The Ride is Over

The nurses finally put Grandma back on her regular schedule of meds this week. Today she wasn't very alert and slept the whole time I was there except for about two minutes. She opened her eyes and looked at me for a moment and reached out to pull me closer. I thought maybe she wanted to give me a hug because she was happy to see me, but turns out she just wanted to lay her head on my shoulder for a snooze :) go figure. That was fine with me. I read a couple of women's magazines to her while she slept. When it was time for me to go I had to wake her up enough so that she would eat some lunch. The nurses said she ate a really good breakfast (her appetite is back YAY).



Aunt Carol comes in to the Red Hat Society gatherings at Hillcrest and she got Grandma to wear a hat for the occaision. I remember when Grandma wore all kinds of hats when I was little. I also remember thinking that she looked very classy - almost too classy to live in a farm town.

When I said goodbye today I told her "I love you" and she grabbed me again, which I thought meant that she wanted to use my shoulder for some sleep, but she gave me a kiss on the cheek instead. I'm glad to see her calmed down now and a bit more focused. I think she knew I was there the whole time she was sleeping.

Less Meds = More Care?

I know that healthcare in the US needs major reform, but never has it effected me so much as now when I have to watch Grandma go through all of this needless discomfort because the State of Illinois and their regulations per dispensing medication to patients in assisted care facilities.

Yesterday Grandma couldn't control her hands or movements, so we spent the time just wheeling around Hillcrest about 50 times. She was communicating fairly well, and I asked her if my mom had been out yet and she said "no."

She has a new roomate, Bernice, who is very nice. She is a far cry from Selma, who was wheelchair and bedridden, and moves around by herself and goes down to the far dining hall for her meals. I asked Grandma about Bernice, and she says "I don't think she likes me." Then I asked why but couldn't get an answer out of her. So I asked her more questions "Do you snore?" Grandma: "No." Me: "Do you talk to her?" Grandma: "No." Me: "Do you run into her with your wheelchair?" Grandma: "No." Me: "Well then why do you think she doesn't like you?" Grandma: "I don't know!" I told her that wasn't a good answer, and that is her cop out if you start asking too many things.

After about the 50th or so time around the facility we went over to one of the TV areas and she saw a newspaper on the table and she asked me "What does that say?" I asked her if she wanted to read the newspaper and she said yes. After we sat down she ran her fingers all over the paper, as if she was reading braille, and I read articles to her. When it was time to turn the page she had a hard time controlling her arms to do so, and it took about 5 minutes for her to get coordinated enough.

I had to leave before lunchtime but I figured my mom would be coming out to help. She kept saying how hungry she was, but this time I wasn't going to cave in and give her some chocolate before lunch. I really wanted her to eat a good meal. Mom called me later to say that she ate most of everything and that she was really hungry. She wasn't able to feed herself or use her spoon because of her jittery-ness though.

Mom said that Diane (one of the nurses) wants us to tell her about Grandma's condition and reactions whenever we can. That way maybe we can move things along quicker and get her back on a regular medication schedule.

Busy-Body on the Loose

I talked to my Mom last night and she said that Grandma ate a good meal yesterday, for the first time in quite a few days, so I guess that we have to trust the fact that she will eat when she absolutely needs to.

This is the second week of the mandatory reduction in her medication. She is still agitated, can't stop moving her hands and is very jittery and has a lot of energy to spend wandering around, getting into other resident's rooms, etc. The nurses and all the aids there just kind of laugh at her in a good way because she is being such a busy-body. I really do like all of the people there and feel blessed that she is in a caring place.