wednesday

I got some new pain pills for the pelvic pain.  Unfortunately, they DON'T work.  When I took them last night, on the way home from the store, they never kicked in.  I am so bummed about that because this pain is really bad.  I can't get a hold of the OBGYN that I need to so I guess it is the emergency room for me because I can't handle another day/night of this excruciating pain.  I do have a UTI, but that does not explain the pain.  I am supposed to have the ultra sound tomorrow.  When Tillie arrives today we will head to the hospital.  I don't want to go, but I can't take the pain anymore.  I haven't really slept in over a week now since the pain started last Monday.

On a lighter note, Mom has had her first bath with the hospice aide.  She is very nice and thorough.  She will do Mom's hair on Mondays and Fridays because that is what I requested.  I don't think it needs to be done more than that.  So far, I like all the hospice people.  We are waiting for one more person to arrive today to meet with Mom and I.  I think it is the spiritual advisor.  I don't know exactly what he does, but we will find out.  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be Mom's bath days at around 1 pm.  I like that they have appointments with us because the other company, you never knew when they would come.  It changed from week to week and day to day so your whole day was shot because you couldn't plan around it.  With hospice, it is appointments so you know when they are coming.  The nurse will be here either tomorrow or Friday to check on Mom's sores.

I have called, again, the company that the hospital bed is from.  They were supposed to call me back in 15 minutes.  This was an hour ago.  This happened the last few times I called.  There is a new hospital bed waiting to be delivered for Mom.  I am so unhappy about this because the new bed is waiting to be delivered.  They wanted to deliver it yesterday but they can't until this bed is gone.  I want this bed out of my house.  I don't really want the new one, but it is an air type bed which will be better for Mom.  It is a special bed for her that will help heal the sores and prevent them from coming back which is exactly what we need.  I am not happy that I have to put it in the living room, where I teach but all my students are aware of what is going on so no surprises there.  If the kids don't know, the parents do.  I will make the bed up everyday so it will look nice and neat.  I don't like that Mom loses her privacy, but what else can I do?  She is having trouble with the stairs and she needs a bed where she won't get sores on.  I am sure after a few weeks it will be fine and we will both be used to it.

I hope your day is going well.  It is very nice out here right now.  The sun is shining and it is a bit warm, not too warm, but a bit warm.  Enough to fill your soul.

Relief has arrived!

I feel so much better today!  Tons better!  It is like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I met with Melissa, the hospice nurse, and she spent about 4 hours here filling out papers, talking, answering questions, even giving Mom her bath since we can't have the other home care aide do it since we are now a hospice family.  It is amazing what they do, simply amazing.  I almost cried so many times today from relief.  Of everything I done and the decisions I have made, this was the best one yet.  They will be here from now until the end so how cool and great is that?  I mean, if she falls, they will be here, if she gets another infection (which will probably happen) they will be here, if I need something in the middle of the night, they will be here.  Also, Dr. G, our family doctor, is also on board with all this.  He wants to remain her doctor until the end, so really, how cool is that.  If, though, for some reason, he can't be gotten a hold of, they have their own doctors on call, so we are so covered it is unbelievable.  Also, most of her medicine is now covered.  I only have to pay for her synthroid and namenda, so I am excited about that.  They also will cover her briefs, no more shopping for briefs, they will send them to me.  The hospital bed we currently have in the living room must go back because they will be sending me one that is an airbed, specific for people like mom who have problems with skin breakdowns.  I am just so relieved over everything.  The best thing?  She said Mom has time.  She has some left.  She gave me hope too, something I haven't had in a long time.  Yes, I know Mom is dying, but she isn't going to die in the next few weeks, she has some time left.  Also, Mom can be a hospice patient indefinitely, she can be recertified over and over again until the end.  Overall, it is the best situation we can be in for this horrible situation.  Mom will still be dying day by day, but I have help in making her last days better for her.  She will be pain free and comfortable.  That is what is the best.  If Mom needs 24/7 care, they will be here and Medicare pays for all of this.  All of this.  I am so happy and grateful for this program.

The pain level for the fibro has dropped dramatically today, however, the pelvic pain is still excruciating.  I did call the doctor's office and asked for pain medicine for this.  I am hoping a prescription will be called in tomorrow for me.  We shall see.

