| |
Picture Credits: Karen Stack from http://KaraokeAnonymous.com
Hello everyone!
Well, it's only been a few days and so much has happened.
First off, on Friday Mom got moved to Kent Community Hospital in a recovery unit, or rehabilitation facility. I'm not exactly sure what room she's in, I was so flustered by everything going on, but I'll get that to you soon. Bill took half a day off to assist with the move and sign all the neccessary paperwork. He was with her from 2:00PM on through around 5:30PM or so. Then of course Bob was with her for a bit and later on Lonnie, Shirley, and Nathan visited too.
She's now in a room with three other people. It's sort of small and they will stick to visiting hours since there are other people in the room. Visiting hours are from 8:00AM until 9:30PM. The nureses gave Mom her first "shower" in over a month. (Until now she's been given bed "baths" where they wipe her down and wash her hair with a solution that isn't rinsed out but towel blotted.) Now they had her on a stretcher and wheeled it into a special shower and she had a full blown shower and her hair was washed with real shampoo. They also informed me that her bed sores are now gone. Yay!
On Saturday, I spoke with Bill who had been there all morning and this is what he said. He said Bryce was there and Mom followed (tracked) him with her eyes all over the place and grinned (smirked) a couple times when Bill said funny things. We definitely think there are periods of time when Mom is "with us" and understands everything that is said. Then there are other times when she's "spaced out" and not really comprehending much around her. The "with us" times seem to be increasing in duration and frequency, which is really exciting.
Bill also said the therapists were working with her on Saturday and they sat her up on the edge of the bed and let go...and Mom sat up on her own for a few minutes. It took all the strength out of her and she went right to sleep, but it was SOOOOOO way cool!
She doesnt' have a phone in her room, but they can add that feature if we choose to pay for it. We'll have to talk about that and make a decision. And we can't have cell phones in there, so there's no talking to Mom for the time being on the phone.
When I went in on Saturday with my children and Don, I ran into Lonnie, his girlfriend Sandy, her son, Shirley, her son Nathan, and after a bit Bob showed up as well. Mom is looking better than ever and is more alert than I've ever seen her. DJ was REALLY impressed with all the improvements because he has not seen her in a few days.
Gary had never seen her since this all happened and it was a bit hard on him when she wasn't able to respond. He buried his head in my stomach and said, "Mom, I wish this never happened." Then he told Don later, "She's not going to make it...is she?" Don explained that she's getting better every day and said that by us visiting and talking to her, she'll be encouraged to get better yet.
She's got a tack board in her room and Bill said he's bringing in some push pins in on Sunday (today) so we can put the pics, etc. back up for her. Bob taped some of the pics that have been sent (Scott and his family, Shirley and her children, Bill and his family, Gene's kids, Me and my family) to the wall where all she has to do is turn her head and see them. He didn't put them on the tack board as it's above her head and she can't see it easily.
When speaking with the nurse on Saturday I learned a few things, like it may be possible shortly to wheel Mom around the hospital. She's discussing it with the doctors and will let us know. Yay! She also said that the doctors make regular rounds with the patients and other than that, it's up to the nurses and nurse aids to care for Mom. I was not real comfortable with that so my siblings and I will have a great deal of participation in her care from here on out.
Of course, we have been already, but even more so now. Lonnie spoke with a "patient" there who said she only sees her doctor once every three months. He's a bit concerned about that, but then again maybe that's only her case, or maybe she got it wrong. It's a little unnerving to see some of those patients there, sitting in the halls in wheelchairs and begging for some help or just someone to talk to. There's no way we'll let that happen to Mom. We are all there and almost all the time. That won't stop. Mom will not be forgotten like some of those other patients.
Lonnie and I met with the nurse last night and discussed many things with her. We also informed her of our intentions (the whole family) to be fully involved in Mom's care and that we expected to be informed at every change or improvement that happened. She was nice enough, but I also felt like she considered our questions about Mom's care as questions on her ability to do her job adequately. I think I'll speak to her again to reassure her that I have every faith in her being able to care for my Mother, but that as a my Mother's child... I love her so much that I want to be involved as much as I can regarding her care and treatment.
I'll be making sure certain "little", non-medical things are attended to such as clipping her nails and putting lotion on her feet and hands. I'm also going to continue reading to her at every visit whether it's a magazine article, or letters from you guys, or whatever. I know she can hear my voice and it's extremely apparent that she can understand us most of the time. She cries when someone is sad or tells her how much they miss her. She smiles sometimes when we are joking and telling her something humorous.
She has started following people around with her eyes, and the children more so. Her fingers seem to be moving independently and she can bring them to her face when she wants to brush her hair away or a tear. She just doesn't do it on command... yet. She did blink when Don told her to blink if she could hear him, and she kept blinking until he told her she could stop. That was no accident and it wasn't chance. She did that on purpose and it was really exciting.
Our visits seem to take a lot out of her and she gets tired easily. I plan on visiting frequently, but briefly so she can rest inbetween. I know with as big a family as she has here, even if we all keep it brief...she'll be visiting with "someone" a great deal of the time. I won't "hog" it all, lol.
Well, when I left last night Lonnie seemed to be in good spirits which was really nice. I took a moment to tell him just how proud I was of him for everything he's accomplishing in his life. He's trying so hard to do the right thing at every turn whether it's involving Mom or not. I'm just so impressed with many of the decisions he's making lately and I needed to tell him that.
He shared some doughnuts with us, and Shirley's son Nathan clung to us when it was time to go (to DJ actually... for some reason he really likes my little rug-rat... lol). We said our good bye's and I felt the best I've felt in a long time. Mom's slowly getting better and the family has grown really close again. Sometimes it just seems like life can't get any better, you know?
I don't know when Mom will reach her "plateau" that the other doctors and nurses spoke about, but where she's at now is more than I could have ever hoped for. And to think she's still getting better yet... I'm really happy. Bill and I discussed some alternatives regarding Mom's care after she gets to a point where she can live with someone again. Right now, he's the first choice. He is ideally located and has a nearly handicap accessible home with a gorgeous view out any window of his house.
I did remind him that I was willing to sell my home and relocate if need be to accomodate Mom if it got to be too much on him. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, things are going well. Mom's been approved (I believe that's what Bill said) for state funding for this whole financial debacle which is a HUGE relief. We'll have to iron out some details and then everything will be fine on that end.
Oh! I spoke with Uncle Dennis the other day too. He's praying for Mom daily and it's been so wonderful to be in touch with him again. Everything he says is so very encouraging and uplifting. It's always refreshing to speak with him and I just wanted you all to know that he loves you all very much. Aren't we all proud to be part of this wonderful family? I am... and I want you to know that I love you all as well.
I'll let you know more as soon as I hear anything. Take care and keep in touch. Thank you for the letters (both intended for me and for Mom). I read them to her all the time.
Forever part of your family and loving you,
BrytEyz
(Mary)
|
Help Us Stop Plagiarism -
Nearly all works at PnP are original. However a few people choose to plagiarize.
To check, choose a phrase from the work, then either drag and drop to the search box or copy and paste.
click on search and works at Google will be shown which match. Just to be sure, please do this before
you recommend or rate the work highly...
|
 |
|
|
|
Select a Random Work
from Stories
|
|
Welcome !
