We are getting together tomorrow at a local Denny's to express concerns about Mom's health and so on. I'm not sure if we will be able to resolve anything but it is something that seem worth doing. Not sure what all is on the agenda but here are SOME of the concerns that might be discussed.
HEALTH: Medications, diet, pillbox, blood pressure, journal, mental clarity, dizziness, anxiety, use of walker, smoking, Dr. appointments, in home care giver, a panic button, other.
FINANCES: Checking and CD accounts, Bills, Sales Solicitations by mail and phone, burial costs, Will, Living Will, Where is the important paperwork, etc.
SOCIAL and Physical Exercise: Won't use Shuttle or public transportation, has groceries delivered by us kids, won't walk due to dizziness and "no spunk" and resists using the walker for anything but a seat next to the telephone, attends church services on occasion and infrequently joins tennants in community room for soup night etc.
I will PRINT this out and take it to our meeting at Denny's in the morning. :)
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Well, it was good to get together with you guys and talk face to face. I think we are all on the same sheet of music. When I called Mom about 9;45AM from the Denny's table I was really frustrated to hear her say "I'm SICK." She had such a great day yesterday and sounded super last night when she "said" she took her fortified drink and was going to bed. Anyway, you heard my end of the conversation. Have you eaten anything yet? "Toast and tea." Well try some juice too and maybe that will help your blood sugar. "OK" I'll call you back later to see if you are feeling any better. "OK".
ReplyDeleteReceived call from Mom's neighbor at 1:02PM saying, "You need to get over here right now and take your Mom to the Dr." I asked what's going on with her? "She is so weak she can't do anything." Is this a office call or Er ? "That is something YOU will have to decide once you get over here."
ReplyDeleteArrived at Mom's within 15 minutes. She was laying on the couch with a wet cloth on her head. Neighbor (a former Psych. Nurse) had taken vitals and they were not that bad. BP was about 130/70. Ladybug calle our family DR. but he was booked solid for the rest of the day so they made an appointment with the Physicians Assistant in the office. We Wheeled mom out to the car in her fancy "Walker" that she keeps parked by the phone all the time. Checked in at the Dr. office around two. By this time Mom had perked up and was making wise cracks. Everything checked out OK as usual. Checked urine, blood sugar, did Blood lab work, stethascope and all that, and even an EKG. The only thing they could come up with was that she is not eating right. As far as we know, the only thing that she had eaten since about 5pm the night before was some "Toast and Tea" which is a pat answer that Mom gives when you ask what she has eaten. Her EKG showed some slight differences from the last one so the PA set up a follow up appointment with Mom's heart Dr. and then a follow up with the family Dr. after that.
The neighbor also called Snickers when we took Mom to the Dr. and Snickers and Popcorn showed up at the Dr. office while we were there. We talked with them about a family meeting with Mom to discuss the prevention of things like this by perhaps assisted living or other in home assistance. After the Dr. office visit we all stopped of at a local Hamburger joint and had a Delux Hamburger and Snickers and Popcorn took Mom home while Me and Ladybug headed home to start getting ready for a prearranged event this evening. Snickers was also going to fill in the neighbor and Baileywick on what all happened at the Dr. So here it is about 5:30PM and I MUST start getting ready for tonights 6:30PM event. Later.
Ladybug and I returned from a nice three day trip to Idaho yesterday and it sounds like things went faily well for Mom while we were gone. Baileywick took her in to see her heart Dr. due to the change in the latest EKG that was taken at the family Dr. visit last Friday. Mom didn't remember seeing the heart Dr. in the past. Baileywick has all the paperwork and we will followup with Mom on a scheduled stress test and nuclear ultra sound because the change in the EKG indicated a possible blockage somewhere. The appointment will be on my birthday.
ReplyDeleteLadybug and I took Mom in for her tests at the Heart Clinic on Monday at 1:30PM. It was a long day but Mom did fairly well. The ultra sound went nice and smooth. Then we went down to the basement for the nuclear stress test. They were very busy. Hurry up and wait. They got Mom rigged up with the IV port. Wait. She had no caffeine for a minimum of 12 hours before the test and no food, only water after 9:30AM. She started getting irritable (no cigarettes either). They shot the dye in her and she did the stress test OK on the tread mill. More waiting. Then they took her in for the pictures on the screening table. FINALLY, around 5PM or so they were done. The technician said that her Primary Care Dr. may have the report by the time for her follow up appointment with him this Thursday (tomorrow, now). So, we will see. Mom went to Prayer meeting with us tonight. She had called earlier in the day and asked when we were going to pick her up for the Dr. appointment. She can't seem to keep her days straight anymore. She has called multiple times to verify the time of her appointment and said she couldn't read what she wrote on her calender. Ladybug tells me of incidents like this that she has not recorded on this blog but they seem to be increasing. Mom often repeats the same thing over and over again in the course of an average visit. Sometimes she seems OK and then on other occasions she asks about things that were just explained to her a couple of minutes ago. Sometimes the questions she asks are so fundamentally basic that it makes you wonder if she is serious or if she is just playing a game of some kind.
ReplyDeleteWe took Mom back in to the family Dr. for a follow up after the heart Dr. tests but the reports did not get to the family Dr. and he couldn't make contact with the heart Dr.'s office about them so - scheduled another office visit with the family Dr. on the 23rd and contacted Snickers about it and she will take Mom in for it as Ladybug and I will in Alaska at that time.
ReplyDeleteToday we took Mom in for the follow up at the heart Dr. regarding her ultra sound and nuclear stress test. According to the the Dr. everything is in a normally safe zone on both tests. He said that she has some leaking heart valves but that they are not severe enough to do anything about them at this point.
He told her to try and do more walking and to come back in six months for some blood work in the lab and another follow up. So, the blood flow through her heart is adequate and there is nothing to fix at this time.