Mom’s update, Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I started the day with mom and she was crying when I arrived. She really wants to go home. One of the CNA’s was with her trying to calm her. I told her that she would be coming home soon and that she is making progress. I put in her hearing aids and set her up for breakfast. She ate all of her breakfast. We called my friend Debbie. When I told her we were going to call her she said, “In Virginia?” She remembered that she moved to Virginia. She spoke to Debbie and asked her how she was doing and how her girls were. She told Debbie that I was trying to shove prune juice up her nose!!! She told Debbie to have a nice day and we hung up. She kept trying to blow her nose but was having difficulty and getting frustrated. I told her I would cover her stoma and she blew her nose with more success.
After breakfast I set her up. She asked for everyone’s phone numbers and I found a paper that John wrote all the numbers on, but she got upset when she saw dad’s number and said, “That’s the house number! I know that number.” She wanted his cell number. I wrote it on the paper and she was happy. I gave her the snap board. It is a board with cloth over it that simulates the front of a shirt with snaps on it. I told her to practice snapping. She looked confused and repeated snapping and then put her fingers to her head and said, “Remember when I would make snaps?” She would put her fingers in our hair and click her fingernails together to make “snaps” when we were tired. It put us to sleep. It is amazing how good her long-term memory is and how impaired her short term memory is. She will ask me over and over again what the name of her cereal she is that she is eating (even while she is eating it).
I gave her the Ukrainian cookbook and her Garrison Keillor book. I also put a paper on her tray that I bought a long time ago. It is a white piece of paper and when you rub a pencil over the page, a picture appears. At the bottom of the picture are small shapes and figures that you have to find within the picture. I left and went to work.
Anthony came and spent the morning with mom.
Dad came to be with mom. He stayed until I came back in the evening. He told me he spoke to the PT and that they are working on her pivoting from a standing position to a seat (toilet). She is making slow but steady progress. I spoke to the PT in the morning and he said except for one day last week she is doing well. One day last week she told him that she forgot how to walk. She had a very difficult time remembering what to do.
Kathy came in the middle of the day. They were watching TV and Kathy was eating her lunch. There was a commercial on TV with a family eating and mom said I really miss all of you at my house eating breakfast together. She told Kathy she looked good and her lunch looked good. She said I really miss the children. I can’t sit here anymore. I just can’t sit her like this anymore. She started to cry. She made a list in her book of all the visitors that came today. She kept forgetting the date (#) and forgot how to find it on the calendar. Dad told Kathy that she stood up twice with dad and Anthony. The first time she stood for 20 seconds and 26 seconds the second time.
She signed Con and Anthony’s anniversary card and John’s birthday card. When she signed Anthony and Con’s card she signed it “Love mom and dad” with a curved line under with two slashes (this is how she always signed her name – with the curved line underneath ~). Kathy sat and talked and then left to go to work.
I came back in the evening. Dad was there. I saw the paper on her tray that had the hidden picture that you uncover with a pencil. It had been all completed. Dad thought that Kathy might have helped her. I went over the date with her (I had no idea that Kathy said she had a hard time with the date). Her dinner came and she had a corned beef sandwich and green beans. Nice combo! She ate all of her dinner and most of her fruit.
After dinner I played “Headbands” with her. It is a game where you wear a headband on your head and place a card in the headband so you can’t see it. I wore the headband with the card and I asked mom questions to try to guess what the card was. She did a great job answering my questions. She was very accurate. After I guessed my card, I put a card on her head. She did a good job guessing and asking questions. A few times she asked the same question over and over, but for the most part she did well. We played that game for a while. At one point I made the suggestion to stop and do something else, but she said not to. Her CNA came in her room and asked if she wanted to go to bed. They put her in bed and once she was in bed she started to cry. She said she felt like she was trapped in an old age home and she wanted to go home but couldn’t. She kept saying she wanted to be with dad. We sat and held hands.
She started to cry again and I lowered the lights and just sat with her. I placed Frankensense on her temples to calm and soothe her.
I said a prayer and left once she was settled and calm.
Peace and be well,
~Claud
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