I guess I ought to give you all a brief update on my mom and dad. Dad was going to join us yesterday at the mountain "even if I have to come by myself". He didn't make it, so we took his lawnmower that he needed that he had left up there down to his house. So I asked dad why he hadn't come up. He said that mom "collapsed on the bed this morning and was throwing up repeatedly on the spread, carpet" etc. Once again he thought she was dying. He called Keith over to help give her a blessing, and afterwards she got up and was able to act pretty normal (for her) for the rest of the day. He also said this morning when she got up that she called to him to come and help her, cause she just didn't have the balance to be able to walk alone. He helped her into the kitchen and got her some breakfast, and then she wanted to lay down on the couch, which is where she had stayed until about 3 pm when I was talking to him.
He also told me about 3 weeks ago that she had started asking for his assistance to get in and out of the tub because she felt nervous that she was going to fall. So we took over the bath stool that Jack had, but she refuses to use that. She probably ought to have a walker, but I am sure she would refuse that as well. She also needs to be in depends, but she also refuses that. So she changes her clothing many times a day.
I have my concerns about my dad too. Syd and I went over to mom and dads this last week to do some deeper cleaning. Mom protested the whole time, and took my cleaning bucket of supplies and hid it pretty well (but I was able to find it before we left). She was a bigger pain than the cleaning was for sure.
Dad's heart was in fibrillation mode. We used mom's blood pressure cuff so I could see what was going on. It was REALLY erratic, so I told him to go over to his Drs and get an EKG done to record it because they can't fix it if they don't get that reading. I insisted he go, because, untreated, he is a stroke waiting to happen as the blood in the heart can clot when it isn't adequately being pumped out. Well, as luck would have it,there was traffic issues, and he got a bit lost for awhile, but by the time he got hooked up for the reading, it had returned to normal.
The only thing I can think of that would be WORSE than mom having to go into a care center (which I heard this week is $10,000.00 per month) is having mom there and dad needing major assistance too because he had a stroke that impaired him physically (like my Grandma Rasmussen in her wheelchair for the last 7 years of her life after her stroke). This fibrillation of dad's has the potential to do that to him/us. This really has the potential to turn our lives UPSIDE DOWN because if that happened, either they would both have to go into a care center, or else Anne and I would have to take turns living with them to take care of them in their home. Not something we would want...but I don't see any alternatives.
Anyway, please keep your prayers going to help my dad be able to continue taking care of mom, and that mom not have to get to the point that she HAS to be in a care center. I did call dad this week and ask him when he would like a break from mom and I would go over to be with mom. He said, "BREAK! I DON'T NEED A BREAK! I AM FINE!" Nearly like he was bugged that I didn't think he was up to the job he is doing. So that is good at least. One of these days though, and it likely isn't that far distant...something irreversible is going to happen over there, and we will find ourselves juggling to try to make things work.
He also told me about 3 weeks ago that she had started asking for his assistance to get in and out of the tub because she felt nervous that she was going to fall. So we took over the bath stool that Jack had, but she refuses to use that. She probably ought to have a walker, but I am sure she would refuse that as well. She also needs to be in depends, but she also refuses that. So she changes her clothing many times a day.
I have my concerns about my dad too. Syd and I went over to mom and dads this last week to do some deeper cleaning. Mom protested the whole time, and took my cleaning bucket of supplies and hid it pretty well (but I was able to find it before we left). She was a bigger pain than the cleaning was for sure.
Dad's heart was in fibrillation mode. We used mom's blood pressure cuff so I could see what was going on. It was REALLY erratic, so I told him to go over to his Drs and get an EKG done to record it because they can't fix it if they don't get that reading. I insisted he go, because, untreated, he is a stroke waiting to happen as the blood in the heart can clot when it isn't adequately being pumped out. Well, as luck would have it,there was traffic issues, and he got a bit lost for awhile, but by the time he got hooked up for the reading, it had returned to normal.
The only thing I can think of that would be WORSE than mom having to go into a care center (which I heard this week is $10,000.00 per month) is having mom there and dad needing major assistance too because he had a stroke that impaired him physically (like my Grandma Rasmussen in her wheelchair for the last 7 years of her life after her stroke). This fibrillation of dad's has the potential to do that to him/us. This really has the potential to turn our lives UPSIDE DOWN because if that happened, either they would both have to go into a care center, or else Anne and I would have to take turns living with them to take care of them in their home. Not something we would want...but I don't see any alternatives.
Anyway, please keep your prayers going to help my dad be able to continue taking care of mom, and that mom not have to get to the point that she HAS to be in a care center. I did call dad this week and ask him when he would like a break from mom and I would go over to be with mom. He said, "BREAK! I DON'T NEED A BREAK! I AM FINE!" Nearly like he was bugged that I didn't think he was up to the job he is doing. So that is good at least. One of these days though, and it likely isn't that far distant...something irreversible is going to happen over there, and we will find ourselves juggling to try to make things work.
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