Overall, I must say today has been the best day all summer and so far this fall.  Mom is even doing better today than she has in over a week when she went to the hospital.  She is talkative (okay, I don't understand half of what she is saying) and she even ate a whole bowl of cereal, something she couldn't do sometime.  She hasn't had much of her Ensure, but she is looking perked and talking, so something good has happened to her.

I hope your day has been as good as mine.  It has truly been one to remember, I have help with Mom.  Whatever I need for her, I can get.  I can't express how relieved I am over this whole situation.

hospice

A nurse from Hospice will be here in the morning.  At 11 am to be exact so we will be getting out of bed earlier than usual.  The other times we could have her visit were when I would be teaching so that wouldn't work out plus I would like the assessment done as soon as possible.

I can't believe we may be at the point where hospice is called.  The physical therapist, Lori, suggested I call them so I went online to get the information and they called this afternoon.  I knew it would happen soon but was not ready to hear that today, although a part of me was wondering how one gets hospice involved. I called and left a message with Richard so he would know, but that is about all I can do.  Tillie will be here for the assessment.

I have been reading a lot today to keep my mind of tomorrow.  The pain is still there but I am getting used to it.  I hope it is something easy that will be fixed immediately because, quite frankly, I can't handle anything else.  My friends, both online and in person, have been very helpful and hopeful for me.  I am trying to remind myself that this doesn't mean that anything will happen right now, it is just to make sure Mom is taken care of, which has always been my goal.  My focus has always, and needs to always be, on making sure Mom is taken care of.  She is sleeping in the living room right now.  She also, has almost finished her Ensure so I am pretty positive she will at least start another by nighttime which will be the first since she came home from the hospital.  Like Kathy said, maybe she just needed a few extra days to recover from the hospital.  I have known for a few days that Mom is taking another step down.  I can see it even if I choose to ignore it which I do a lot.  I am not blind, I can see how fragile she is, but I do firmly believe that if she doesn't use her muscles she will lose her muscles.  I also think that her routine should not be broken if she can still do it, so until she can no longer get in a car, we are going out everyday.  It is good for the both of us.  That I know for sure.  She enjoys going out with me.  When we come home, she is tired, so she takes a nap.  Yes, I know, she sleeps more than she is awake right now.  It was bound to happen.

Tomorrow I also have to go to the Doctor's and give another urine sample.  They lost the one I did on Friday.  The doctor wants a culture of it.  I hope to have answers soon.

I am going to go and get one of my favorite books and continue reading and being quiet.  I am not really hungry for dinner, but I will make myself something small.  My heart is too sore to eat, but I must keep up my strength or I won't be any good for Mom.

I do hope you had a good day and are enjoying the fall.  The weather has been very nice and has put smiles both on my face and on Mom's face.

lazy saturday

Hi!  Well, I have been very lazy this day.  I slept in and I took a nap.  I needed the nap as for some unknown reason I have been very tired lately, very, very tired.  I mean, I was up for 2 hours and needed a nap, that is rather unusual for me.  I finally caved and went into the living room at about 3 and slept for about 2 1/2 hours.  I could have slept for more but the phone rang and I was hoping it was big brother letting me know he got my email.

The new pain is in the pelvic area and it affects walking, sitting, laying, and standing, so essentially anything I do makes it hurt worse.  The Darvocet plus Tylenol seems to take the edge off it, but it still hurts.  The one place I sit in the living room with the feet up makes it hurt less.  I have looked online to see what it could possibly be and I hope it is something easy because the other choices scare the daylights out of me.  I won't know more until after I get the test results back from the one exam and the ultra sound, which is Thursday.  I have an appointment next Friday with the Doctor.  He can't give me any medicine until he knows what it is.  That scares me too because usually he can come up with what's wrong and here is the medicine but not this time.  I have a dread pit in my stomach that has never been there before and I am trying to be positive about the whole thing, but I am fighting a losing battle with myself.  Never have I felt like this before.  It is new to me.  How on earth do people handle this type of situation?  I really need help with this.  All my brain can go to are the worst case scenarios and that is just not me.  I am an optimistic person, have been forever, and now I am pessimistic?  How does this happen?  All I know is that this pain is worse than the blood clot pain that I had in 2005.  It is worst than the chest pains I had.  At least those pains went away and I had really good pain killers for them.  I don't have much for this.  It is hard getting Mom's pants and shoes on because I have to bend too.  I try not to let her see that because she will cry and not understand what is going on but I have never put her pants on or taken them off so fast in my life.  Zip, zip, done.  Until this is diagnosed I can't help but dread getting Mom up in the morning or putting her to bed at night.  We go to bed a bit earlier than we did last week because I am so tired, but Mom isn't tired and doesn't want to go to bed.  She goes up with me but doesn't want to lay down in her bed which is exactly what I want to do.  Last night she took an hour to lay down.  I tried to explain that I was exhausted and needed to go to bed, she said, well, go to bed.  I can't go to bed until she does because I don't think she can crawl into her bed anymore.  Finally, I just moved her legs and put her in bed.  I know she was a awake for a while after that because I could hear her talking.

