(Usually, once an appropriate title** floats into my foggy lil’ head, I am off & typing - but this holiday scramble has me all messed up!)
My poor mom fell on the eve of Christmas Eve (Monday evening the 23rd) - one of the aides called me to let me know, but she said mom seemed fine so I did not drop everything & run over there. However, on Tuesday when the home healthcare nurse came to check on her, it was obvious she had done damage to her left arm - so back to the ER! I am thankful that whoever examined her initially must’ve heard something so they did a chest X-ray & diagnosed not only a broken left wrist but lobar pneumonia.
This translated into five days in the hospital, back on IV antibiotics. I then arranged for mom to be moved to the rehab unit back at The Villages. This caused some confusion when the young lady came to do mom’s mental evaluation: she asked for her address, and Mom began reciting “515 E Ann Arbor Ave”which of course is where she used to live in her cottage. (Obviously she refuses to accept the fact that her new residence is at Arabella)
The orthopedic doctor will not be casting her arm until January 9th - I have half a mind to do it myself, but I guess I will play by the rules. Of course she is completely helpless now, with her weak right arm with the frozen shoulder & damaged wrist from last spring’s injury. Thankfully her appetite has come back with vigor once we got her pneumonia treated. I am getting over there to be sure she gets at least one solid meal per day.
Also thankful that her little dog Abbie has settled in just fine with my rowdy crew - buddying up to the little ‘uns (Izzy & Tina Fea)while ignoring my thundering horde of big dogs. I have no idea if mom will be able to return to Arabella or not after this standard 30-day rehab period.
I am coughing up a lung myself with what I presuppose is allergic bronchitis/sinus crud but I’m just trying to survive the holidays. It is a symptom of my low mental state that I didn’t miss being in horse camp last weekend when we had severe thunderstorms - nothing to prove!
** strange that I published this 11 months ago: https://endurovetssparkjourney.blogspot.com/2024/02/flowers-for-val-gernon.html
Photo dump:
Hey, it's a great Title, worthy of re-use! So sorry about your mom's fall, your "crud" and all that but now I have a new phrase trundling about in my brain: "a thundering horde" of dogs. Describes the rotating scrums that sometimes appear at the dog parks, especially on nicer days in Winter!
ReplyDeleteFlowers for Algernon was a favorite, I should re-read it. I love the Christmas card picture.
ReplyDeleteSorry about Mom. That stuff will keep happening.
Hugs as always
What always got to me was the creeping sense of tragedy as Charlie's intellect regressed... Of course I have an inbred horror of inadequacy/helplessness/dependency which lends another layer of complexity to my efforts with my poor mom. (yes, I know stuff is gonna keep happening; I want her to be at peace but I can still dread it)
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