Mom lived for another nine months after that time. At this stage I thought I would have to put her in an institution but yet again we found the path to keep her at home. Her home transitioned to give her the best care. A hospital bed had been purchased and a lift rented. I
I did not believe I could manage this entire journey at home. I thought in the last year Mom would go to a home and my staff would go with her during the day leaving the nursing home to take care of the night shift. It would all work out…somehow. As each stage came along
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.
Mom passed May 24th, 2018 and this spring I finally cleaned the last few boxes that I had taken from her home. I had looked at the boxes over the past years but was always too afraid of what emotional bombs I would find. There was only one. "There is Something Strange about Osoyoos. One
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
I shared what I was doing for my Mother with many people and they would say, “It is not your job to wipe your mother’s bum. You shouldn’t do that. You should always remain her daughter and not become her nurse.” I couldn’t have agreed more until I did it and then my perspective changed.
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
