Hello all, not much to update, but I wanted to make sure I posted something before the Thanksgiving holiday...you can all thank Claire Faler for the gentle reminder that it had been a while! :-)
My husband and I will be out of town visiting his parents, so my Uncle Bill and Aunt Alice (Mom's brother & sister-in-law) have generously volunteered to stay at my house so they can check on Mom while I'm away. It will make me feel better to know someone will be here for her, and it was so nice of them to offer so that I would feel comfortable leaving town. Alice has plenty of experience dealing with nursing homes, so I know Mom will be in good hands!
Mom has been eating a little bit more, although still not near enough. But it's encouraging that she says she actually feels a little hungry, even if just a few bites fill her up. She likes ice cream! Not much else, but she likes plain, vanilla ice cream. And apparently Cream of Wheat is another dish she requests, regardless of the time of day.
Her pain level fluctuates, and the medical staff are unclear whether it's coming from her back, the tumor, or her bed sores. Regardless, we are working on tapering off some of her pain medications in an effort to increase her alertness so that she will eat and exercise and hopefully get strong enough to come home.
Exercise, exercise...she absolutely HATES having to do physical therapy! Luckily, she has a very good physical therapist who doesn't take "no" for an answer. I just wish the rest of the staff had that attitude; many of them give up far too easily in my opinion, whether it's getting her to eat or shower, or just sit up in a chair for a while. She is still extremely weak, and that unfortunately doesn't seem to be improving, so eating and P.T. are key.
The social worker suggested that maybe she needed some activities to motivate her, so I also got her some magazines and brought her some yarn so she could knit; she hasn't actually knit anything yet, but she holds the yarn and talks about what she's going to make!
Thank you all so much for the wonderful cards she's been receiving; I read them to her, and leave them for her to look at. I have another meeting with her "care team" on Wednesday, although I doubt I will hear anything new. Then I'll be gone for a week, but I will do my best to post an update when I get back.
Thanks again for your support and prayers. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Tracy
7 years ago
Posts
5 comments:
We really appreciate these updates, Tracy. Thank you for taking the time.
Alice and Bill: Thank you for driving down to Gypsum to do this - you'll be in the lap of luxury at Tracy & Paul's house. But, you'll probably still be in the snow!
Tell Duene we love her!
Thank you so much for the update, Tracy! My best, and love to Duene!
Thanks for the update, Tracy. Mucho appreciated. Have a great week off. "Hi" to Duene.
Thank you, Tracy, for the message. Hello to Alice and Bill. You have a lovely Thanksgiving!
Me too, thank you Tracey. I'm glad you are taking time off. I know it's needed. Have a good time...know Duene is in the best of care. Luv you all.
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