Moms Health

Carla asked if there was something we should know about Mom's health. As far as I know she is not terminally ill. My personal observations are (and you all know your mother) she is stubborn to a fault, highly opinionated, does not take any kind of suggestion good, bad or indifferent, if it's not her idea, then it's not gonna fly. She has lost a lot of weight. Right now she weighs 101 lbs. A year ago she weighed 156. She's not eating right, she's not getting enough sleep. If she gets any sleep at all, it is in her chair. She told me yesterday that she didn't sleep at all two nights ago, then fell asleep in her chair and didn't wake up until dark. She won't consider any type of exercise and I'm not sure it would do any good, even if she did consider it. She is not taking care of her personal hygiene, because taking a shower wears her out and leaves her short of breath. Her pride won't let anyone assist her taking a shower. (Remember, these are my observations) She doesn't mind giving orders when she wants something done her way. She is still sharp of mind and tongue and I can only guess how much fight she still has in her. Another thing that I noticed is that personal observations are one thing, and reality tells it all. Mom's pride won't let her tell anybody what the truth is. Everybody gets a different story, and I have seen this when reading family blogs. Now, I want to remind everybody of something, if you remember back when Dad was sick, no body really knew how bad he was until he was in the hospital. It was like a big-ass secret or something. Because, I don't even know what the truth is where Mom is concerned. I have asked several times to be included in her doctor's visits, but have been told I am not needed. So if that is the way she wants things, all I can do is observe.

I spoke to Mom about 3 weeks ago about assisted living. Her reply was She wasn't going into assisted living because of who runs the place next door. (If you want more details about that, you will have to call me.) The only thing she would consider was the nursing home behind WK. A couple of days ago, when I talked to her, I asked her if she wanted me to check out the nursing home and the requirements. Her reaction was, "No I'm not going to any damned nursing home!" I reminded her what she said in the previous conversation, and she denied having said anything.


Now the reason Mom got signed up with hospice care was due to the following series of events.

First of all, I took her to her dr. appt. to have her oxygen level evaluated. That same day, the NORCO rep showed up to readjust the oxygen machine as the oxygen level was low. The machine was actually clogged up and not producing the right amount of oxygen, and that was fixed.
Sometime in the next couple of days, Mom added more water to the machine and didn't get the lid back on right, so the machine wasn't making oxygen, she was short of breath, and she called her dr. In the mean time, she completely forgot about the other 3 bottles of oxygen she has in the house. The dr. made a house call and she got a hold of the NORCO rep again, and fixed the machine again. At that time, her dr. recommended Mom sign up for hospice care. She did, and I read the paper work. It's true, hospice care is basically for the terminally ill. But it is also available for long term care. Case in point, Leroy Cutbirth was under hospice care over 3 years. So we will continue to make daily phone calls, stop by after work outs, and continue to monitor the situation.

One thing I am going to do, is check out the nursing home for their requirements
should she need their services. I will let you know what I find out. That's all I can do for now.

Don't get me wrong. I am not pushing her in any direction, only interested in information.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses
Your Big Brother Richard!!!!