How Are We Doing? Oh Deer – We’re Tired

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(I wrote the first half of this post yesterday – Friday April 14th, 2023) – Post #71

I’m sorry if I have left some of you all hanging with my last post about my mom’s decline. I haven’t really had the time, energy, or presence of mind to do an update this week (and kind of still don’t); so I decided to do something a little different and just shoot a video.

Can I just say that is way out of my comfort zone? I unexpectedly had to introduce myself in front of about fifteen people today and would have rather crawled under a table – hearing my voice explaining things on YouTube makes me shudder; but it seemed like a good way to save time, and I guess for me efficiency is one of the few things that can override embarrassment, so here goes…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTThhqsmMjs

Being back at Laumeier Sculpture Park brought back memories of when my mom had her episode in August, when we thought we were losing her, and how she surprised us with a significant turn around.

She wasn’t in any kind of condition to climb on the sculptures then; but I was pretty impressed (and possibly a little worried) when she insisted on walking her wheelchair up a steady hill last year…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1XM6S2YkfI

She Looks Like Her Mom Here

When I showed my mom this footage of her walking, she asked me, “Is that mom?” (As in, her mom – my grandma).

I told her, “No, it’s you. If it was grandma, she’d be standing up a lot straighter.”

She laughed at that.

It’s true – I remember watching that woman come close to tipping over at nearly a hundred years old. It was like seeing a tree felled in the forest. I would have been tempted to say, “Timber!” if it hadn’t scared me so badly, and I wasn’t so busy trying to rebalance her.

I don’t know how my mom’s mom managed to keep such good posture. Maybe it was all those Jell-O salads that kept her joints in order. She might as well have been raised with a phone book on her head the way she could stand up so straight – granted, the one in Wabash was a sliver compared to what we had in St. Louis – bearing that big thing as a hat would have hunched anybody over; but I’m digressing…

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base and tell you that she’s still here, has started eating a little and drinking liquids again; but she’s definitely getting more worn out.

Thank you for all of your tender care, concern and kindness. Love, Jody

Another Decline

Saturday April 15th, 2023

I wrote the above feeling a little badly for getting people stirred up about my mom’s deteriorating condition from the week before; but within a few hours of working on the post and making preparations to publish it, my mom went into yet another decline.

Last night, her speech was garbled, her blood pressure was high, and she seemed restless; but couldn’t say why. She’s supposed to be turned every two hours. Normally, she speaks and wants something to drink while I’m doing that. Last night, she didn’t seem to rouse; but definitely seemed uncomfortable when I would move her, so I tried to just tilt her into different positions instead of relying on full turns.

Today she has mostly just slept. She seems comfortable and isn’t showing any further signs of distress; but it’s another day where she isn’t really consuming fluids. For all I know, she may wake up after a good rest and be ready to watch her birds, flowers and neighbors again; but I’m not sure.

(Here’s me from the future: I certainly wasn’t expecting this – click here to read about Hospice and Tornado Warnings.