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Hi all,
Mom had her dental appointment yesterday. We thought she was going to have to have the tooth pulled that her partial hooks onto, and that it was the source of her infection. It turned out, the tooth was fine! It was her gum above the tooth that was infected. Because she needs premeds for any dental treatment, and had taken them yesterday morning, they fit her in for a cleaning (which was overdue because of...
Well, my husband and I have just spent an hour playing with Mom’s beds (one in the living room, one in her bedroom), lift recliner, power chair and the Hoyer lift. My husband was “the body”, because I had to figure out if it was possible with one person. The good news…it is. Much easier with two people, but it can be done. Of course, his body is a whole lot more flexible than Mom’s,...
My mom is still in the nursing home for rehabilitation. Because of all the hospitalizations, her mobility has declined to the point that she is a two-person transfer. It has been tough enough to provide 24 hr care for the past five years with one person at all times. Without unlimited financial resources, I haven’t found a solution that allows two people here at all times, except at night. She is very...
I last posted on March 12th. I can’t believe that it’s only been five days ago!
SATURDAY….We were on our way to the big city, and a new ER after the problems we’d had at our local hospital the week before (almost combined Ativan and a sleeping pill, then forgot to give Mom her antidepressant for four days- causing paranoia, etc). So, that was Saturday. We got to the ER at 3:00 in the...
We’re on route to the ER. Again. Yesterday, I would have said that Mom was doing much better. Now, 36 hours after her last dose of antibiotic, she can’t stand, is extremely confused, and has slept all but half an hour since 6:00 last night. My brother is with us, and I am grateful. We are taking her to the ER in the big city where her uro/gyn is located. I haven’t had time to complain about our...
I left Mom with her caregiver today for the first time since the UTI and came home (right next door) to take a nap. When I came back, Mom looked at me and said, “Honey, you look so tired. What’s wrong?” I think that’s progress. She’s noticing me, and caring about my exhaustion (over two weeks now without good sleep). She had a slightly better day yesterday, but hallucinated and yelled...
After bringing Mom home from the hospital on Sunday, Mom seemed to be doing well. Very little confusion or agitation. As I posted on Monday, we had a great morning. Mom wanted to get up and out of bed after being bedridden for four days. We got her showered and dressed, and her spirits were good, memory doing well.
Right after I got her under the hair dryer, that changed drastically. She got very panicky, and...
We brought Mom home yesterday, early afternoon. She had been completely immobile in the hospital, and had been incontinent. I wrote earlier this week about the hallucinations and agitation. She was, to put it mildly, not doing well at all. The doctor said that it may or may not be permanent.
There was almost no confusion yesterday afternoon. I did keep her in bed, which I had moved into the living room because I...
I’ll do an update about the hospital stay soon. To make a long story short (because I have to go bring Mom home from the hospital this morning), she is being released. The infection is clearing, and responding well to the antibiotics. However, the doctor said that an infection this severe may have caused Mom’s mild dementia to go to advanced dementia just this quickly. She didn’t hallucinate last...
Mom is not improving. In January with the UTIs there was confusion, but mostly unresponsivness. This time, she is increasingly agitated and is hallucinating. She has not slept at all since she woke up yesterday morning. They want to give her Haladol. Sorry if I didn’t spell that right. The evening nurse yesterday advised against it strongly. What is your experience with this drug in an elderly patient? Thanks.
I was able to reach the uro/gyn that did surgery for Mom a few years ago. His nurse told me that, with Mom’s symptoms, to head for the ER. She also told me that the doctor we know and was so happy with is having surgery himself this morning, or we could take Mom to their ER and he’d be her physician. That would have been lovely. She also said that this is a potentially serious bacteria, but confirmed...
Got the microbiology report back from the lab. New bacteria this time…klebsiella pneumoniae. It is one that is picked up when someone has had a whole lot of antibiotics (check, after the two UTIs of a different variety in January), has been in hospital or nursing home (check, check) or is elderly (check). Good news is that they also ran a sensitivities test on the bacteria, and the antibiotic she’s been...
Mom has another UTI. We don’t know what bacteria we are dealing with this time until the culture comes back tomorrow, but we do know that the white blood cell count was “TNTC”. The doctor didn’t know what the lab meant by that, so I had to call the lab for explanation. It means “Too Numerous To Count”. In other words, a raging infection. Mom is completely out of it. She...
Mom has all the signs of another full-blown UTI. We’re off to her primary care doctor this afternoon, and it’s snowing like crazy. Her wheelchair van turns into a sled in the snow. The ambulance won’t come down our hill when it’s snowy or icy. We have a Jeep Cherokee, but I’d have to physically lift Mom in and out of it. Must be a Monday. I’m so tired, my body hurts everywhere...
We’ve had a pretty good week here. I had planned to take Mom to the Flower and Garden Show today, but mother nature didn’t cooperate with our idea of celebrating spring. We’ve had snow, snow, snow for the past 3 days along with record low temperatures. For those of you on the east coast, it’s nothing in comparison. Last weekend, we were having a picnic with both moms on the back patio. This...
I have had an epiphany of sorts. It’s been a whole train of thought. It started with the realization of what excellent care I take of my Mom (with the help of her weekday caregiver). I’m not bragging, but I really do. She never misses medications, is bathed three times a week and her hair is always rolled. I make sure she drinks 6-8 cups of fluid a day. Physical therapy regularly. Her teeth are...
Mom turns 87 years old today. It is a glorious, sunny day today. That is rare in the Pacific Northwest in February. We are taking her to watch the sunset over the ocean this evening, one of her favorite places to be. It is too cold to be outdoors much, but just sitting in her van and watching the sunset will be wonderful for her.
We’ve been celebrating her birthday for a week now, with individual visits from...
We have had a very busy and productive week. My sister came up and helped me deal with itemizing all Mom’s caregiving and medical costs for the year (we have to give account for all of it once each year). Having her support and help was wonderful, and made a tedious task much more enjoyable.
On Friday, my husband and I each took our moms to the doctor (they have the same primary care doctor). We normally...
Got Mom home, and we’re attempting to get settled in. My sister is here with me, which helps. Mom is so confused, though, she doesn’t understand that she is home. She thinks we are settling in to a new facility. It’s going to take some time…
Thank you for all the cheery messages this weekend!
Mom was more confused again today. I took her in to her primary care doctor, who immediately admitted her to the hospital for IV antibiotics. The bacterial infection that put her in the hospital on the 7th is back.
I wish I could say that it was a huge success. Instead, it was a really tough day. Mom’s weekday caregiver had a health issue with one of her kids, so I didn’t have the backup that I’d hoped for today. In September, when I brought Mom home from the adult family home, she was so thankful to be home that she cheerful and cooperative. I had hoped for more of the same. Instead, I’m having to...
Mom is home this evening, snug in her own little bed. The nursing home was very kind to her, and I was very impressed with the level of care. However, they couldn’t adjust to the way Mom’s mobility changes from day to day, and sometimes hour to hour. She was only allowed to walk with a physical therapist or myself. Because she wasn’t walking, she was losing the ability to walk. I brought her home...
