Helen's Most Recent Picture

Helen's Most Recent Picture
What a great smile!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Done with therapy.

This past Wednesday found us meeting with the speech and occupational therapists for the last time. Mom had met all the goals and it was time to turn her loose. We again note that her daily success is TOTALLY DEPENDENT on making a list of things to accomplish daily on her schedule. If it is not on the schedule and/or the schedule is not consulted (or found), there is little chance of being where needed or with the needed items unless one of us reminds her. Mom has always been a list maker until after the stroke. She still THINKS she is a list maker, but she has not been doing it. After much discussion with the speech therapist on Wednesday, Mom has started doing much better with making lists AND completing her daily schedule. This is one of the conditions for getting her driving privileges back. Dave let her drive to therapy on Wednesday and to his house afterward. She knew exactly what to do and where to go without any hesitation. The driving plan currently is that she can drive when Dave is with her. He still has her car and plans to keep it for a while. She sees her doctor on Friday and will discuss the driving again with her. Dr. Maurer had suggested that this be revisited in the spring (that is certainly okay by me). We still have very interesting conversations due to the short term memory loss. It often takes me a bit to figure out what she is asking and why. A couple of weeks ago I had a very difficult week and was very emotional. After spending some time with my thoughts and tears, I realized that I was grieving for the mother that is no longer present. Yes, she is still here but she is very different in what she is able to process and how she is able to relate to me. We no longer have the mother/daughter talks like we were able to in the past and our roles are very different. There is still much joy and sharing but in a more simplistic fashion. I am once again able to enjoy the moments and times that we are spending together in our new roles and changed relationship.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Merry Go Round

Whoa, stop the spinning... Our weeks are so busy and tiring. Mom is hanging in and participating in many activities. She still wants to do everything but the rest of us just can't do it all, work, and maintain a reasonable level of sanity. Last week, Mom saw her primary care doc for coumadin check and that is stable so can go for a month now. Follow up with cardiologist from being in the hospital and things are going well. Due to the medication, she will need thyroid, liver, and pulmonary function testing done but not return to cardiologist for a year!! Pulmonary function testing is next week. Tomorrow she will finally be able to stay home most of the day and most of it alone. I think she is looking forward to that time. I have to work since I took part of Tuesday off to take her to the cardiologist. We are leaving her alone for a few hours at a time. Dave and Monica are going to take Mom to their house this weekend so that I can have a weekend off and Aunt Betty has returned from her vacation. The support system is awesome with family and friends. Mom and Aunt Betty volunteered in Kelly's classroom today (Mom's niece, a 1st grade teacher). It sounded like she had fun and a good day. Mom's birthday is Saturday. Interesting week with granddog being sprayed by a skunk and our freezer/refrigerator quit cooling and we lost a lot of food. Fortunately a quick, easy, and fairly reasonable fix. We needed to clean out the fridge and freezer anyway. Stay tuned for more updates.