Yarmouth Day

Today I lied to Mom about being in Yarmouth but it was for her own good, so I am told.

Today we took our things on The List out from Yarmouth. The house looked almost like Mom & Dad left it before we started. It looks a lot different now.

Today we shared shots of Dad's last batch of vegetable soup. It tasted even better than normal.

Today I said goodbye to Alex and Mom yet again. Just like every time in the past, it broke my heart. Is there a patron saint of Alzheimer’s patients? I pray that they let Mom recognize me the next time I see her.

Today I cried too many times.

Merry Christmas!!

Counting my blessings this monring and you guys are 7 of them. Christmas sure isn't the same without Dad, but how lucky are we to have each other? Take good care today and have fun. Can't wait to see you all tomorrow.

Love, Lel

Looks like Shane and I will be in Baltimore Sunday afternoon

at M&T perhaps?

Anyone want to give us tickets for a Christmas present?

From tonight's Sunpaper: Ravens outweigh Cowboys in desire to succeed

What makes the Ravens so difficult to beat is their want to win, their desire to succeed. It comes from the approach of the head coach, and has filtered down to every player on the team.
The Ravens might not be the best team in the NFL, but they refuse to quit. They play hard from the opening whistle to the closing whistle. That's one of the major things that separates them from a lot of NFL teams

New plans from Stuart

Stuart just called and talked to Jim. He and Trudy and the kids will be in Baltimore on the 26 for the weekend now.

See you all soon!
Lel

Deck The Halls

I'd love to see a Christmas morning picture from your Christmas's past. If you get a chance to post, upload some of your favorites. If you want to upload to Picasa (for the slideshow) the sign in is leland.gilmour@gmail and the password is M&D anniversary (8 digits no spaces with full year)

How did the doctor visit go yesterday?

Thought I'd start a thread for a change. Any word?

Sorry, totally forgot to post yesterday after my visit...

I was surprised to find Mom sporting a new haircut yesterday since neither Quinn or Megan had mentioned taking her to a beauty salon this week. Little did I know...she did it herself!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, you read that right. Mom woke up around 4:00 and thought that the Mary statue looked like she was going to tip over. She got up and went to hide Mary in her dresser drawers. Once in her drawers, Mom noticed that she now had three purses. Upon looking at them further, she noticed that one had an old pair of scissors in it. She then thought, hmmm..I could use a haircut. Verbatim account there! It's no more horrendous than any haircut that we received in the basement as children, so I let it be.

She's really excited for Michael's visit although she was concerned that he had changed his other plans to visit the mountains with friends to instead come and visit us now. I assured her that Michael had been planning on coming at Christmas all along and that he couldn't wait to spend two weeks with her. ;-) (don't forget Michael...shower on Mondays, mass at noon weekdays at the Motherhouse, hair wash on Fridays, Sunday mass at 10:00 at the Motherhouse, pluck random hairs as needed)

Love to all - Levelle

Can we Plant One of These in Mom's Purse?

Personal GPS Locator:
http://www.zoombak.com/

Stuart, I have some ??? for you

Can you call me when you have a few free minutes? I want to make sure I have accurate insurance information. I am not sure if Mom needs pre-authorization and/or referrals. In the meantime, I will assume she does and atleast get the referral.
Thanks a million. This is the stuff that makes me nauseous!
Peace,
Quinn

Left Mom in Good Hands

I stopped by for a quick visit on my way home. Mom was in really good form today. She looked fine (dressed in blue wool slacks, a white turtle neck and a turquoise cardigan - all buttoned up!). Her hair even looked nice today (thanks, Levelle)
I didn't want to disturb her while she ate lunch but she and her table mates were sitting and chatting for so long after the desserts were finished that I finally interrupted. She and I had a nice visit, during which she was being very clear in her communication. Michael, she really is looking forward to your visit.
She locked and unlocked her door twice during my visit, and told me about the man across the hall helping her in the morning by just reminding her to turn the key to the left. She worked the elevator perfectly.
When she walked me to the front door, we met and chatted with that cute, tall man with a walker. He really is sweet and I swear Mom was flirting. He said he was heading into the coffee room because they were just about to start a discussion about Pearl Harbor. I said to Mom, "You should go to that." She replied, "I'm waiting for you to leave!" I can take a hint.
Although it would have been fun to stay and hear first person accounts of Pearl Harbor times.
See you all soon,
Lel

Christmas Party at BGT

Megan, Quinn (and family), Levelle (and family) and I went to BGT's Christmas Party this morning and had a nice time. Mom had helped set up for the party before we got there - and was a big help according to Kathy, the nurse. She wasn't very clear in her conversations, but was happy to see us. It was a really nice party with some great food, prime rib, oysters, shrimp, cocktails. Really. Can't wait to see that on the monthly bill (+12 guests :))! We left her in her room to rest.

Counting the days til M&M get here - and saving you a spot on the love seat.

Peace, Lel

Mom update

First, thank you "Mom" for my flowers/centerpiece. It is beautiful and very thoughtful!!!!!
Second, I will take Mom for her pre-procedure echocardiogram tomorrow. Her appointment with the cardiac surgeon, Dr.Schamp is scheduled for 12/15. This appointment is for a pre-procedure consultation. I am pretty sure Dr.Schamp will want to schedule mom pretty quickly after that. BTW, I work with him occasionally at Mercy. He is very good.
Third, I can't wait to have everyone home for the holidays!
Love, Q

Don't re-start the counter yet...but...

Mom will be getting surgery to treat her SVT with Ablation Therapy. See http://www.sjm.com/conditions/condition.aspx?name=Supraventricular+Tachycardia+(SVT)&section=Therapy for more details. She will have more testing done on Wednesday and then they will be able to schedule the procedure and overnight stay that goes along with it. (Hey maybe Michael and Melanie will be in town and be open to staying with Mom. You'll love it Michael, think of how much fun you'll have and the stories you'll be able to blog.)

Other than that the two and a half hour doctor appt went as expected with Mom getting very upset and worried. The doctor was nice but he did not have all of the information from GBMC and needed to get it before he made the diagnosis. It took a while, but he got it and confirmed his suspicions.

On other exciting fronts...Quinn had fun getting Mom to bathe today. Mom is really opposed to it and will turn anyone down who suggests it without force. But she wreaked and her hair was plastered to her head. The only way Quinn got her into the shower was to tell her that Uncle Bob was coming to visit. It seems Mom didn't do anything this weekend but fret about her doctor appointment. Perhaps we should start a rotation for weekend visits too. Anything to keeps her from the nurses office! She was there yesterday afternoon when they called Quinn. Mom was frantic about missing something. The fact that her brothers were coming for mass and lunch today and the impending doctor appointmnent was too much for her to handle. Just another day in the life of an ALZ patient.

Love to all - Levelle

PS posting for Quinn since she is drained and would like a fresh start tomorrow. Happy Birthday to our favorite Nurse! Thank God we have you to decipher all of this medical stuff for us.