Phone Conference with Dr. Dentler

Pat and I talked with Dr. Dentler last week to just do an update on Mom. He said that she is doing o.k. but there is definitely a change in the lady that he could converse with a few months ago. He said now he is not sure she knows who he is when he goes in to talk with her... but she has seemed happy and somewhat content the last few days. We asked about the request for Hospice additional services. (mentioned in previous post). He and Pat talked about what might be appropriate...Dr. Dentler stated that there is no need for help with medication or bathing etc., as those services are provided at Riverview... Pat mentioned that Hospice had suggested that college intern/aides and some additional nursing care might be beneficial as Mom seems to do best when someone is around...when she has company. Dr. Dentler agreed and said he would start the referral process. He said that while death is not imminent, Mom is definitely showing signs of moving through the stages of dying, i.e., refusing food, losing weight.

The last few days have seen some great times... Barb called once and both myself and Pat talked to Mom separately and she somewhat conversed... I said, "Hello, Ann, How are you? I love you so much!" She responded with "I also smell really good." :) Barb and I both laughed...but it was so very nice to hear her talking! Tonight Kirsten called and Pat talked a bit but her responses were not really intelligible. She was a bit teary.

When I talked to Barb that day she said that Mom really has had some good times. She really responded to letters from Susie and Terry that Barb read to her. Susie and Terry both talked about memories of doing things with Grandma on the farm... Thank you so much for sending those letters!

Just fyi...Pat just booked a ticket to come home to visit Mom in later February...