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
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
Mirrors and reflections became a source of humor and concern. Mom would greet the friendly older lady in the mirror and have a short visit with her. She would tell me what a warm smile she has. It made me feel good that she was not critical about what she looked like and still recognized
Mom and I had to go to Vancouver to visit the Alzheimer's clinic at UBC. After the that appointment I thought to make the trip a bit more fun we would travel on to Victoria for the spring flowers. Packing was no longer easy for Mom so we did it together. She watched as I
The team worked hard to create patient centered care. It was all about Mom. When she could tell us what she liked we would do our best to make it happen. When she could no longer tell us we tried to guess and always respected the person she still was. The team slowed down to
Being the primary caregiver and living five hours away had its own set of frustrations. I usually woke thinking, always thinking about solving a problem for Mom. I would get the phone calls that would roll my stomach and I would remind myself, “Nothing happened.” And that was the truth. Mom had wandered down the
Mom was always friendly and warm and willing to give the best hugs. Along with her brain having a best before date that was long past so were her arteries well past their best days. She had almost lost her foot to artery disease a few years previous and we were on our way back
