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Archive through September 16, 2008

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: General Discussions ARCHIVES: July 2008 - Sept 2008: Community Corner: A Caring Place: CAREGIVERS RESPITE ROOM - Parenting Our Aging Parents...: Archive through September 16, 2008 users admin

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Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 8:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
I am soooooooooooooooo happy!
DH & I took mom out tonight AFTER her dinner at the NH, to a restaurant nearby her NH, and we sat on the patio, (which was easier with her wheelchair), and while we ate OUR dinner, mom scarfed down half a bowl of soup AND a couple of small potato latkes (pancakes)! Plus she's been eating A LOT better lately at the NH, and I've seen it with my own eyes. The staff is thrilled too and they keep reporting to me how well she's eating, finishing most of her meals!
I've noticed that she seems a bit stronger, which is why the staff says she keeps trying to get out of her wheelchair, (she had a little fall the other day, but she's perfectly fine - Thank heavens)! DH says she not only looks healthier, she looks to him like she's gained a bit of weight. I see her so often, I haven't really noticed a weight gain, BUT he's got a VERY critical eye, so if he sees a weight gain, then it MUST be true! I am beyond thrilled. On September 9th, she'll be 93. I was so worried just a few weeks ago that she might not make it... now I feel way more positive and less anxious about it.
ETA, I credit the OXYGEN that she's on 24/7. Imagine how much better she'd be doing if she'd stop removing it every so often (cuz it bugs her nose), eh? And I was delighted that tonight AND the last time I was there her bed was elevated where her feet are to keep any swelling down. And her feet look normal to me, lately. :-)

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 8:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
Sounds like really good news, Mames. I'm so happy for you.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 8:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Thx Mamie!

Gilda
Member

08-21-2006

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 11:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Gilda a private message Print Post    
Im so happy to hear the good news about your mom! Woh! Eating so much better as well! Great news!

I know I still owe you an e-mail. Soon-Soon.

Oldtex
Member

03-06-2006

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 8:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Oldtex a private message Print Post    
Mames - that is such good news to hear about your mom. Isn't is amazing what eating can do to improve ones health. I know you were really worried, and with good reason. I don't blame you for being soooo happy! It made me happy too.

Hope mom keeps up the good work!

Biloxibelle
Member

12-21-2001

Monday, September 01, 2008 - 5:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Biloxibelle a private message Print Post    
Oh MamieB that is such good news. I know it made your heart sing to see your mom not only eating, but enjoying it.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Monday, September 01, 2008 - 8:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Txh Gilda, OT, & Belle! They're going to weigh her today, after her shower, so I'll have a better idea of how her weight is really doing. But it IS such a relief that she's doing as well as she is, I must say. :-)

Belle if you are posting here that means that you are okay so far, right? You've been on my mind a lot this weekend. Please stay safe and call me anytime... hugs!!! (I am referring to the fact that she's in the hurricane area folks...)

Biloxibelle
Member

12-21-2001

Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 8:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Biloxibelle a private message Print Post    
Hiya Joycie, yes we made it through just fine. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for thinking about us. I updated in the weather thread. Of course now we have to keep our eye on another storm. I am getting so sick of this.

How did the weigh in go?

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 12:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Hiya Belle! Very relieved that you guys made it through, but it really stinks that there are other storms and it's not over yet. Booo! How is your dad doing?

As for mom, the nurse says she's has gained! August 10th mom weighed 36 kilos - 79.36 pounds. Yesterday, September 5th, she weighed 39.1 kilo - 85.8 pounds. In May she was at her 'best' weight in the past year of 40.1 kilos and she's almost back to that! :-) Still too tiny, but it's a wonderful improvement.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 12:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
ETA, ((((Belle)))), I just read your post in the weather thread...

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 3:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Happy 93rd B'day Mom, I Love You!!!

