SUNDAY 9/8/13 & MONDAY 9/9/13

September 8, 2013, Sunday. I went to the NH about 5:15 PM. I fed the birds, blinds closed, washed off the sidewalk, watered the grass. Leaving her clean clothes in her room, I found Mom in the dining room. We went back to her room where we hung up her clothes, watched the birds and turned on the TV. I went and got a tray for her. They had no “ticket for her” in the dining hall and Tina had already gotten her tray in her room. I got food for Mom and returned to her room where Mom was opening packets of condiments I had brought and had eaten a package of Chinese sweet & sour sauce. I doctored up her food, turn off the TV and Mom ate about half her food with a lot of cajoling and bribery and condiments. I called for help but none came. I noticed there has been no plastic liner for the garbage cans since Friday. I gathered up Mom’s dirty clothes and took them with me, home. I got Mom changed and into bed. I left her with O2 on, glasses on, teeth out, watching The Little Mermaid about 7:15 PM.

September 9, 2013, Monday. I went to the NH about 5:30 PM. I fed the birds, blinds closed, washed off the sidewalk and watered the grass which is now growing, sprouted. I put the bag of clean clothes in Mom’s room, opened the blinds. Tina said she had not gotten her tray yet. Mom was in the dining room. I accompanied her back to her room. She propelled herself about ¾ of the way. We hung up clothes, channel surfed and watched the birds. Mom was fairly alert. I went to the dining room and got a tray for Mom, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Mom ate all of her soup and over half of her sandwich. Yvonne got a sandwich & pudding for Tina. I gave Mom and Tina candy. I called for assistance and C.N.A. Gus came. I helped him get Mom into bed. I put the TV on TCM and left about 6:55 PM.

NEW HAIRDO, NEW SKIN TEAR AND FEEDING MOM, SEPT. 6 & 7, 2013

September 6, 2013, Friday. I went to the NH about 10 AM. I fed the birds, watered the grass seed, blinds open. Mom was on her bed, no O2, glasses on, teeth in. Dalmaccio said the beautician, Margaret, had sent for Mom so he came and got Mom into her chair. I noticed a bandage on Mom’s left calf, signed and dated 9/5. We did some personal care, I gave Mom a chocolate then I accompanied Mom to the beauty shop.

I asked Nurse Diane about the skin tear. She did not know about it but the hospice nurse Regina, stopped by and spoke to me and Dr. about it. We discussed Mom’s evening feeding also. I assisted Mom into the chair for Mom’s wash and set then left about 10:30 AM.

LATER: I went to the NH about 5:00 PM. The birdfeeders had feed, blinds open so I watered the grass then went inside. Mom was resting on her bed, O2 on, cannula out of place, sound down on DVD, glasses on, her hair done. The C.N.A. came in and we got Mom into her chair then we both went to look for a tray for Mom. Tina didn’t have hers either. I returned to Mom and set her up at the table coloring. We channel surfed and watched the birds and the C.N.A. brought Mom her tray. I turned off the TV and Mom ate about half of her supper. It took a lot of cajoling, ketchup and bribery to get her to eat. Mom had fresh flowers and Carl had signed the book as a visitor today. I helped Mom onto her bed, took her teeth out and cleaned them, put her O2 on. Nurse Luz came and checked Mom’s skin tear and put on a new bandage. 

September 7, 2013, Saturday. I went to the NH about 5:30 PM. I fed the birds, washed off the sidewalk and watered the grass seed. It looked like the grass is sprouting. Mom was in the dining room. I got a tray for her and we went to her room for supper. I opened the blinds and turned off the TV. With cajoling and bribery, extra salt and pepper, Mom ate about half of the meal. I called for help and the C.N.A. came and we put Mom in bed. I gave Mom and Tina candy, washed Mom’s teeth and left her watching CARMEN, O2 on and glasses on about 7:15.

