Coming Near the End

Mom was doing fairly well last week, then Thursday she ate dinner and was watching her Spanish Soap Opera. I went to get her plate after, and she was fine. Then I went in a half hour later and I couldn't wake her up. So I covered her well in her recliner, and checked on her a few times. I had Les go in with me at 5 am to see how she was. She had such thick covers we couldn't tell if she was breathing. So I got up close to check. Her eyes popped open and she said "where am I and what am I supposed to do" Scared the crap out of me. Yesterday she was worse and only got up long enough to eat and go back to bed. Today she got up and went to the bathroom with her walker. When she sat down, she mentally and physically was gone. I had to have a neighbor help me lift her up and take her to the bedroom and get her into bed. She woke up about 3 hrs later, didn't remember a thing and wasn't making much sense. I feel that will be one of her last times out of bed, unless she makes a miraculous recovery. She can't lift her own body. She can't think much at a time, my neighbor thinks she is either having mini strokes or the cancer is amastatising in the brain, which we knew it was heading that way.

Someone needs to let Afton know now. Mom liked that she had someone that didn't know about the cancer that she could just small talk with. I don't know how much longer she can use the phone if at all. It wouldn't be fair for Afton not to know.

Not sure what our plans are just yet. If she goes soon, I don't want to put her in a nursing home, but I'm not sure how I will know that. Guess I just need to pray a lot.

Mind Better, Body Weaker

We got her a new walker and she is using it. It's metalic blue and quite fancy. She is getting weaker all the time and fell again today. She was getting ready to sit down on her chair and slid off onto the floor. She didn't seem to get hurt, but she is no help getting up. Then later she couldn't get up from her chair, so I had to help her. That happened twice so far today, which is all she has been up, so we will see tonight, when she gets up to eat. My back already hurts, so we will see how things go in the next couple of weeks, but a nursing home may be the way to go. I'll think about it and pray about it. In two weeks she will have lived with us for a year. If anyone talks to her, please don't mention the nursing home. Not even sure if that's the way to go.

Getting weaker in mind and body

She doesn't get up much at all. When she does she isn't very sturdy walking. I've tried to get her to use a walker, but she doesn't want to. I'll try to get Les to talk her into it. She get's confused at times and can't remember what she is to do, like going to bed or when it's time to eat, and what to do, like if she has pancakes, she forgets that she needs to put on butter and syrup and cut them up. She just looks at them confused and asked what to do. The back of her head seems to be hurting more but says it isn't enough to take more meds yet. This doesn't mean she won't be better next week. She always seems to bounce back.

Mom's Friends

I couldn't get these pictures up, so at first I just wrote about her friends. On the left is Eileen on the right is Kay, friends she used to work with at the bank.

OK, I don't have really tall chairs, mom has just become really little. I noticed when the rest of us were sitting, our head were way above the top of the chair. So sweet of them to come.

Mom's friends came to visit

Mother has kept in touch with people she worked with in the 60's. 2 of them came over today. Kay and Eileen and had a great visit. Mom tires easily but loved the visit. Even with steroids, her stomach is getting much bigger, and the tumor on her back is getting larger. She fell yesterday, which really scared me, but she is OK. She was getting in a cabinet and turned too quickly and lost her balance. She doesn't seem to be sore, even though she hit her cheek on a table going down. She had a red mark yesterday, but can't see it today. She still eats 5 times a day, not quite as much each time as she used to and still sleeps a lot.

It's wonderful having a sitter and getting out once in awhile. Mother enjoys the company. Someone new to tell her stories to and show her drawings, books etc.

Got Help

I was beginning to feel like the old movie "Groundhog's Day" where everyday Bill Murray woke up and it was Groundhog's Day again. My life is the same day after day after day, and I wasn't getting out or Les and I able to do anything together. I hired a registered nurse to stay with mother a couple of evenings a week and a few hours on Saturday. She has just started and it has been wonderful to get out again. We still can't leave to visit family which is kind of sad and I haven't started back to the temple, but still we can go out together so that's a great help. Mom seems to be doing better, but in order to keep the pain down she has to be highly medicated and I worry about leaving her alone.

She was alert enough to call her old hairdresser that did her hair years ago when she lived in Boise, and asked if he would come here and give her a perm, and he did. She looks and feels much better so I'm glad for that. Then I wonder if I could leave her alone for a few hours at a time. I just don't know. I guess I will wait and see how things go. In the mean time I will keep the sitter. I'll keep you posted.

Mom's doing better, don't know how she does it!

Carol and her mother Mildred came to visit mom and cut her hair. That just seemed to perk her up and she seems to be doing better and not in so much pain. I don't know how she does it! Just when you think it's about the end, she perks up! Never as good as before. I notice a real difference in her voice. She is taking several different medications so is often a little "hi", but her appetite is back and she is awake probably 5 or 6 hrs a day. She does go to bed at 6 and sleeps till about 8 or 8:30. I think many of us are envious of that. I do have a monitor in her room now so in case she has problems she can call me or I can hear if anything is out of the ordinary.