Another Day With Mom

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning, I went over a little before ten, and Mom was still sleeping in bed. Dad told me that she had awoken a little after midnight the night before, and was twitching a lot and having a hard time falling back asleep. He asked her if she'd like to take some calming pills (Ativan), and she agreed to that. So, he gave her two, and it did the trick. Naturally, it carried over to the morning, and when we roused her from her slumber, she was very groggy, wobbly and dry-mouthed.

I helped her to the toilet and put on her socks, pajama bottoms and a bathrobe, then helped her get to her chair. She drank a whole glass of cranberry juice and took her two pills, nibbled on some banana and sipped on some Ensure. She slowly came out of her fog, and Dad went out to run an important errand, and pick up a few things at the store.

While he was gone, I played manicurist, and trimmed and filed all of her fingernails. She was very good during this, and seemed to enjoy it. I finished it off with some moisturizer, and then I took a damp cloth and wiped the "sleepies" out of her eyes and applied moisturizer to her face. Then I took a damp comb and ran it through her hair, and just for fun, I put a pale yellow bandanna over her head, peasant style. It complimented her lilac bathrobe. We just let her stay in her pajamas and bathrobe all day. Sometimes it's too difficult for Dad to get her sweaters on.

We've noticed that when we give her a Tylenol pill, which is fairly large, she often ends up chewing it, which leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. I suggested to Dad that he try and find a liquid version or a children's Tylenol, and he came home with a bottle of adult strength liquid version. We didn't end up using it yesterday, but I'm glad we have it on hand now.

I whipped up a quick lunch of organic black bean soup (canned) and a small grill cheese sandwich and grapes, and when Mom was done, I settled her back in her chair. As I was cleaning up the dishes, Dad and I were talking in the kitchen. I kept checking on Mom while this was going on ("eyes in the back of my head" syndrome), then I'd go back to cleaning. Then I heard her grunt, and I looked out to see her up, but half-fallen on the back of the chair. "Hang on, Mom!" I called to her, and managed to get over there and support her before she fell completely. Oy, scary. She said she was okay. She said she had wanted to come into the kitchen to hear what we were talking about (a wee bit paranoid). We fussed over her, then helped her over to the couch and settled her in.

I left for an hour, then went back for the rest of the afternoon, until about five. Towards the later afternoon, her confusion set in, so we kept allowing her to get up, move around a little, sit or lie in a new place, until it wore off again (after her four o'clock Haldol pill), and she settled back down on the couch during the Oprah show.

Today, the great Maria is bathing her and giving her extra loving attention. At least the sun is shining, unlike the last two days of overcast and rain, although it's still too windy and cold to take her out for a walk. I think the next two days are going to be warmer.. Maybe we'll take her out for a little drive later.