Snow Melt

Snow: My thoughts on caring for a loved one in poor health.

Day, Month #, 2012 ~ MAY 2012 FOLLOW ME BLOGGING CHALLENGE prompt is My thoughts on caring for a loved one in poor health. by An apple a day....

patience a virtue
pain pills a necessity
tears are a relief

Everyday in a caregiver’s life is a new adventure. Sometimes it’s an adventure in frustration and other times it’s an adventure in patience. My mother has Alzheimer’s disease, age related macular degeneration, wears hearing aids, and has issues related to a shorted bawl. Monday through Friday (except holidays) someone comes in the morning to give Mom a shower before she goes to the Adult Daycare center. Another lady comes in evenings to make Mom’s bed, help feed her, and do her laundry.

Alzheimer’s disease
Is unknown to my mother
She knows something wrong

Mom doesn’t realize what is wrong with her, which sometimes is blessing and sometimes a curse. Mom cries for no reason that I know of, when I ask why she may or may not know why. Therefore, most of the time I don’t ask. Instead, I sit down by her and give her a hug or I read the Long Healing Prayer revealed by Baha’u’llah. When she could see to read, she always enjoyed reading it. It seems to calm her and she stops crying.

New oximeter
Gives oxygen percentage
And pulse rate reading

When the hospice accepted Mom as a patient they sent a hospital bed, walker, wheel chair, oxygen concentrator, and portable oxygen tank to the house. When Mom sleeps, she is connected to the concentrator with plastic tubes. During the day, she doesn’t always have to use the oxygen, only when her oxygen level is below 93%. Mom doesn’t like to have the plastic tubes in her nose, at least with the oximeter I can explain to her why she has to have the tubes. I don’t know how much of the explanation she comprehends.

Sleep a memory
A full night’s sleep lost in time
Dreams an in and out

It’s been a long time since I had a full nights sleep. I listen for her voice and wake up even when I don’t hear her crying. I can’t sleep on my mattress because I wake up with back pain. I sleep on the love seat in either the living room or the breakfast room. At least on the love seat, I put my feet up when I doze and my ankles don’t swell. I suppose that this year I need to consider getting a new bed frame and all.

Mom wakes up crying
Wanting to know where husband
And parents have gone

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