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PacificWalrus of Sleet
Feb. 10th, 2019 09:49 pmYesterday was a great day and a really rough day. We didn't leave my mother's place until nearly 7, so we had to drive home in the dark. The weather was clear. It was still more nervewracking than usual. We dined on shared bites of sandwiches, chips, and pop from the gas station, and the Sparrowhawk kindly summarized Who We Are And How We Got Here, by David Reich, to keep my mind off my troubles. I'm afraid it all went in one ear and out the other, leaving a vague residue of fascinating facts about widespread incursions of steppe-dweller genes into just about everything. (It's those damn Kurgans! They're everywhere!)
Today I think the Duchess and I both felt maybe we had been too exhausted yesterday, and perhaps things were not quite as dire as we had felt at the time. There was a LOT of crap that went on, but things always go to hell on the weekends in the place where Mother lives, and we are aware of this. Both of us panic-searched the internet for potentially better rehabs, and had to admit we didn't find any. Today the Duchess visited my mother and found her comfortable and on a much smoother track. She had a good caregiver, and had been evaluated by a doctor and the PTs. They determined it was okay for her to be stood up with a 2-person assist and moved to a wheelchair to visit the bathroom and to go to the dining room and to PT, which she has started already. This is really a huge step for her! Mobility is not only important for her to stay healthy, but it will give her interest and a change of scene from being in bed all day. A director of environmental services came by and asked how things went yesterday. The Duchess told her about our concerns. So that's a good step too. Hopefully it won't make them hate us. Once again the rollercoaster is headed upward!
I'm having a combination of feelings: gratitude that Mother is in a good-enough place and they are helping her get back on her feet, AND sadness that she has to be there. My father spent some time in this nursing home during his long decline, and it literally causes PTSD symptoms every time we go near it. This is why it was so important to think that Mother was going to the new wing, where we wouldn't have these memories. But that's not how it worked out. The good thing is that I don't think she remembers any of it. I certainly hope she doesn't. We went back to her apartment in the other building and brought a pretty cushion and throw for the armchair, her own blankets and pillow, a sunny painting for the wall, and some of her essentials like toothpicks and a book or two, so it would look a little bit less drab and shabby.
Back home, snow is falling onto heaps of snow already here. It's pretty enough if you don't have to drive in it. We skipped church today, but the church committee we're on is meeting here tomorrow, so I made some heart-shaped cookies. Tomorrow I'll put pink frosting and mottos on them. For UUs, it should be things like "The inherent worth and dignity of every person," but that's too long to fit on a cookie, so it will be stuff like
"CUTIE PIE" and "MY BOO."
Today I think the Duchess and I both felt maybe we had been too exhausted yesterday, and perhaps things were not quite as dire as we had felt at the time. There was a LOT of crap that went on, but things always go to hell on the weekends in the place where Mother lives, and we are aware of this. Both of us panic-searched the internet for potentially better rehabs, and had to admit we didn't find any. Today the Duchess visited my mother and found her comfortable and on a much smoother track. She had a good caregiver, and had been evaluated by a doctor and the PTs. They determined it was okay for her to be stood up with a 2-person assist and moved to a wheelchair to visit the bathroom and to go to the dining room and to PT, which she has started already. This is really a huge step for her! Mobility is not only important for her to stay healthy, but it will give her interest and a change of scene from being in bed all day. A director of environmental services came by and asked how things went yesterday. The Duchess told her about our concerns. So that's a good step too. Hopefully it won't make them hate us. Once again the rollercoaster is headed upward!
I'm having a combination of feelings: gratitude that Mother is in a good-enough place and they are helping her get back on her feet, AND sadness that she has to be there. My father spent some time in this nursing home during his long decline, and it literally causes PTSD symptoms every time we go near it. This is why it was so important to think that Mother was going to the new wing, where we wouldn't have these memories. But that's not how it worked out. The good thing is that I don't think she remembers any of it. I certainly hope she doesn't. We went back to her apartment in the other building and brought a pretty cushion and throw for the armchair, her own blankets and pillow, a sunny painting for the wall, and some of her essentials like toothpicks and a book or two, so it would look a little bit less drab and shabby.
Back home, snow is falling onto heaps of snow already here. It's pretty enough if you don't have to drive in it. We skipped church today, but the church committee we're on is meeting here tomorrow, so I made some heart-shaped cookies. Tomorrow I'll put pink frosting and mottos on them. For UUs, it should be things like "The inherent worth and dignity of every person," but that's too long to fit on a cookie, so it will be stuff like
"CUTIE PIE" and "MY BOO."
