Two days ago my cousin telephoned, and my mother answered. I listened to her side of their conversation and thought, “Have I been dreaming? Is she really sick?” She handed the phone to me at one point. “She sounds great,” my cousin said to me. Is this the woman I visited in the nursing home… Continue reading Heart and/or mind / December 10, 2006
I received a letter from the VA today, informing me that my mother had been denied the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), as I suspected she would be. I should explain that the application I submitted actually served two purposes: one, to apply for DIC, which is awarded based on service-related medical conditions; and, two,… Continue reading Aid & Attendance, part 4 / December 9, 2006
As I write this I can hear my sweet, nearly-14-year-old collie Lily as she yips plaintively in the other room. There is nothing in particular the matter–she has begun doing this at various times of the day and night. We visited her vet this past Thursday and I asked her if dogs could suffer from… Continue reading Lassie, get help! / December 2, 2006
Here we are a week later, and very little has actually changed from our pre-hospital routine, aside from a new morning battle with the anti-embolism stockings. I was right in suspecting that a layer of delerium had been added to the mix in the nursing home, and now that it has disappeared my mother has… Continue reading The elephant in the room / November 11, 2006
My sister and I brought my mother home from the nursing home yesterday. Within two hours of her arrival she was fast asleep, and stayed that way, more or less, for the next 16 hours. I woke her up for her pills at one point but that was it. I probably should not have let… Continue reading Home again / November 4, 2006
I don’t particularly enjoy visiting with my mother in the nursing home, but I dislike NOT seeing her even more. I worried for awhile that my presence was having a negative effect on her behavior, until I realized that there is no resolution to that particular worry. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t–in the end… Continue reading Visits / October 22, 2006
It’s Sunday morning and I’m still staying at my mother’s house. I’m trying to think of moving some of my belongings back to my house but I can’t until I know whether my mother will be able to move directly into AL from the nursing home. Part of this is just my natural caution and… Continue reading Waiting / October 22, 2006
My mother was transferred to the nursing home for rehab on Saturday. She was remarkably “with it” once we arrived. My sister and I were amazed. Of course there were spells of confused talk, but we stayed with her all afternoon, and then I returned for a couple of hours in the evening. I sat… Continue reading Transition, part 3 / October 15, 2006
My mother remains hospitalized, and we now know that she has a pulmonary embolism, no doubt the result of Deep Vein Thrombosis. Another reason to keep the legs moving. The good news is that she is doing quite well–she is alert and her skin has color. She’ll probably be in for another couple of days,… Continue reading Transition, part 2 / October 12, 2006
“I have no idea what the day will bring.” That’s how I ended my last post, and the following day, unfortunately, did prove to be memorable. Seven hours in the emergency room with my mother, who had collapsed at 5 that morning. I couldn’t even sit her up, she was so weak, and I had… Continue reading Transition, part 1 / October 10, 2006