CARE PLAN, WED., SEPT. 4 & THURSDAY, SEPT. 5, 2013, CHANGES

September 4, 2013, Wednesday. I went to the NH about 3 PM. I fed the birds, watered the grass seed, hosed off the sidewalk underneath the feeders, blinds open. Mom was resting on her bed, no clothes, TV off, no glasses, teeth in, O2 on but cannula out of place. I turned off the O2, turned on the TV, got Mom some clothes and called for assistance. I got Mom up and into her chair then the C.N.A. came. We did some personal care and I accompanied her to the Great Room for watercolor painting with volunteer, Pat. I left Mom there and went to the Care Plan Meeting. 1.We discussed her continued weight loss; 2. Mucinex and melatonin (medications); and 3. the specific orders for the O2. She IS supposed to have O2 anytime she is laying down, esp. at night. I said that I could feed Mom in her room at suppertime from now until January with my new schedule, starting tomorrow.  I returned to the Great Room and Mom had completed a watercolor. I took her over to the crafts table and she painted a small birdhouse blue. I accompanied Mom back to her room. After getting her dirty clothes and her watercolor we went to the big TV room and I left Mom there about 5:15 PM. I returned to the NH about 7:30 PM. There was birdseed in the feeders and the grass seed was wet, blinds closed. Mom was in bed, no O2, no glasses, sound down on DVD, teeth in. Riley had signed in and out just before so I barely missed seeing him. I opened the blinds, cleaned her glasses, her teeth, put the O2 on and gave Mom and Tina candy. I turned up the DVD and left about 7:30 PM.

September 5, 2013, Thursday. I went to the NH about 5 PM. Blinds, half open, I fed the birds, washed down the sidewalk and watered the grass seed. Mom was in the dining room at her place so I escorted her back to her room after talking with the  dining room C.N.A.s and  Anabel about feeding Mom in her room. I opened the blinds and we hung up the clean clothes I brought. Mom did fairly well at problem solving. Anabel brought her tray which was very hot. I turned off the TV and closed the curtain between Mom and Tina and assisted Mom in eating. She ate all of her vegetables, a couple of bites of the spaghetti, and most of her cookies, drank about half of her juice. Then I opened the curtain, called for assistance, gave Tina and Mom candy. I cleaned Mom’s teeth and glasses, got her nightgown and we started getting ready for bed. Charge Nurse came by with Tina’s meds and saw the parrots. I got Mom into bed and almost changed when Anabel came and finished up. I left Mom with O2 on, glasses on, teeth out, DVD playing and blinds open about 7:30 PM. I asked the charge nurse how much warning they need if I am not going to be able to come and feed Mom. We will try this for awhile.

SEPTEMBER 2 & 3, 2013 - EROSION CONTROL!

September 2, 2013, Monday. I went to the NH about 11 AM. I fed the birds, blinds closed. Mom was asleep on her bed, DVD playing, sound down, no glasses, no teeth and in a nighty with a sweater. I called for help, changed the DVD to little Mermaid, opened the blinds. C.N.A. Erica came and got Mom changed and up. We changed her clothes to some pants and a new shirt from Charlotte, sweater back on. I gave her a lap blanket and her new hat from Brooks. Her hair is still curly and she looks cute, all matching.  With clean glasses and her teeth in, we looked at some old photographs and talked about her family. Mom has fresh flowers from Carl and I saw that he and Charlotte had visited last evening. I gave her some hand cream and she put it in her mouth. I wiped out her mouth and gave her a chocolate and we did some personal care. We went for a walk to the dining room. Mom propelled herself over half way. In the dining room we played the piano a bit on the spinet then I took her to her place and got her a coffee. Then I saw Annie from Rec. and she gave me the birdfeeders from Mr. X. We put them in my car and I left about Noon. Riley came by here and got one of the birdfeeder poles about 2:30 PM, plus sledge hammer, grass seed, compost to try to work on Mom’s birdfeeder and the erosion. He had some environmentally friendly covering and dirt to build up eroded area. 

 LATER: I returned to the NH just before 7PM. I fed the birds, blinds open but there was food in the feeders plus they were changed around, a new pole. They look great! Plus Riley put down the extra dirt, anti-erosion mat and grass seed. I squirted some water on the ridge, the seed. Mom was in bed, no glasses, teeth in. I got her teeth and cleaned them, cleaned her glasses, gave them to her, and gave her a chocolate. I gave Tina a sugarless candy. I changed the DVD to Little Mermaid and watched it a bit then Mom fell asleep and I took her glasses off and left about 7:30 PM.

