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