My sister, Lyn, was an angel this morning. She came over to my house to help lift my load a little so that I could work in my office and give me a break to run into town to do a Post Office run and pick up a few groceries until I can get a better idea of what I need.
She bathed Mom, put her in clean pajamas, changed her bedding, took her to the bathroom several times and made her bed! I am so very thankful for her help this morning. Just a few hours of interrupted time today made a huge difference in MY mental health! I am really struggling trying to keep my business afloat in between devoting most of my time and energy to our sweet Mama/Grandma.
Today was another confused and sleepy day for Mom. She asked me over and over what she was supposed to be doing. It's hard to take someone who has worked so hard all her life and now her body and brain won't let her do anything. She can't watch TV or read because she can't follow the story line. Her confusion won't let her put together puzzles anymore. She has no interest in painting, beading, sewing, or even coloring in her fun adult coloring books. She can't help me in the kitchen. In fact, unlike the mom I knew, it doesn't even occur to her to wash a dish, fold a little laundry, help fix dinner. She can't think those things through that she has done for 80 of her 85 years of life. Oh, and lost more weight. She is now only 112.7 pounds. That is down 10 pounds since December 25th.
I think Mom enjoyed my homemade chicken noodle soup but I know for sure that she enjoyed a tiny serving of vanilla ice cream. As a diabetic, she carefully watched her sweets, but now on Hospice, they said that she can reasonably eat anything she wants in moderation, of course. She sat pretty quiet through her dinner but when I mentioned ice cream, there was a spark of joy in her tired, sad eyes.
The Hospice doctor is coming with Mom's nurse tomorrow afternoon. I haven't met her yet but I am sure that she will be wonderful for Mom just like all the Hospice people have been so far. I am arming myself with several questions to ask her tomorrow.
I will hopefully have more news to share then.
Oh, and by the way, I did get short video of Mom telling me that she loves me! It's a sad video of Mama in her far away place but I have her words to watch over and over again.
Until tomorrow.
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