Anyways, I hope you day is better than mine!  This pain has got to go.  Maybe it will mysteriously disappear like it appeared?  I could get lucky, one never knows.

tired day

I am very tired today.  I did have to get up a bit earlier than usual for the doctor's appointment, but I took a nap and I don't feel like I did.  I am still tired.  We will be heading to bed early that is for sure.

I didn't get any medicine from the doctor to help the pain.  I have to have a Ultra sound next week and then I will see him the week after for test results.  Until then, I will just have to take pain pills to help the pain.  Ugh, is my answer to that.  I was hoping for an easy answer for this one.  Why do I get the ones they are puzzled over?  I know many of us get strange things, it isn't just me.  I am lucky though because I have supportive friends and family.  Tillie is coming over on Wednesday afternoon to stay with Mom while I have my super early ultra sound appointment.  I have to get up at 6 am to drink 40 oz of water.  You can stop laughing now, yes, I said 6 am.  The appointment is at 7:30 am.  Mom won't have to woken up to come with me now, which I was concerned about.  I am not looking forward to getting up that early.  Of course, I will probably go right back to bed when I get home.  Or at least, take a long nap in the afternoon. Tillie kind of chuckled at the time too.  I don't blame her.  I was somewhat laughing at myself for the same reason.  I am so not a morning person.  I usually get up between 11 to 12 noon everyday.  I have been looking up stuff on the Internet about the pain, but no answers so far jump out at me.  I am going to stop looking up anything because it only scares me more.  I do hope it is nothing serious.  I really do.

Mom is doing okay.  She isn't drinking as much as she normally does, but I am encouraging her to drink more.  She did pretty well going to the doctor and then our usual.  The only hick up today was when we were leaving Timmy's, she didn't want to get in the car right away.  She was sure she didn't want to get in the car.  She, of course, eventually did.  I don't know why she gets that way, but she does at times.  Maybe we should have gone to the drive through.  I don't know.  She is slowly slipping away from me and I am not liking this.  Not one bit, I want my mom back, the one from a few years ago before she got sick.  That's the one I want.  I do know deep down she is the same mom, but this new, scared all the time Mom doesn't seem to enjoy stuff like the old Mom did.  However, I will keep her, this Mom is better than no Mom that is for sure.  I do appreciate that I still have one as many of my friends don't.

I was reading one of my regular blogs and the topic was comments.  I just want you to know, I read and appreciate each comment I get.  I really do.  I love reading what you write to me and the encouragement I get is awesome.

I do hope this finds you doing well and having a good day.  Despite being tired, it has been an okay day, didn't like the doctor's appointment, but then who does?  Overall, it has been a good day.

I can't get to the doctor until tomorrow.  Great, it hurts really, really bad.  Of course, it started on Monday and had I made an appointment earlier in the week, I would probably not be in pain right now.  What can I say?  I am sick of doctors and I thought the over the counter stuff would work.

That aside, I am really tired today for some reason.  Probably from the extra pain, but hey, with Fibro, who knows?  I think in a few minutes I will head to the living room with the little Mom and take a nap.  I am that tired today.  I didn't sleep very well most of the night.  Mom looks tired too but she usually takes a nap in the afternoon anyways.