September 3, 2013, Tuesday. I went to the NH about 11 AM. I fed the birds, blinds closed. I watered the grass seed and washed the sidewalk down. Mom was asleep on her bed, O2 on, teeth in, glasses on. She awoke when I opened the blinds. I gave her a chocolate and we channel surfed. We did some personal care and Mom said she did Not want to get up. I changed the DVD to the Carmen opera, disk II. I left about 11:30 AM. I returned to the NH about 3:15 PM to see Candy in administration about the confusing mail from Medicaid/Medicare. The two documents from the Midland, TX, office were new to Candy. She had not seen those before and they did not seem to say anything. The third one explained the convoluted way the Medicaid payment to the dentist was going to be made.  I paid the NH. I went to see Mom. C.N.A. Janee was changing Mom and getting her some clean clothes. I helped get Mom up and into her chair then we went to the Great Room where Annie was conducting a game. I got Mom a coffee then left her at the activity about 4 PM.  I returned to NH about 7 PM. I fed the birds, blinds open. I washed off the sidewalk, squirted water on the birdbath and watered the grass seed. Mom was in bed, no glasses, no teeth, no O2, sound down on the opera. Mom said that she saw me out the window! I gave Mom a chocolate and sugarless candy to Tina. We watched the birds, channel surfed. I cleaned and gave her glasses to her. We talked about the opera some and Mom nodded off to sleep. I left about 7:30 PM.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31 AND SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

August 31, 2013, Saturday. I went to the NH about 6:45 PM. I fed the birds, the blinds open. When I got to Mom’s room, Franca was putting her to bed. I turned up the sound on the opera, adjusted her cannula, cleaned her glasses and washed her teeth. We watched the birds and the opera for awhile. Mom seemed happy, engaged and relaxed. I left about 7:20 PM.

September 1, 2013, Sunday. I went to NH about 12:50 PM. I fed the birds, blinds closed. I found Mom in the hallway outside the lunch room. She greeted me with “Hi Melanie”!!! WOW! She knew my name immediately. I accompanied her to her room. We hung up clean clothes I brought. She did very well. I put on Helen’s Little Mermaid DVD. It is new technology and was difficult to get it to play on Mom simple player but I got it playing. I gave Mom a chocolate and assisted Mom into bed, gave her O2, cleaned her glasses and covered her with a sheet. She was watching the birds and the cartoon with interest. I gave Tina a caramel. Tina needs some pushpins for her bulletin board. Mom too. I watched the DVD with Mom also for a bit. It is not looping so when it is over it will just stop. When I return tonight I can change it to a looping one. Mom does like it. We did some personal care and I left about 1:40 PM.

LATER: I went to NH about 6:50 PM AND THE LITTLE MERMAID was still playing?!?! I fed the birds, blinds half open. The C.N.A. had just put Mom in bed and was leaving. O2 was on but not in place, no glasses and no teeth. Tina said that the film did it by itself....repeated! I telephoned Carl to ask if he had been there, done something. He said No but that he and Charlotte were on their way to visit, bring new flowers. Mom was watching Little Mermaid, entranced. I gave Mom a chocolate and Tina caramel and left about 7 PM.

7:45 PM Carl called me at home to say DVD had finished and ads were running. I suggested change the DVD to a looping one just in case. Mom has been alert and if she gets bored or whatever she might get up in the night and this is the situation when she has had falls. Carl put American in Paris on.

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 29 & FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013

August 29, 2013, Thursday. I went to the NH about 10:40 AM. I fed the birds, blinds open. The bird feeders were turned around over the sidewalk. Mom was sitting up in bed ready, eager to “go”. I got her into her w/c, brushed her hair then we went to the Great Room and saw the end of the horse race game. Mom won a package of chips. We shared them and went back to her room and watched the birds for awhile.  The birds are on the sidewalk more, now. I spoke to Riley on the phone and he thinks he can do an even better fix, away from the eroded section.  We went for a walk to the front of the facility and I spoke to the Social Worker, Sam. We will have Mom’s Care Plan meeting next Wed. at 3:30 PM. We watched the cars and talked about the trees and reflections in the window. Then I accompanied Mom to the dining room for lunch. She wanted more chips so I got her another package from her bingo winnings in her room. I left her in the dining room about 11:40 AM. I talked to Nurse Diane about favorite mystery writers.

