Claudia began the day with mom. She did mom’s full physical therapy/range of motion exercises and really was able to stretch her hands, arms, fingers…, in particular, well. Right before Claudia finished, mom’s breakfast came. Mom had a hearty appetite again!! She has been eating really quickly, and well lately. Mom fed herself her entire meal. Mom even took a piece of the roll that was cut up and scooped it with her fork then balanced it on the fork all the way to her mouth (the head supervisory nurse was there at the time and saw mom do this). It seems to me that, lately, all mom’s energy is put into the acts of eating and sleeping. I could be wrong, but I think that the sleep mom engages in lately is more restorative than anything else (which is why I have been letting her sleep). Sometimes, we do wake her though. It’s a balancing act and involves a lot of intuition at times. When mom finished breakfast, she asked Claudia, “How is she?” twice. Claudia asked who mom was referring to and mom said, “Lucy.” So Claudia asked mom if she wanted to call Aunt Lucy, mom mouthed ‘no’ but we know that mom often says ‘no’ lately even when she means ‘yes.’ Claudia phoned Aunt Lucy and told her what mom said and Aunt Lucy talked to mom, though mom did not reply to her. The respiratory therapist came to see mom and was satisfied with her numbers so mom was put back on the CPAP mode of the vent. Don’t forget that this is good because the CPAP mode forces mom to breathe more on her own and all without the help of the vent. Mom goes back to the vent at night for now, just so she can rest well.
Anthony came to see mom next and found her asleep. He woke her easily and she was happy, smiling, and in a good mood. She was very interested in continuing to read the magazine Claudia left out for her so Anthony let her do that. He talked to her as she silently read and he talked about the pictures. Mom also watched TV on and off too. Anthony said she was very focused though she didn’t talk much. At noon, the CNAs put mom in the wheelchair and she had lunch in the recreation room with 2 other patients. The recreation people ordered Italian food from the restaurant next door. Mom had pasta with Bolognese sauce…she picked at it and ate about 1/3 of it. There was a lot on the plate. Anthony did a lot of leg work with mom before lunch. He said she moved her feet a lot but not her legs. He said mom pointed a lot too but he didn’t know what she wanted. I forgot to mention that, on Easter, the kids went out to play ball and came to the window of the room we were in and knocked on the window---mom startled and smiled and pointed at them over and over!!
Aunt Sophie and Dad came next to see mom. She finished lunch and listened to the conversation around her. They brought her back to her room but mom fell asleep.
I stopped in to see mom late in the afternoon. She was asleep but woke easily and smiled at me when she saw me. She mouthed, “Hello” and “I’m fine” and shook her hand yes and smiled when I asked if she had a good day. We talked and I hugged and kissed her and then John arrived and so did dinner (some baked chicken, carrots and mashed potatoes). I showed John how to feed mom and/or coax her to feed herself, but mom grabbed the fork and ate on her own. I left and John stayed a long while with mom tonight. Mom wanted the spoon instead of the fork though after a while. John tried to get mom to do things with her hands to exercise and mom did it but was sleepy. He tried to make her laugh, he sang to her, he worked on her hands and feet and legs (full physical therapy/range of motion exercises) but mom fell asleep. Mom would open her eyes on and off but go back out to sleep. During dinner, mom laughed at the TV show FRIENDS or at John. They watched the MET game and then John tucked her in for the night and prayed over her and kissed her and left.
On my way home from work tonight, I took the long way home…the scenic route down South Country Road. There’s a creek there that is a usual home for a pair of swans I love to watch and take pictures of. Tonight, there was a real treat…when I glanced at the creek, not only was the swan there, but there were blobs of white all over the trees…I stopped and looked closer and saw that there were 21 white egrets in the trees!!! What an awesome sight….immediately I grabbed my camera, then, after a while, in my excitement, I grabbed my phone thinking, “I can’t wait to tell mom about this!! She’ll love this!!” and then I remembered… My mom was my touchstone. My safe haven. My place of support. My playmate and friend. My teacher who taught me how to enjoy so much of life’s delights (dad too). Just ask any of the cousins or friends who grew up with us kids…mom was the ring leader and organizer of all things fun! I miss her in this capacity. But I am so thankful she is still here to share with me.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield” Psalm 84:11
PS Here are the pictures of the egrets….
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