Happy Thanksgiving, everyone

I"m thankful that my sibs who live closer to Baltimore than I do are so good with Mom, and that I can get over my guilt with a wide variety of distractions and coping mechanisms.

Christmas plans...

Who's coming to town?
When?
Kris Krinkle? Adult? Kid? When?
Sibling Board Meeting to make plans for the house? When?
Division of furniture/goods still left at Yarmouth? When?

Our house is open to anyone who wants to stay here. We will not be eating Christmas dinner with the Smith family though. (plans aren't narrowed down for the Blanchard family, but we may be having it here so I could just add Smiths if necessary) I like the Chinese Kris Kringle for adults and the Ornament Kris Kringle for the kids. We are open for the 26th, 27th and 28th for parties. We can host parties here if needed - not a problem. I definitely think that we need to meet to make a real plan/decision concerning the house. I am working on the 23rd and the 30th but can be free any other time to meet for a board meeting/house cleaning.

Love to all - Levelle

Mom's on her way to the ER again

I just hung up with Megan. She got BG and Mom was sitting in the big room downstairs. They went up to Mom's room. Mom said she felt "not so good." She said her heart was pounding. Megan tried to get her to lay down and drink some water. But Mom wanted Megan to get the nurse.
Kathy, the nurse, measured her heart rate at 194 and called an ambulance. Kathy thinks they should keep mom overnight so the Holter Monitor stays on.

Megan called me because she couldn't get anyone else.

Wish I was there to help.
Lel

ANTM...

Watch out Joe Flacco!

Adorable

How cute is he?!?

No thanks...

Something to be thankful for, this Thanksgiving

I'm having Thanksgiving dinner if anyone would like to come.

Dinner at my house around 5:00. Megan is talking to Uncle Larry and I will call Aunt Melmarie and Julie. Let me know if you can make it.

Love to all - Levelle

PS I onle wrote that really long post the other day because I wanted to push the Obama picture further down the screen ;-)

Nevermind...

Visited today, she seemed more normal and with it than she has in a month. Whatever! Par for the course - she never has two days straight that are the same.

Love to all - Levelle

My Day with Mom....

I was able to spend all day on Friday with Mom. I did so for several reasons, not the least of which being that I wanted to keep her out of the nurse's office at BGT. This is where she seems to be spending most of her days recently. I also wanted to see what her day was like and what she occupies herself with. Oh yeah, I wanted to make sure that she was feeling better from her ER visit the day before (thanks again Megan) and take her heart monitor off when the time came. So, here's some highlights from my day:

