Mom Looked Great Today in Her Red Sweater...

I pray all is well with all of you. Some anecdotes and thoughts about Mom. Mom can no longer stand on her own which means she needs two people to assist her to transfer. Sadly I can no longer take out to Mass, or even help her to go to the bathroom. While she has been moved to an assist table for meals today in her room she ate 10-12 spoons of pudding by herself, but I was holding the bowl so she did not spill. She has been eating less and one day this past week her blood sugar was 48. I fed her on Wednesday night and was able to get her to eat 8-10 bites, but she seemed disinterested. I mention to one of the staff that it seemed like it took her a long time to chew and swallow her food so they are going to monitor her a little closer and may be pureeing her food. For the past week or two they have been crushing her pills because of her difficulty in swallowing. They advised me that she had not had a bowl movement for a number of days on Monday. They also put a urine catch devise in her toilet as she seems to be drinking less as well.

When I complimented Mom about her sweater today, she said she liked sweaters and she would like to have a new sweater. That may have been the most coherent thought she has expressed in the past month. While she still tries to communicate, I generally cannot discern her thoughts or wants. It seems that increasingly she is not fully in the present and at times she may be hallucinating or experiencing a different reality. Today she thought I was going to take her somewhere - home - and was upset when I told her that since she could no longer stand, I could not longer take her out of Riverview. She then sobbed for the next hour. I put on a CD of Gospel music and she seemed to calm her some.

Mom does not seem to be anxious a lot - just lost. She does respond to simple things, a hug, kiss, back scratch, foot rub and smiles. Mom reminds me of Lyn's Dad, Joe, and his struggle with Alzheimer's.

We are planning to bring Mom out to our place for Thanksgiving, as we will have plenty of help with the Shipman men to get her in and out of the car. Maybe at Christmas we could do the same or perhaps have an Erickson family Christmas gathering at Riverview? Maybe the afternoon of the 22nd -23rd?

I would again encourage everyone to call and leave her some short and upbeat phone messages. We will play them for her. Love Pat