We could have gone to our usual this afternoon after all.  I have been waiting for the home health care aide to arrive to give Mom her bath.  I just called her because she is never this late.  The office didn't call her yet to let her know she can start.  It would have been nice to know earlier because we didn't go.  Mom only ate 1/3 of her cereal and she has had a few sips of her ensure.  She has got to finish at least 2 of them today.  That is my goal.

Naps are over.  I was so tired I had to save this post and finish it later.  I was that tired.  Mom and I headed into the living room and sat down and took naps.  The pain is still pretty bad but the pain pills are helping.  I could just scream at myself for procrastinating on this.

Not much happening for the rest of the evening.  We are watching HG TV, Mom is slowly, and I mean slowly, drinking her 1st Ensure of the day.  I really need her to be drinking at least 3 of them a day.  She just isn't thirsty or hungry right now.  It has me worried about her.  Is she going down?  Seems that way to me for right now.

I hope this finds you doing well today.  We are just very tired around here.  Could be the effect of extra pain, I have an appointment for tomorrow.  I hope he can fix this and then be done with it.

wednesday!

I have pain where I have never had pain before.  Unfortunately, this pain is not associated with Fibro and I will have to go to the doctor.  Over the counter stuff isn't cutting it.  It is better than yesterday, but still rather bad so tomorrow morning I will call the doctor and go.  Ugh, like I can afford another doctor appointment.  I already owe this particular doctor over $800.  I am slowly paying on it.  The good thing though is that I am able to make a small payment tomorrow towards the balance, unless a miracle happens and the over the counter stuff works and the pain is gone!  One can daydream you know.  It is possible.  The darvocet is totally kicking in now, ahhhh, finally!

It has been a quiet type day around here.  Mom slept in, which I expected as the little person is very tired from no sleep for the last 4 days.  I mean, she did get some sleep, but you can't tell me that a person who is woken up every 2 hours to be turned, gets a good night sleep.  She sure did last night.  We went to bed about 9:30 so she was in bed about 10:00 pm.  Mom woke up at about 12:30 pm this afternoon.  We went to our usual after we got up.  We ran into our friends there, they were almost done by the time we arrived.  They were so happy to see Mom.  Mom said she was glad to see them too.  She is very polite and courteous, that is just Mom.  After we were there for about an hour, we headed home.  I checked my email, read a few blogs, and then turned off the computer and went into the living room.  Mom was already asleep, no surprise there, I truly expect her to sleep quite a bit in the next few days.  I sat on my chair, what a relief, and fell asleep for about 2 1/2 hours.  Evelyn the nurse, arrived about 5 pm to check Mom out.  She saw the new sores on Mom's bottom, they are in stage one, just on the surface.  The one that Mom had when she went into the hospital is gone and 2 more have arrived.  I hope they are gone in a few days.  I have good cream for them.  Mom is slowly getting back into drinking her Ensure.  So far, she is still on the first one.  I expected this.  It takes a few days for her to get back into drinking 3 to 4 of them a day.

Overall, the new pain is overshadowing the fibro pain so I will get that taken care of tomorrow or at least I will try to get an appointment for tomorrow.  I really hope so.  Mom is doing well and seems to be happy to be home.  As expected, she is afraid to be anywhere I am not.  This is normal for her when she gets out of the hospital.  She hasn't cried much today, so yeah! on that.  Overall, I am very pleased with her progress today.  I expect that she will sleep in again tomorrow and by Saturday or Sunday she will be back to her regular sleep pattern.  Remember, she has had 4 days of totally interrupted sleep.  I did enjoy the time I had to myself.  I read a lot!  I love reading!  I was able to talk to Richard, which was awesome, and basically, I thoroughly relaxed and recharged the batteries!  It is a bit difficult to help her get dressed and undressed with the pain, but I am doing pretty well.  Mom is getting better at walking again.  She went up the stairs last night and down the stairs this morning really well.  She didn't have any problem and I was ready for one.  She was a bit nervous coming down this morning but she stepped down like a trooper.  Mom is a bit nervous over all for walking and going up and down stairs, which is to be expected since she was not walking for 4 1/2 days.  I would say though, that I am very pleased with her progress.  Now on to other issues with me and we will be just fine!