LATER: I returned to the NH about 6:15 pm. I fed the birds, blinds half open. Nurse told me that Mom had been wandering the hallways. Yvonne told me that she had headed back to her room and she was in her room looking out the window at the birds. I gave Mom a chocolate and Tina a caramel and Tina also reported Mom’s independence today. I saw no evidence of Bingo prizes so I don’t know if she attended or not. We channel surfed then I put the DVD on Carmen. Franca came in and we put Mom to bed. We watched the birds awhile and the opera and Riley is right. We need to move the birdfeeder. I left about 7 PM.

August 30, 2013, Friday. I went to the NH about 10 AM. I fed the birds, blinds closed. Mom was awake in bed with DVD off, O2 on but cannula out of place, no glasses. I fixed the DVD, turned it up, opened the blinds and turned off the O2. Mom was ready to get up. I gave her a chocolate and helped her get into her w/c. We watched the opera and the birds. The bird feeder fell then I accompanied her to the beauty parlor. While we waited, Mom drew my portrait, then it was her turn. I signed for the set then left. Mom was very alert this morning. I left about 10:30. I stopped and put the bird feeder back up but it did not feel stable and the center post was bent from the fall. I called Riley about it when I got home.

LATER: I went to the NH about 6:20 PM. Riley arrived right after I did. He worked on the birdfeeders in this awful heat and got them fixed beautifully. Mom was still at supper with Yvonne as feeder. Mom was not eating and was very contrary. She did not have her lower teeth in. I accompanied her back to her room where we hung up a few clean clothes. She did well. Riley was repairing the birdfeeders outside the windows. I called for assistance but Franca who had already stopped by was not available. I cleaned Mom’s teeth and got her into bed. Riley came inside and helped me position Mom on the bed. I put her O2 on and left shortly after Riley did about 7:15 PM. The birds were returning.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27 & WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2013

August 27, 2013, Tuesday. I went to the NH about 10:30 AM. I fed the birds, blinds half open. Mom was asleep on her bed, O2 on, teeth in, glasses on. She woke up when I opened the blinds. I turned the sound up, cleaned her glasses, gave her a cookie and got her up and into her chair. We did some personal care then did some stretches. We went to the great room. Mom propelled herself much of the way. We sat at the window and watched the birds. Mom drank her coffee and I sketched. I gave the beautician, Margaret, a tiny painting and also gave one to Dalmaccio. I gave Nurse Diane some cookies. Nurse Todd asked me if Mom ever talked. I said yes but very little. Especially not today. Today Mom did not know who I am or remember much except that Claris was born in Missouri. That may be incorrect. We went for some walking about then I accompanied Mom to the dining room for lunch. I left about 11:45 AM.

 LATER: I went to the NH about 7:10 PM. I fed the birds, blinds closed. Mom was asleep in bed, snoring. Her O2 was on and in place, TV off, no glasses, no teeth. I gave Tina her sweat pants that I had washed in Mom’s laundry, hung up a couple of clean clothes for Mom, opened the blinds, got the DVD to operating. I left about 7:30 PM.

August 28, 2013, Wednesday. I went to the NH about 6 PM. I fed the birds, blinds half open. I got a lens wipe from Mom’s room, opened the blinds and noticed that Riley had signed Mom’s guest book about 2 PM. Tina said that Mom was sleeping when Riley visited. Mom was at supper and eating a cookie. It looked like she had eaten over half of her pureed food which is good for her. I saw her meal order and it said “regular soft”. I didn’t know she was getting pureed food. Yvonne was the Feeder today. She said that Mom gets puree sometimes, and sometimes “mechanical soft” (chopped up).  I accompanied Mom back to her room, watched the birds, turned up the sound on her DVD, WINGED MIGRATION. We looked at some old photos. She recognized her mother and said she knew who other were but couldn’t recall names (of her aunts Daisy & Dolly, my sister, Lucretia). I brushed her hair and took out her teeth, cleaned them. I gave Mom a chocolate and Tina a sugarless caramel. I pushed the call button and started getting Mom undressed when C.N.A. Franca came.  I assisted getting Mom into bed and changed. We watched the birds out the window and on The DVD for awhile and it dawned on me that if the birdfeeders were over the sidewalk that the erosion problem would be fixed. I left about 7 PM. At home I called Riley and talked to him about the feeders.

 I have called the Social Worker, Sam, and left a message twice about attending Mom’s Care Plan meeting next week.  I will try to catch her in person during business hours.