I can't believe things all changed just a few short hours after I made myself a promise to keep better track of Mom on this blog. I really meant for the "cute" stuff she does and says----NEVER did I suspect the following:

Got a call from Sumerset this morning at 5:30. Mom was on her way to the hospital. She had gotten out of bed by herself and fallen. They thought she had a broken hip and maybe a broken shoulder.

Mom was already at the hospital when I got there. They took x-rays and said there were no breaks. They said her right shoulder was damaged but weren't sure if it was from the fall or arthritis. They put her in a sling and took her back to Sumerset. That's when I saw her being moved for the first time. We got there at 10 and by 11 I told them to get the ambulance back there.

This time they found she had fractured her pelvis. She's in a lot of pain, but they are working on controlling that. A PT person will come and talk with us tomorrow.

Poor Mom, for the first time, she said, :This isn't fair!" and she's right!

Wish I Had Kept Up

I wish I had kept up this blog as there have been many things with Mom I'll wish to remember in the future. I've written about them in emails, but should have posted them here as well. I will try hard to do better in the future.

Just a quick summary: Mom is now in a home in Bingham. They love her there. We have put on a regular collar so the nurses will be able to keep putting in back on correctly each time Mom takes it off AND it's simpler so that Mom doesn't have to break it in order to get it off.

My last visit, we had in the cafeteria with two other ladies (not at Mom's usual table). The other two ladies were having a conversation. I say "a" because they were really two unrelated topics. When I looked over at Mom she had this look on her face that said, "What the F". It was funny and cute that she noticed the conversations were not the same and didn't make sense.

I really think Mom is doing better there than she did here, mentally. I think it's all the other people around and the daily activities. It's starting to help me feel less guilty.

Church

Kay and I went to visit Mom this afternoon. She was in the cafeteria. When we got there they were singing hymns. While Kay and I sat with her, she rolled her eyes twice. I think she'd had enough. She's so funny. She usually makes me laugh at least once each visit.
We visited with her in her room. I thought her eyes looked tired so we left her in her new chair, reclined. Hopefully she'll take a nap.

Activities

Went to Mom's this morning in Bingham. There were no linings on her collar. I raised H _ _ _ and got someone, who hasn't been trained yet, to help me put the pads on.

Then Mom and I went to the cafeteria to listen to a lady sing country songs. She was very good with all the residents. When she asked Mom her name and then included her name in a song, Mom laughed and was so pleased. The singer stopped in Mom's room on her way out and welcomed her.

Mom was going to go to Bingo in the afternoon.

Here We Go !

Now we're dealing with "the system" and it's not fun!!!!
February 1 st I had a meeting at rehab with the staff who deal with Mom. I was under the impression that she could stay there up to 100 days. WRONG ! They are discharging her on Monday. That gives me three work days to figure out what to do. I am to call a worker up there today to help with this. She was not there yesterday and today we are getting between 14 and 20 inches of snow so who knows about today.

Maplecrest in Madison was the only place which would take Mom because she kept getting out of her collar. That hasn't changed. Initially the surgeon had said the collar should stay on for 2 to 3 months. The longer the better. It's not even 1 month. After the surgeon saw the follow up x-rays where the screw and bone are against her spinal cord, I was under the impression that the collar had to stay to keep everything as still as possible- forever.

Elaine, a friend, suggested I call Spectrum Generations. That was a good call. She explained that Mom's discharge is MONEY driven rather than health driven. They can't do anything more to help her there and Mom can't help in her own recovery....so Medicare won't pay.
Now I have two days to learn how to do the collar (which they don't even do correctly), learn how to shower and shampoo her, learn about her soft diet and her meds.
I am very worried and scared about all of this.

Maybe some day my writing will help someone else, or at least let someone know that she's not alone in this wonderful system of ours.

What a Tough Cookie

Mom fell in the living room Jan. 10th. She broke her neck at C2---way up by the brain stem. She had to go to Bangor, Maine to be operated on. No one thought she'd make it through surgery-----but today, just 10 days later----she is at rehab and doing really well. She was dressed, fed herself breakfast, and was sitting up during my visit with her today. She also had therapy in her room---leg exercises. This afternoon they were going to take her for a walk. We have a walker at home, but I need to get wheels for the front and tennis balls for the back. I wouldn't be surprised if she's home in a couple of weeks. She's amazing!!!!!!

Humor Once Again

I was writing out my grocery list for Christmas brunch, when Mom saw it.

Mom: "That's a lot of food. How many are we having?"
Me: "We're having ten. Won't that be fun?"
Mom: "I don't know. Are you doing everything?"
Me: "Yes."
Mom: "Then it will be fun!"
She's so funny.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Skin Cancer---Again

Today Mom had another skin cancer removed== this time it was from beside her left eye.
She seems to be doing fine and, of course, doesn't remember why the gauge is on her face.