• I arrived to find Mom dressed and seemingly in good spirits. Unfortunately the Holter Monitor was sitting on the kitchen counter. When I asked her if she took it off, she said yes - she didn't know what it was or why she had it on. She didn't remember being in the ER the day before.
• Approximately every 15 minutes or so, Mom would ask me if I was hot and then tell me that she was hot (she wanted me to continuously check her temperature) and that her heart was pounding and she was feeling clammy. (these are the symptoms that she is taking to the nurse 2-3 times a day) She would then get into bed and close her eyes. She spent most of the day this way. I couldn't convince her to take a bath or to let me wash her hair. (both of which were necessary).
• I'm no nurse, but these sure seemed more like panic attacks rather than heart attacks. Either that or Mom is trying to wish a heart attack upon herself. She talks a lot about dying.
• We did go downstairs for lunch and Mom ate most of her food. As soon as she was done though, she wanted to go up and get back in bed. She was fretting over the fact that the Fredericks were coming for a visit in the afternoon. I thought that I would leave for a bit while they were there, but Mom asked me to stay. I did and she roused herself quite nicely while they were there. We talked a lot about their early days together and looked through the photo album that Megan brought over. (gave us something to fill the time with - thanks)
• Boom, the second that they were gone - back to bed. I thought that she was going to take a real nap then, so I took the opportunity to step out and make a few phone calls. Before I left, she said that she had something to ask me - I didn't need to say yes, but would I please stay with her tonight! Ack!
• I spent about a half an hour with my sisters on the phone before returning to Mom. When I arrived, I found her up and dressed and ready to go down for dinner. Um...okay..so you feel better now? Evidently.
• We had a lovely dinner (don't worry, I didn't order either time so I don't owe the estate anything ;-) ) with my favorite old man. He was so cute and Mom was downright flirtatious with him. Chatting and all. Though we bolted from our lunch guests the minute Mom finished her last bite of hamburger, Mom was plenty pleased to sit and wait for this man to finish his dinner! Too funny. The ironic part was that as we were going to leave, he said, " See you around the campus." :-O
• I made the mistake of mentioning to Mom when we got back to her room that she seemed to be much better, no new episodes of the attacks since before dinner. I knocked on wood as I said it, but darn that old wives tale sure doesn't work! Almost immediately she began saying that her stomach was bothering her. She got ready for bed (um...we really need to get her some nightgowns...there are somethings, I'd rather not see in my lifetime and a nearly naked Mom is one of them!!!) and it was only 5:30. We spent the next hour battling diarrhea. ( the good news was that she told me I might need to find somewhere else to sleep since it stunk so bad in there)
• I got the tech to come in and give her some Pepto Bismol and there were no more episodes. Of course 10m minutes after she got the PB, she was agitated and told me that she had diarrhea and could I please go find out if there was something she could take. ;-) She was fine once I told her that she had gotten medicine that would take care of it.
• I decided to leave around 7:30 and she seemed okay with that. I left her watching M*A*S*H*. All I have to say is THANK GOD for the Hallmark Channel! It's my sanity during my visits.
• She did not show any of the paranoid behaviour that the nurse at BGT has been talking about, but she clearly was not "with it" for most of the day. At one point, we were looking at a picture of she and Mrs. Lawrence from Halloween this year. Mrs. Lawrence was dressed up like a star and Mom had on a hat with a wig attached and big glasses. Mom could not comprehend that that was actually her. In fact, she could not understand the picture at all. She kept asking if that was her, then what was this? Um, those are your legs Mom, you are sitting in a chair. Then this is me? Yes. Then shat is this? Um...that is a Halloween decoration you are holding in your lap. You are sitting. These are your pink pants on your legs and you are wearing a white shirt. This is a pumpkin decoration in your lap. No matter how much I explained the picture, her brain could not comprehend the image in front of her. She couldn't even tell that they were people. I know...long description but it's just an example of how her brain is really changing.
• If you go on ALZ.org, you will see that she is leaving the Stage 5: (Moderately severe cognitive decline(Moderate or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease) Major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function emerge. Some assistance with day-to-day activities becomes essential.) and beginning to show signs of the next stage. That is my non-medical diagnosis. Quinn is going to talk to D. Lavin on Monday to see if he can change her meds once again to try and get a grip on her situation (as it stands today - always changing though ;-) ) She would like to get Mom on Nemenda again to help increase her appetite and to help her brain function. She was really good on that when she was on it, but that's when the fainting spells began and they thought that what was causing her to collapse, so he took her off of it. Quinn would also like to get Mom on some kind of mood stabilizer to help her be happy and stay out of the Nurse's office seeking attention.
• The head Nurse at BGT would like for Mom to see the staff psychiatrist to see if he can help her. Dr. Lavin said that he would rather not see that happen. BGT may be trying to gather information to show that she is ready for Reminiscence. I know that we don't want to see her there, but there are times when I wonder if that is the best thing. This has been such a rapid decline, but it has been steep and if it doesn't slow down, I can't imagine how they can keep her from it. If she doesn't go down for meals and needs to be reminded all of the time, or she doesn't bath on a regular basis, or she dresses inappropriately for the weather, or wanders the halls or gets lost while walking outside or becomes delusional in her beliefs of her surroundings - BGT will have a good case. We are trying to do all that we can here...making sure someone visits every day (especially at meal times), bathing her, keeping her occupied and out of the nurse's office. Only God knows and time will tell...
• Good news from my day...I found Mom's purse, her watch and her gold chain. I wasn't able to convince her to bathe or wash her hair, but I was able to pluck those last chin hairs that were bothering her ;-O! Oh yeah, and I was able to remove those styrofoam cups and Urine Specimen cup from her room ;-) so it's safe to drink there - for now.

Okay - just a little update from me! Love to all, Levelle

And again...third hand info for now

Mom is on her way back to the ER @ GBMC. Megan just got the call from BG is on her way there now. BG reported that they dialed 911 because Mom was clutching her chest, was sweating heavily, had a pulse rate around 200 and blood pressure so low "they couldn't get a reading" on it. When paramedics arrived, Mom told them she didn't remember anything about the chest pain. That's all I know at the moment. Megan will give me update to relay when she can.

Third Hand Account

Just talked to Quinn. She got a message from BG at 12:30pm that Mom has had several "episodes" and is wandering around very upset and paranoid. Mom thinks they are trying to shrink her room and that there's unknown boxes in her room that she wants removed. A friend of Mom's had just showed up and was going up to her room with her to try to figure things out. The nurse who left the message wants permission to have mom see the geriatric psychiatrist. She thinks this will help Mom a lot. Quinn is trading messages with the nurse but is planning on telling them to go ahead (just be sure to keep Lavin in the loop)
Never a dull moment! I am amazed at how much Mom seems to have deteriorated. I wonder how long before she has to go in the Alzheimer's unit? I don't know how her mental status compares to people who are in there currently. Does anyone have a friend who's been through this?
Pray for Megan - I think she's there now or at least on the way. She doesn't know about the call earlier. Be interesting to see what she finds.