As most of you know it was touch and go for a while there. I'm bummed cuz I'm still to ill to go and visit mom! But dh and I called her and we sang Happy B'day to her at the top of our lungs, and she was so thrilled. I'm thinking of perhaps making a little fuss over her on the weekend, if I'm over this blasted bronchitis. Her b'day prezzy is a bunch of brand new nighties to replace the ones that 'magically' disappeared.



Ophiliasgrandma
Member

09-04-2001

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 5:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ophiliasgrandma a private message Print Post    
For Mame's mother:


Beachcomber
Member

08-26-2003

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 6:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Beachcomber a private message Print Post    
Happy Birthday wishes for Mame's Mom! Those are gorgeous flowers OG, I just love those colors.

Darn those missing nighties, I think they have run away with my MIL's socks that are always "at the laundry."

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - 9:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Thanks so much OG & BC! I'm going to print up the birthday messages, and bring them to mom when I see her. I think she'll be quite tickled. Those posies are so pretty OG! I can really picture those nighties and socks eloping together, just like the dish and the spoon in the children's fable, BC. LOL.

Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 3:22 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ginger1218 a private message Print Post    
Happy Birthday to your mom Mame. How wonderful - 93 years. God Bless Her!!

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 6:52 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Aw thanks Ginge!

Babyruth
Member

07-19-2001

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 8:46 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Babyruth a private message Print Post    
Happy Birthday to Mame's Mom!!!!

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 12:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Thanks BR!

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, September 15, 2008 - 11:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
<Banging head against the wall.>

Last summer we went through this big thing with aunt convincing her we wouldn't put her in a nursing home and working with her dr to show that she didn't need sis or I making her decisions, she is fully competent to make her own med decisions. There are times I almost regret that cuz it'd be so much easier to tell her to hush and let us do what we need to do.

Last week? week before? we had a scary situation with her. She'd been just fine, chatting with sis about Palin (they'd just watched her give her speech at the RNC.) It was right before dinner so she'd taken her blood sugar and it was perfect. Then sis took her her dinner and aunt was asleep and when she woke her up she was completely...not normal. Sis thought at first it was just cuz she woke her up but it lasted a few hours, to the point sis called me and we discussed rather to take her to the emergency room. I told sis I trusted her judgement on it, she'd taken care of her mil dying from cancer and I know she'd know if it was neccessary to call the paramedics. (This was late in the evening, btw, so calling her dr wasn't an option then.) Sis decided to take the wait and see approach, if she got any worse, she'd call. Luckily aunt seemed fine the next morning, though said she knew she hadn't fell well the night before. That day her visiting nurse came, scheduled visit, and sis told him about the night before, he checked her out, everything, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc was perfect but he did call the dr and let her know about it. Aunt wouldn't let me set up an appt or take her in to the dr and since she's competent to make those decisions I can't do much about it.

So, aunt called me Friday and said it was time for a dr appt and she needed bloodwork first (dr has to call in the order for her visiting nurse to do it.) Problem with her dr is that when you call, real people never answer the phone, you leave a message and have to wait for them to call back. So I called, explained she needed an appt, needed bloodwork, also explained about the weird episode she'd had. Usually takes them a couple days to call back, I figured I'd hear from them today or tomorrow.

Sis called me late this afternoon (about 4:30) and told me she'd just found out aunt had fallen last night. They were already in bed, aunts companion was in bed, so she set on the floor for a while before he got up and helped her. Aunt casually mentioned it to her and also mentioned she felt like she was being pulled to the right when she fell. That's concerning. I hung up the phone and called the drs office, expecting to get the machine, and for the first time ever got a real person.

I told her everything I'd told the machine, aunt thought it was time for an appt (she's actually early but I didn't tell her that, I want her to be seen by the dr,) that she needs bloodwork, about the weird episode and added her fall last night and her feeling pulled to the right, should I take her to hospital, bring her in right now, schedule an appt? She went to talk to the dr, came back and said bring her in Wed morning, dr will order the blood work but it probably won't be done by her appt. No biggie to me, if something shows up, we'll go back to the dr.

