Still waiting for a bed in the NSICU at North Shore.....frustrating...mom had the CAT Scan 2 weeks ago today. I call the neurosurgeon 1-3 times a day to check in but nothing yet.
Claudia began the morning with mom but mom was sleepy/sleeping. Claudia played, "Good Day Sunshine" by Paul McCartney and sang to mom, who at first was asleep, but then she woke up. Mom said good morning to Claudia. Claudia then sang, "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" and asked mom who wrote it saying, "Irving...." and mom replied, "Berlin." Claudia sang a Good Morning medley of songs to mom!! Claudia did the "Sounds Around the Home" CD and they did it together---looking at pictures and listening to the sound the item/object makes and labeling it. They made it almost to the end but mom began to answer incorrectly, seemingly on purpose. She was able to pick the right pictures and label them in the beginning. She would sometimes need a phonemic cue or a direct answer to repeat. Mom made a joke about something and laughed but Claudia didn't hear what she said but laughed too. Claudia left a magazine open on the bed tray for mom to look at.
Anthony came to visit with mom next. He talked to her and worked on her legs and arms. She pushed strongly against his hand with her right leg and slightly with her left. I tried it next and she did the same for me. She really concentrates on what she is trying to do…sometimes, her hands tighten before her leg does. Anthony showed her the METS book that Claudia made for her. She looked intently as he read. Mom seems dazed today. I asked her if she was tired and she nodded her head yes. As soon as Anthony left, I turned for a second to move the tray table and luckily I looked back because mom had grabbed her trach line using her whole fist, crossing her body midline with her right hand to do it. I had a hard time getting her to release the line. She had grabbed it at the tubing to the left side of her. When I took her hand off, I said, “You know you aren’t supposed to touch that.” She looked at me coyly and said out loud, “Oh, I didn’t know that.” Shortly after this episode, she fell asleep. When she woke, we did a crossword puzzle:
Clue: “an Irish tavern. Starts with a P…” Mom: “Pub”
Clue: “A saying – ‘All kidding___” Mom: “Aside”
Clue: “Leaning Tower of ___” Mom: “Pizza” I asked her to spell it and she did!
Clue: “Length times width equals what? Starts with A…areeee” Mom: “Area”
Clue: “Mardi__” Mom: “Gras”
Clue: “Footwear for skiers.You were this instead of shoes in the snow” Mom: “boots”
Clue: “What’s in the middle of a peach? You can plant it and it grows into a tree” Mom: “pit”
Clue:”Hoisery Mishap…starts with an SN…” Mom: “Snag”
Clue: “Go out on a ____. Starts with a D….. What does D-A-T-E spell?” Mom: “Date”
Clue: “A really short skirt…starts with M… Famous in the 60s” Mom: “Mini”
Clue: “After a bath, you put on talcum….” Mom: “Powder”
She fell asleep again at this point. When she woke up, she didn’t seem like she wanted to continue with the crossword…she ignored me and was quiet. I asked if she wanted to listen to music, she made a face. I asked if she wanted to write, or read…she shook her head no. I asked her if she wanted to dance with me, she raised her eyebrows and made a disgusted face! I grabbed her hands and swayed with her and said we could chair dance and she laughed. She was changed and moved to the chair and then we did some writing/drawing on the dry erase board using dry erase markers. I made a circle and mom couldn’t come near to tracing it at first, but then she did it!! Her approximations became closer and closer as she practiced tracing the circle. She made huge random circular motions when I gave her the marker and a blank board. At one point, she began to scribble on her posie and hand and when I told her not to do it, she said, “Excuuuse me” in an indignant voice. She is funny sometimes. Her CNAs all said they love her like their own mother. They commented on the work we do with her and how much they all want her to leave her one day. Mom and I did the counting app on the IPAD next. She spent a long time on the crosswords and the drawing…hours. We also played a word game on the IPAD. Random letters appear and then you unscramble them into a word. It appeared to be too difficult for mom to do but we did it together. Whenever I spelled a word orally with no visual prompt, mom was able to tell me the word I spelled: A-B-O-U-T, C-A-N, `B-E-T-T-E-R. I asked her what another word spelled and mom said, “Don’t keep asking me to say it.” We played TIC TAC TOE on the IPAD next and chatted. I asked her what my name is (she doesn’t know) and she said, “Dotty Gilman.” After about 2 hours of the IPAD, mom pushed it away and said, “It’s too much.” So we stopped. At the same time, the nurse came in to start mom’s feeding tube feeding. Mom became very agitated after that. I kept asking her if she felt OK and she would shake her head no and repeat, “x-y-z” over and over again. This went on and off for about 1/2 an hour. She was calmer by the time I left though.
Dad came and mom looked pleased to see him. At one point, it seemed like she said, "I want to go home" and another point, "Don't leave, stay with me."
"Stand firm. Let nothing move you." 1 Corinthians 15:58
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