Peace, people.
Lel

Again with the urine specimen !@#!*

I took Mom to the Dr.Lavin today. He had already gotten last weeks E.R. report and a report from BG on the weekend events, including the near E.R. incident. First, Mom looked great for her appointment, clean, perky and pretty lucid. She was very happy and relieved when I called her to tell her that I had made her an appointment with him. He was very good with her. He calmly explained that these episodes were going to be a part of her life. In a nut shell, her brain, via the nervous system, does not always send the heart the message to adjust her blood pressure (BP) when she goes from sitting or lying to standing. (Orthostatic hypotension)He explained that she had to move slower, take her time standing and eat more salt. There are really no medications that have shown to be effective for this syndrome. There is a hormone that can be used to elevate her BP, but it is very tricky to dose because of serious side effects. He pointed out to her that with her track record with meds, he is very hesitant to try it on her. That can be re-evaluated if the problem gets worse.
On the topic of meds, Dr.Lavin and I were just made aware that BG was still giving her the medicine for sleep. He was upset about this because he wanted it stopped a month ago. He has now stopped ALL meds, including her multivitamin (MVI). I talked with him about the charges for giving her just the MVI and he was fine with us giving it to her. We just need to coordinate a schedule for that soon.
Finally, we discussed the problem with BG having to call 911 every time Mom has a "spell". He said he already spoke with them about this issue. They told him they are leary of not calling because of all the regulations they have to follow. He told them he agreed to a point, but that it was against her best interest to keep sending her when it is not necessary.
He was going to write an order for her chart that states that they are not to call 911 for a fainting spell unless she suffers an injury or loss of consciousness :) I totally agree. If anyone doesn't agree, call Dr.Lavin to discuss it. Anybody still awake?
It was a very good visit and Mom seemed very satisfied with what he had told her. I dropped her off in time for lunch and all seemed well. So you can imagine my surprise when BG called me
before I even made it home! It seems Mom had gone right up to the health suite after I left and told them "she wasn't feeling well, could they please call Quinn" I'm beginning to think some of this "feeling bad" is really loneliness and fear :( Anyway, we'll just keep up the visits- I know her friends and brother are- and reassure her as best we can.
I appreciate Matt and Henry going to take care of the lawn. I know I don't even like going over there if I don't have to. I hope we can revisit renting or selling when Michael is home at Christmas. I would rather focus my attention on Mom than on the house. JMHO
Love to all, Q
P.S. I almost forgot... You all owe me big time because I did have to deal with getting another urine specimen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was an old day...

This is for the far-n-er sprinkles... I think all the locals heard by phone.
Sorry to say that Mom had another fainting/dropping-to-the floor episode today on the 1st floor @ BG around 1 pm. BG didn't dial 911 this time because Mom came around relatively fast and asked them to call me instead. Very sweet of her but it scared the crap out of me. BG said Mom seemed confused, a bit fidgety and was also complaining of chest discomfort. However, they seemed to feel that a family member would be able to calm her and take her GBMC rather than going by ambo.
I did the smart thing... called Saint Quinn (yes, it's your turn again for nomination). She headed there and is still there doing a superlative job, foremost because she prevented another trip to the ER. Quinn assessed Mom's medical state, got her calmed and up to bed for a nap. She'll be consulting with Dr. Lavin about this latest episode. By now, she's probably got Mom up for dinner and will pass along an update later.
I wasn't fortunate to catch Paul awake when I called him right after Quinn. If lucky, I was hoping he could hustle to BG and hold Mom's hand while Quinn was en route. He's up now and will check in on Mom tomorrow.
Peace out clan! Love, Dan

Today was a new day...

She was dressed appropriately, her hair looked nice (thanks again Megan!) and she was in good spirits. The conversation was flowing quite nicely with most words coming to her easilly. It wasn't until I she stood to kiss me good-bye when she had a woozy moment. I told her that when she feels that way, she should gently sit down and wait for it to pass and if she needs help - ask for it. The only little issue was ht she doesn't remember going to the hospital yesterday. Oops, sorry Danny - your good deed has been lost in her memory. She was able to tell me what caused her to faint yesterday though. It seems that she had just picked up the paper and saw that one of those "chocolates" was to be named our next president. ;-} (sorry, I couldn't pass up on the joke)

Love to all - Levelle

Mom's back at GBMC

Same episode, different day. Danny is there with her now and will be pushing to have her released as soon as possible.

Will keep you updated - Levelle

'Nuff said

There's Hope for a Better Future

We had to put this sign up when someone stole our standard street sign. And by 'someone' I hope I don't mean Danny, because I know he was tempted :)

BTW- I found her rings!!!!

Mom wants to vote

Does anyone have plans to take mom to vote? She's an Obama supporter, so I'm not sure if Danny or Paul should be trusted with the job. ;)