn't listen! Lol!) He then asked her to stick out her tongue and mom did! It was great! It just goes to show you that we are needed even more now to support what Carmine asks us to do with mom, especially that mom won't work for the facility speech therapist. I also think mom can sense that she (speech) doesn't know what she is doing! Carmine showed her what he is working on and asked the speech therapist what she is working on that he can do (Trying to make nice nice!). I spoke to a friend of mine today about what happened and he said 50% of therapy is the rapport you have with the client. Anthony came when Carmine was just leaving. They spoke out in the hall about what happened. Anthony then worked with mom. He did PT with mom and worked a lot on her legs and left hand. Mom lifted her right leg slightly for Anthony but just wiggled her left foot. Anthony said he waited a long time for her to process what he wanted her to do (lift her leg). He had the TV off the whole time he worked with her. Carmine suggested that we limit the TV and supplement it with books on tape and conversation. Anthony put the TV on when he was done working with mom and put a Brooklyn Dodgers special on and mom looked at the TV and pointed to Gil Hodges and Jackie Robinson. Mom is a BIG baseball fan! Anthony left for work and I came when mom was eating dinner. Anthony and I both noticed that they put way too much food on the spoon and fork when feeding mom and we both commented on it. I will be calling the head nurse tomorrow to let her know My fear is that she will choke because of that and then the speech therapist will stop her meals and put her back on the feeding tube. I brought a catalog I just got in the mail. We looked at it page by page and I read the item descriptions. I made mom laugh a few times. I saw a jacket with a peace sign on it and I said, "Mom, who would love that jacket? A--" (verbally prompting her) and she said AVA.Dad called and said good night to her. We read for a long time and I couldn't read anymore so I placed the koosh balls on her tray and we watched an Odd Couple episode. It was the one where they go to the fat farm. She laughed at the funny parts. A couple times I laughed and she said, "What?" so I told her what she missed and then she would laugh. I then put the small pom poms on the tray and she picked up the pom poms one at a time and put them in the hole on the top of the container. It took her a long time to motor plan. A few times she moved the container away from her and she had to pull it back. I tried to have her use the tweezers but she was too frustrated so I took them away. I then placed clothes pins on a card and she pulled them off one at a time and gave them to me. She fell asleep while I was putting the items away. i then did PT on her hands and arms. I tucked her in for the night, removing her hearing aids and putting the timer on the TV. I always leave it on the Food Network. I said a prayer and left. A full day!
Peace and be well friends!
Claudia
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