Toe Nail Fail

Well, not exactly a fail, but the rhyme is irresistible.

I got to mom’s community and practically bumped into the HSD. I gave him the paperwork for the visiting podiatrist. He asked how the pedicure went. I explained I’d just arrived and was headed to mom’s apartment next. He shared that mom’s toe nails were growing to the left, and were very thickened. I showed him a pair of clippers that were my father’s. He smiled and said that’s what the podiatrist would use. I was off to see mom.

Mom wasn’t there, of course. The upside of this is that she was out in the community enjoying herself somewhere. I took a first load of Elvis things to the car, and then returned to community living room where I found her enjoying the 4PM music hour. She was glad to see me, and we enjoyed the remainder of the program together. As it ended I asked her if she’d like me to give her a pedicure. She asked “A what?” I explained I wanted to help her with her toe nails, and she could have a foot soak. She liked the idea, and looked at her watch, and said, “It’s dinner time. They serve at 5PM, and I don’t have much choice.” The dining room is open until 7PM, but I’m not going to get insistent with mom over something like this. She wants to eat with her friends.

Emmy, a care staff member, helped mom up from the couch. Her tremor seems more body wide, but still slight. After getting on her feet she seemed tottery, and I suggested she lean into her walker just a little bit. She exhibited a tiny amount of defensiveness and said, “I know, I know.” Then we were underway, very slowly. She seems to be navigating the walker with more ease, but is slower by a good 25% than she was few weeks ago.

Interestingly enough, she mentioned her knee brace on the way to the dining room! I asked if she was wearing it. It hasn’t been delivered yet. The point is she remembered it’s incoming!! I offered that it should help, and she replied that she hoped so.

We got mom seated with friends, including the lovely Stella (who recalled our fun time on New Years). I hung out with the ladies for 10ish minutes, and then took my leave… back to the apartment, and gathered another batch of Elvis paraphernalia.

There’s still enough kitty bits in the apartment that it shouldn’t feel like a huge change. Even so, I exited a lot: the empty litter pan and two containers of litter (kept behind the open bathroom door), two more cases of wet cat food from a drawer, a small bag of dry food from the under sink cabinet in the kitchenette, his dishes from a tray were replaced with his automatic kibble feeder, and track ball. I also removed his carrier, and mom’s cane, both were in her closet.

I took a quick look through her bathroom vanity drawers and removed lots of ‘clean’ trash, and removed magazines from her bedroom floor, and dresser. A quick peek through other drawers (but not all of them) is a clear indicator of her sadly foggy mind.