It is supposed to be very hot tomorrow, yuck.  I hope to remember to bring shorts upstairs tonight with my clean undies and socks when I go to bed.  Yes, I know, it would be so much easier if I would bring my clean clothes upstairs when they are finished but I don't.  I plan to, but things happen and then I forget.

I hope this finds you doing well.  Fall begins tonight after 11 pm and tomorrow is supposed to be hot.  Hm, not the fall weather I have been enjoying.

Mom is coming home!

Yes, the little Mother will be home after 5 pm today.  After 4 days in the hospital, it is about time.  Although, I will freely admit I enjoyed my time to myself.  I am on book 6 of the books I got.  (1 from Kathy and 5 from the used bookstore).  I greatly enjoyed reading whenever I felt like it and I feel like my batteries are recharged.  I am ready to be caregiver full-time again.  Right now she is in stage 6, but slowly she is being pulled into stage 7, which is the last stage.  I only hope and pray that stage 7 is painless for her.  I will have more help at that stage because it is the end.  Medicare does help pay for end of life and that is where she is headed.  I don't know how long I have her, it could be years still, but stage 7 is the end of it.

She remembered who I was all day yesterday.  When I got there (I only visit for about an hour at a time, as I need her to sleep and rest) the doctor was there.  The night time nurse was with the day time nurse as it was shift change.  She asked Mom who I was and Mom, being her silly self, said, hm, I think that is Heather, my daughter, and laughed!  It was very cute.  She kept saying my name over and over yesterday to talk to me.  She wasn't upset when I left, which has been the case the entire time she has been there this time.  I have her room already for her.  I was going to wash her blankets while she was gone, but I was too busy reading.  I didn't do much work around the house at all.  I was completely lazy!  Completely!  I did have to do one load of laundry as I was out of the essentials (undies!) But other than that, I did nothing but enjoy my time to myself and boy did I enjoy it!

With Mom in the hospital, usually I would be in more pain, because the last few times it really stressed me out.  This time?  No extra pain!  How cool is that?  I think because we have been through this before and it may happen again, I was prepared for it.  I knew she was in good hands.  The doctors and the nurses are wonderful, simply wonderful, at the Beaumont Hospital.  She gets great care.  I don't have to worry about anything while she is there.  Anything she needs, she has.  They are very good with this stage of Alzheimer's, which is a great relief to me.  All the nurses think Mom is super sweet (she is!) and easy to work with.  They all know she doesn't like to be rolled over, but they do it ever so gently so she doesn't get to frightened.

My head has been it's normal self, not bad headache since Friday, my knee is getting a bit better.  It doesn't hurt as much right now, and the Fibro seems to be under control, the best that it can be.  Today anyways, with Fibro, who knows?  It could change in an instant.

Anyways, my NCIS starts tonight and I am excited about that.  I am hoping that Mom is able to handle watching that show as it is one of my all time favorites.  She did well a couple of weeks ago when we were watching it.  At 8 pm I will be in the dining room watching my beloved show.  I did watch a bit of Dancing with the Stars last night and it was good.  I got tired so I went to bed.  I had some pain from the yeast infection I have and it kept waking me up.  Who knew a little thing like that could be so painful?  I didn't.  I have some better medicine now, so I am hopeful it will clear up quickly.  Never want one of those again.

It is simply beautiful out, simply beautiful.  It is about 84 degrees with zero humidity, so quite lovely.  I only wish Mom and I could take a walk in this beautiful weather, but we can't.  She just can't do it by herself anymore and I can't ride a scooter and push a wheelchair at the same time.  We will both just enjoy looking out the window, we do like to do that.

Well, I hope this finds you doing really well, have a great day!  I am!!!

