I started the day with mom this morning and she was a pistol! She was wide awake. She was motioning to the bulletin board where all of her pictures and notes are. Someone had placed a letter smack dab in the middle of the board with a push pin. I asked her if she wanted the letter. She said, “You are covering my pictures!” She said it with an angry tone. I almost fainted! I took the letter down and handed it to her. She took it form me an tossed it by her feet. She then reached toward the board again. I guess it is a good thing that I work with student who have autism, because I looked at the board and said to myself, “What is different about the board? What isn’t usually there?” I saw an Easter card placed with a push pin on the board. I pointed to it and said, “Do you want this off?” Mom reached out her hand so I took it off the board and handed it to her. She tossed it at her feet again. She reached out again and again I asked my self the same questions. There was another paper covering the poster Kathy put up. It is a quote from the bible (the Lord if my shepherd) made out of product letters (fruit loops, cherrios, etc.). I took down the paper and she stopped reaching. Ahhhhhhh! All better!
She kept grabbing at her trach tubing this morning. I had to wrestle with her a few times. I called Kathy to tell her the story about the bulletin board and asked mom if she wanted to talk to her? She reached for the phone and put it to her ear. Kathy must have said only a few things and mom said (clean as day) “I have to go.” I cracked up! “Where do YOU have to go?” I asked. I took the phone and told Kathy. We laughed. I gave her the phone back so Kathy could say goodbye. Mom said, “I love you too.”
Breakfast came and it was pancakes. I set up her coffee and oatmeal the way she likes it. I cut her pancakes. A nurse came in to feed mom. She grabbed at the fork to feed herself. She was really on! At one point mom said, “stay a few minutes.” I felt terrible that I had to go to work, but I was already late. It’s days like these that make it soooooo hard to go to work.
I called Anthony so he could come when she is alert. He was happy and said after his job he would be there. He said she was very alert. Lunch came and mom was coughing a lot. At one point the nurse came in to suction her and there appeared to be food in the trach tube! (This is our worst nightmare! This could be aspiration. One more excuse to go backwards!) The nurse called the speech therapist who now has mom on a soft food diet for the next few days. UGH! I can’t take the ups and downs, it is taking its toll on all of us.
They also ordered a Cat Scan for tomorrow because she has been so unresponsive the past week or two. It figures, the night that the doctor comes to assess if she needs to go for the cat scan, she is alert. I guess that is a good sign but frustrating. She is going tomorrow morning for the cat scan. Dad and Anthony will be going with her.
Dad came in the afternoon and stayed with mom until the evening. I went back this evening to see mom and she was out of it. I was able to wake her for a short time, during which time the doctor came to assess her before ordering the cat scan.
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
Author: Joshua J. Marine
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