What I liked about caring for Mom at home was that it was all about Mom. We did not have to accommodate other patients, or rules or even safety guidelines. We did have to constantly come up with new ideas and solutions. Often that was my job. Like finding the right kind of incontinence products.
Nothing was the same. Mom was not Mom any more but she was still Mom. Okay, I am confused by that statement, how did my sister manage! My sister has Downs Syndrome and struggled with losing her Mom. But even if it is scary and sad, if you persist a new normal is possible. Every
Mom’s cataracts were slowly getting thicker and her world was getting darker. Surgery would require anesthetic which was bad for her brain. The recover required lots of drops and keeping her hands away from her eyes. And I had to make this health decision for her. After the visit to the local surgeon I tried
In this past year there have been lots of terrible stories about nursing homes. We can hope this will lead to higher quality care and more monitoring of the homes. I want to encourage relatives to continue to advocate strongly for their loved ones. You have to be involved for the care to be the
For a week every fall Mom would often come up to visit me in my home. Dad dutifully brought her halfway and we transferred and I brought her to my home. We were in high spirits and looking forward to some mother and daughter time. Unfortunately since my last visit Mom had changed yet again.
I live in the wilderness and despite putting stickers on the windows birds will smack into the window and fall hard onto the snow. Wings sprawled, twisted and helpless. In winter I rush out and collect them to keep them warm as the freezing temperature will kill them faster than their injuries. I have discovered
This trip to UBC went much better. There was no great news from the good doctor but involving Mom with UBC gave me telephone access later in her disease for some of the decisions I had to make for her. I would speak with her local GP, the local pharmacist, and then call UBC to
I was not prepared for the amount of involvement. Even though I did not live with Mom she was always in my thoughts and I was almost daily solving a problem. It was hard for me to find information and support for the kind of care I was offering Mom. The medical establishment understands the
Eating changes were among the first to be noticed. Mom could not tell the size of a piece she had cut and would try and stick half a piece of chicken in her mouth all at once. For someone that drilled us with table manners, this was a big change. But it was also an
There was a period where Mom would look for her babies. They had to be in the house someplace. After we had visited with a family gathering it was much worse for a few days. I would stay longer after the bigger gathering had left to ease the transition. There was a period where Mom