I can't really say I have done anything to exciting while I have had time to myself.  I have read about 4 books now!  Love reading, although I am a bit more tired than usual.  When Mom isn't feeling herself it makes me more tired because she needs more help.  Now that she is getting excellent care for the infection and dehydration, I can relax and I have been.  I thought about going to a movie, but there isn't anything I really want to see so I looked in the DVDs that we have and their are several movies I have been wanting to see.  I have to watch them when Mom is either sleeping or not here because TV can be scary for her.  I did let the nurse know not to turn the TV on in her room, not just because I don't really have the money to pay for it, but because unless it is HG TV, some of the shows can scare the living daylights out of her.  She thinks that some of it is real and happening in front of her.  So, I have scaled back what we watch on TV.  I  am hoping that I will still be able to watch my NCIS, but I am not very hopeful.  Now that I am alone, I plan to watch a couple of movies that I have been wanting to see.  2 of them are the MacGyver TV movies that were made after the series ended.  I loved that show.  I also have the Percy Jackson movie too.  I do plan to get the Ramona movie when it comes out and I think Mom will like it.  I wanted to see it in the theatre, but we just never got the chance to go when we were both awake enough to see it.  In the afternoons, when we usually go to the movies, Mom is sleeping for her nap time.

I talked to Richard today!  That was exciting!  I talked to him for almost 40 minutes.  I gave him the lowdown on Mom and how she  is doing, even though I will see her this evening.  I am not sure if I have any lessons this afternoon or not, so I am not leaving until after the time, just in case.  They are every other week and this should be the week, but one never knows with this particular family.  I don't want to miss the possible 2 lessons, so here I stay.  Richard, the older brother, is very concerned on how does Mom keep getting these infections.  I would like to know too because the poor little Mom has had 3 since May when she first came down with one.  Anyways, I told Richard I would be finding out for him and for myself.  Okay, just called the Alzheimer's Association, once they get them, it is very, very easy for them to get again.  Since I take care of that part of her, I will be more vigilant on this so she doesn't get them again.  I can't be lazy, I think there is another reason too, but that one I can't do anything about. Richard is on his way to Toronto for a week of work.  He wants me to keep him posted (which I would anyways since I send weekly updates to him) on any changes on the little Mom.  I don't know when he is coming to see her, if he even can because he is still out of work and he has got to take the work when he can get it.  He did want to know how I was doing and I told him I was alright, not great, but alright, which is the truth.  I did tell him about the bad headaches I have had in the last few weeks, but basically we are doing okay.  Our bills are being paid and that is the important part.  He asked about money and I said we are able to pay the bills and put some on the back 2009 property taxes, which I have been about to pay about 1/4 of the bill so far.  I am excited about that.  Paying my car off has really helped in that area.  Richard said it was a good idea to pay off the car, he wasn't upset over that at all which is good.  Basically, he wanted the rundown on Mom and I, and I gave it to him like it is.  He is hanging in there too, and with the bit of contract work he has been able to find, he is doing fine.  I am so glad about that.  He does have a family to feed.  I let him know that Mom is scared so much of the time and how I handle it.  I also told him that when Mom isn't scared, she is content.  Mom hasn't had an easy road of it, like so many, so it is important to me that her last few years she be content.  She smiles a lot, especially when I ask where the pretty Mom smile is, she likes that a lot.  I told him we would be going to the zoo soon with Maia and how we still try to have fun together.  He asked me about Mom's favorite restaurant.  I told him Olive Garden because that one she seems to eat rather well at.  I always (now anyways) get her a kid's meal that comes with milk.  She loves milk and so do I.  I get her a milk at Tim Horton's everyday.  I told the hospital she loves milk so they are giving her milk everyday too.  She really likes milk.  I am glad about that because milk has 8 to 9 grams of protein in it depending on the brand and size.

I am just waiting to see if Rachel and Rebecca

I am much more relaxed this time with Mom being in the hospital than the other 3 times.  I went to the used bookstore and bought 5 new (well, new to me) books to read, plus I am reading one Kathy loaned me.  It is really good so far.

Mom is doing alright, she looks tons better than she did yesterday.  When I was in Tim Horton's (yes, I even go by myself!) the owner, Mary Ann, said Mom didn't look to good yesterday either.  Which I totally agree on because, as we all now know, she wasn't feeling very well.  Her lips are moist now with all the fluids she is receiving.  They are going to start cutting down on the fluids tomorrow to see if she will eat more.  I most definitely gave them the low down on her and food.  I told the truth, she doesn't eat much but she will drink about 3 to 4 Ensures a day when she is healthy.  It's the truth, she doesn't eat much food.  She has a donut and sometimes a muffin for brunch, a piece (3 oz) of chicken breast for dinner, and if I am lucky, some veggies to go with that.  Usually I am not that lucky.  The doctor asked about a pick line for her for food and I told her Mom can swallow, she just doesn't eat a lot, so no need of a pick line for her.  She is on the same floor she was last time, so I know she is in good hands and I am going to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet while it is here.  Mom will be home before I know it and then it won't be quiet like it is right now.  I was going to do some laundry, but, hey, I will do it tomorrow.  I don't feel like doing it right now so I won't.  I feel like reading, so I am going to.

