It’s been a week since mum got her tooth pulled. It all went very well as mum woke up calm on that day and we were able to take her to the dentist with no problem. At the dentist, she sat in the chair and opened her mouth, also with no problem.
I took the letter the geriatrician had written to explain why mum had to have her tooth extracted and not root canaled etc. It’s because mum can’t sit in the chair long because of the possibility of choking due to the Parkinson’s. He read the letter carefully and kept it so I’m glad I took it. Then he very quickly took the tooth out and put in a stitch. Mum didn’t bleed and she healed up really fast. Today Dona Edna took out the stitch whilst she was sleeping. So thank God, all went well!
Mum is in a good phase. That means she is eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. Her routine is to get up, be bathed, get dressed and have breakfast.
I watched her eat today – she had oatmeal porridge, a piece of bread and a piece of coffee cake. Then at 10 she has some fruit. Then at 11:30 – soup. This soup is always homemade and we mash the veggies up with a fork after we heard a doctor say that it should not be beaten in the liquifier. Beating up the veggies breaks up the fibres whereas mashing them keeps the fibers.
After the soup she has a nap and whilst she’s napping, we try to massage her legs to help them lose the swelling. She then has lunch with us around 1:30 and in the afternoon a cookie and at night more soup, this time packaged. I don’t worry much about the package having salt because mum has low blood prssure anyway. So this is her routine.
In the afternoon she tends to get her confusion crisis and moan and thrash about. It passes by early evening. She’s confused now and lives in her own world. She hums and sings and pretends to play the piano. She tells long convoluted stories to the helpers. She seems happy enough. Occasionally she sees the young man through the front glass door which looks into the garage who according to her is nice and is waiting to take her home.
You are a disruptor. The delivery of health care starts with you, continues because of you, and ends with you. Let's disrupt together to make the world better for family caregivers. 
Donna Ryan
wow!! if we could all just see that special face in the window…while it may sound or seem scarey to some it also in a strange way can seem comforting to others…we just dont know what is going on in those heads of theirs…but it sure sounds like you are giving your mom such wonderful treatment, care and love. You sound like an amazing person and I know that special man watching from the window is praising you on all your love….this was a lovely piece…
Sharon
Thanks for sharing your caregiving journey with us. Your sharing with us helps all of us. You are a loving daughter and caregiver to your Mom.
Bette
Hi Dilys,
Thank you for your post today. How many helpers do you have to arrange in a day? It must be hard to see all these changes. You are very strong.
Dilys
Right now I have 2 helpers, a mother and a daughter. They are very nice and I hope they stay with us for a long time. Ever since mum began to have to have aids in 2007 when she fell down and broke her femur, this is the first time that I really like the helpers. The others all took good care of mum but I didn’t always feel happy with them. Some were nice, others weren’t. Some had up days and down days. These two that are here now are always cheerful and so it’s easier to have them in the house. Let’s hope it keeps on this wasy.
Denise
Hi Dilys, I just wanted to echo my thanks to you for sharing. In particular, I love the image of the young man your mom sees. How comforting is that! Wow! I hope today has been a good one for you.