Stealth Trip III
After getting my mom through security at our regional airport on Sunday, I returned to her Island home to do the first real 100% triage of the house. Yes, I’ve been there twice without her (Stealth trips I and II), but they were day trips, born of urgent necessity. This time, I spent the night, […]
Scrambled Eggs
My father-in-law moved from the hospital to hospice yesterday afternoon. I am so incredibly proud of my mother-in-law for being able to gracefully take in the ever shrinking decision making timeline (The doctor says we’ll make the hospice decision in 48 hours, and it turns into 18) with her bottomless well of practicality. My heart […]
Working
As a sidebar, about a year ago, I started looking for a part-time job, realizing I shouldn’t let the potential of my mother needing me, keep me from doing what I wanted to do. Beginning mid-March of this year, I began working part-time for a horticultural non-profit. At the same time my own business ramped […]
Travel Plans
Mom has been invited (and accepted) to speak at a gathering in San Francisco this month about a project she worked on for a good portion of my childhood. It’s quite an honor. Six days after her presentation there is a gathering at a book club to honor a book about one of the authors […]
Echos
My husband and I visited my FIL today at the skilled nursing facility. We found him and my MIL in a pleasant dining room space with other patients and family members. The remains of a salmon and mashed potato lunch were still on the table. My FIL had cruised through some amount of salmon, which […]
My Father-in-Law
As I’ve mentioned, my father-in-law (FIL) is handling his own challenges with Lewy body dementia and, more recently diagnosed, Parkinson’s. Monday evening we found out he’d taken a fall the previous day that my mother-in-law (MIL) was unable to help him up from. My FIL is very tall. My MIL is not. She called 911. […]
Meds
Mom takes 4 prescription medications on a regular basis. She also takes an additional 3 OTC supplements, (2 different vitamin B’s and Melatonin). My kid, the nurse, tells me this is almost unheard of in a person of her grandmother’s age (80). It’s mostly standard stuff: Thyroid, Cholesterol, and BP. The one non-standard med is […]
Day 7 – Home Again
This damage goes all way down the passenger door. Mom and I had a nice breakfast, even if I didn’t cook the eggs the way dad used to (but trust me, I will from now on ;->), listened to NPR radio that had us laughing for a couple of hours, and then headed to town […]
Day 6 – Back to the Island
Today’s missions were accomplished. Costco, Trader Joe’s, and back to mom’s Island home, in a very full Subaru. Shopping, never a favorite activity of mine, took less time than I expected as mom (who has been hankering for this shopping expedition for a long time) really didn’t want to buy much! I was very surprised. […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 