It is so quiet in the house right now, I am loving this.  Of course, Mom isn't that loud, but the fact that I have the whole house to myself right now, is nice.  At night I leave a couple of lights on so I can sleep.  I can't sleep in a totally dark house by myself, just can't do it.

My head is doing a bit better today.  Definitely not as sore as it was yesterday, but still a bit sore.  I have been a bit stressed this week.  I stress myself out is part of the problem, and also, when Mom isn't as cooperative as she usually is, it stresses me out.  Now I know why she wasn't very cooperative, but at the time I just thought she was being difficult.

Well, not much happening today other than the visit with Mom.  I try to go when she is finished eating because, quite frankly, I don't want to feed her.  That is their job while she is there and when I go and it happens to be a meal time, I end up feeding her and I just don't want to.  I feed her at home (when she needs it) and I don't want to feed her when she is there.  I went after 1 pm and her lunch, untouched, was still sitting there, so I ended up feeding her.  I was kind of upset because, come on, just sit with her and feed her, not that hard to do.  She will let you know when she is full.  She ate her boost pudding and drank a bit of the boost juice and was full.  Normal to me, that is her in the hospital.  She loves pudding so I always give her the boost pudding first.  I don't buy it at home, I buy regular pudding for her because the boost stuff is very expensive and you have to send out for it.  You can't buy it at a regular store around here.  Besides, I figure with the amount of Ensure she drinks, she doesn't need the boost puddings, just regular puddings.

Aggie didn't have her lesson because she is sick.  Poor kid, 3rd week of her junior year at MSU and she has a cold.  I think her roommates have one too.  Ugh, doesn't sound fun to me.

Well, it is raining out today which is probably why I have a bit more than usual of a headache.  My joints are a bit achy from it too, so I am going to curl up with a book and have a good read!  yes, peaceful reading time for me today!  Perfect day for it.  I may even take a brief nap as I am a bit tired too.

Have a wonderful day.

Well, the reason Mom has been off for the last couple of days?  She has another urinary tract infection, a bad one this time.  Poor thing is in pain too with it.  She has a headache and her neck is sore too.  I don't know why.  I need to look up her new pain patch to make sure it isn't causing the headaches and neck aches.  Lori, the physical therapist is the one who really thought that maybe she has another infection so after our usual, I took Mom to the ER.  A few attempts at a blood test (2 veins collapsed on her) they finally were able to get the blood culture that they needed as well as the regular blood tests.  They did a urine sample but they did it a bit different this time.  It is causing her a bit of pain to because of how they did the tubing this time.  I felt so bad for her.  I really do because between the headache, neck ache, and the tummy pain, she is not happy.  The pains come and go though, they don't stay all the time.  So naturally, by the time the nurse arrived, the pain was gone.  She does have her pain patch on so I am hoping that helps.  I expect that in a couple of days she will feel better.

I woke up with a really bad headache this morning.  I had to come down and take some pain pills super early and then within a half hour I had to take some tummy medicine along with the pain medicines.  It finally went back to the normal pain by the time Mom got up in time for physical therapy.  Mom's physical therapy is on hold until she gets back from the hospital.  I hope she isn't too weak this time, she usually is, but I hope she is much better this time.  I also hope this is the last time for a long time.  We have been to the hospital between the two of us five times since end of May.  Not a good record for us.  Mostly for her.

I have some lessons this weekend.  I am not sure what time I am teaching on Sunday, but I have 1 lesson Saturday at noon.  The one good thing with Mom gone for a couple of days, is that I can get some groceries without needing to get a sitter for her.  I want to pick up a few groceries and then do a good shopping after Wednesday.

I am pretty tired now so I am go to head for bed now.  I hope everyone has a good night and a good weekend.