I called aunt to let her know she had the appt, dr was ordering the bloodwork but it probably wouldn't be done...she started gripping. Doesn't want to go to the dr before the bloodwork, fall no big deal, on and on. I started banging my head against the wall. I did talk her out of cancelling the appt but it would really be much easier sometimes if I didn't have to argue with her about it!

Ophiliasgrandma
Member

09-04-2001

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 7:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ophiliasgrandma a private message Print Post    
If it is during office hours and you really don't think the ER is the way to go, just load your love one into the car and hustle off to the doc's, appointment or no. What can they do? They will work her in. It sure worked for taking care of my mom a couple of times.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 11:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
War, FWIW, you and your sis are doing a fantastic job with your aunt! It is tricky when they are still cognisant enough, or think they are still cognisant enough, to make their own decisions. But we have to guide them to make the right decisions. And sometimes we have to convince them that the right decisions are their decisions. If that makes any sense.

Case in point, when mom was being difficult when she was in the hospital, insisting that she didn't want to go outside for sunshine and fresh-air... Well I knew this wasn't my 'real' mom. My mom used to love any excuse to go outside and sit on a bench in the sunshine. (We used to live across from a park, when I was younger.) So I got the nurse to say it was time to put fresh sheets on mom's bed. She got mom into her wheelchair and I whisked mom outside, where she totally enjoyed sitting out in the sunshine, and fresh air and the flowers, and watching the people and traffic going by. She didn't want to go back to her room, she wanted to stay out even longer than I did. LOL.

Same thing with the concerts at the nursing home. (When she arrived at the NH she loved going to those concerts.) A few months ago, she gave me a really hard time about not wanting to go downstairs, but we got her into her wheelchair, I whisked her downstairs (while she bitched and moaned at me) and once I got her there, she had the BEST time, and thanked me for it afterwards.

Bottom line: I agree entirely with OG, somehow get her into the car and get her over to the docs office, perhaps a 'reward' of going to her fave restaurant for tea or lunch afterwards might be an incentive, if you have the time. Also make sure she knows that SHE agreed to it before, and that's why the appointment was made in the first place. Also let her know that once the appointment is over, then she can forget about it and she can focus on other things of interest to her. (Since she fell and may have hit her head, you have a valid reason for the doc to test (again?) for dementia, stroke, etc.)

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 11:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
LOL, short of bonking her on the head and carrying her to the car, I won't be able to get her there. She's downright stubborn. She doesn't leave the house except for drs appts (scheduled) and she's usually right on top of those. I'm just glad she got mixed up and thought this was the month for a drs appt, otherwise she'd still be waiting.

That is one thing I'll be discussing with her dr. She was going once every 3 months but because she was doing so well asked the dr to start seeing her every six months. I don't like this at all so I'm going to suggest going back to every 3 months, if for nothing than my own comfort. Too much can change in six months.

I will add, aunt has parkinsons (not very advanced yet) so there are a lot of thing that can be attributed to that. And if that's the cause of some of the weirdness lately (including the falling) I'm not sure there is much they can do.

Ophiliasgrandma
Member

09-04-2001

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 12:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ophiliasgrandma a private message Print Post    
WG, how old is your auntie?

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 1:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
79. Still sharp as a tack too. She's can discuss current events (right now she's all into the election) and things that happened 60 years ago. Once in a while she has what I call a mental hiccup, might think it was me with her during a certain event when it was my sister or mom or she'll insist she had tacos for dinner instead of steak, little things like that.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 11:22 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
ARGHHHHHHHH.

Dr's office called my aunts today to confirm the appt, she told them her visiting nurse hadn't come to do the bloodwork and cancelled the damn appointment. She called to tell me about it and practically hung up on me when I started to object.

She then told sis that the last few days her blood sugar has been spiking real high lately. Sunday we went over to have birthday cake for Kota and she had a small piece, told sis her blood sugar was 389 afterwards. Then after dinner last night (which sis told me was pretty healthy) it spiked again. She actually told sis she was worried about it, but still cancelled the appt.