My mother seems to have moved into a twilight place. She is eating less and less, and sleeping almost all day. The staff at Garden Manor are wonderful, as is Hospice. She is always dressed (which must be an ordeal, since she can’t even stand up on her own) and someone has painted her nails… Continue reading Hospice / April 10, 2008
I am slowly allowing myself to realize that this will be my mother’s last infirmity. I kept playing devil’s advocate with myself as she’s failed over the past couple of weeks–how on earth could she fail so quickly?–but this is one of the ways it happens. It boils down, I think, to an injury of… Continue reading The beginning of good-bye / April 1, 2008
On March 18 my mother fell at her assisted living and was taken to a local hospital. I had just gotten into work when I got the call–I met her at the ER and so began the long wait. She had a UTI and was dehydrated, but x-rays and CT scans revealed nothing broken. But… Continue reading Bad month / March 30, 2008
Today is mild and rainy. The ground is covered with bright yellow leaves and there are still many more to fall. Last year at this time my mother was in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, and I was frantically trying to arrange for her to move from rehab right into Garden Manor. That didn’t… Continue reading Ain’t talkin’ / October 27, 2007
A quick entry, just to say that I’ve posted at least once in August. I continue to visit my mother three times each week. Some days I find her settled, other days–like today–find her agitated. She’s usually fretting about someone she cannot quite identify. Today it was someone named “Lily” (the name of my recently-departed… Continue reading Same old, same old / August 31, 2007
I noted to myself yet again the other day how much I enjoy talking to the other residents in my mother’s wing. I’ve mentioned this before and I don’t mean it to sound crass, but I never expected this. What did I expect? Thinking about it now, I wonder if I just didn’t expect the… Continue reading Suspension of disbelief / July 1, 2007
My mother is much quieter when I visit now. Today being Sunday, we took off for our usual lunch and drive. My sister comes along, as does Jasper the Sheltie (who really doesn’t like going for a ride, surprisingly–he runs and hides when I approach with his harness. This is pretty uncharacteristic for a dog… Continue reading Decision fatigue / June 10, 2007
Although my mother’s memory lapses and confusion spells have snuck up on me over several years, I can well remember the first time I heard a language failure. I believe this failure is called aphasia, and we were in the emergency room after a long visit for a scary but non-life-threatening situation. It was actually the… Continue reading The language instinct? / June 7, 2006
I didn’t want to let April go by without a word. I’ve started several posts over the past two months but have been unable to finish them. I knew that I would have a period of adjustment to my mother’s new living situation, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find myself depressed. When… Continue reading Blues / April 28, 2007
I haven’t been wanting to write much lately. I’m feeling tired and uninspired, just trying to deal with the ups and downs of this spell. A routine is starting to take shape: I visit my mother on Tuesdays and Thursdays right after work. I leave the library at 3:30 and get to Garden Manor by… Continue reading Pictures / February 6, 2007
