Adventures With Mom

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And the Adventure Continues ...

Mahalo, thank you all for your kind words.

I recieved Mom's first invoice today for her rent for March.
I wanted to make sure that the admin at Mom's new digs had processed her auto withdrawal and when it would go through.

The gal that returned my call was just gushing about my Mother!
"She's made so many new friends already and is participating in many things. This is highly unusual for a brand new resident you know. In fact we all said Good Morning to her this morning as she board the shuttle for a Grocery Shopping expedition."
:ohmy: :clap:

I've not called Mom as yet, but I will do so tomorrow after her next outing on "The Bus". She has a dental hygiene appointment all on her own and wasn't real happy about that. Mainly going to the dentist, she hates that. :LOL:

I wanted Mom to get back to her own independence. She really doesn't need me, she can do things for herself. I think that she was starting to get a bit spoiled :ROFLMAO:

Mom's only issue has been making arrangements for these appointments, calling places of business and doing business; that's was the determining factor in moving her closer to us to begin with. Now, we can help her when the need arises and she's only 30 minutes away as apposed to 9 1/2 hours. :)
 
It's good to hear things are going well, Kgirl.

Lol about "the bus".

My mom used to get on the "Blue Hair Bus" every so often to Atlantic City. Those old ladies can throw a hip check like you've never seen when claiming a seat at a slot machine after their mark (the person that they've watched lose a lot on one machine) gets up.
 
And The Adventure Still Continues

As you all know, my Mother has been living in her own digs now for a month. DH & I have been going over there to help her with small tasks and take her out to Linner (late lunch/early dinner).

Since Mom decided to take her meals in one of the two dining rooms at “the new home”, she has made friends and even participates in two classes that are offered at no extra charge to the residents. She’s even made friends along the way.

This past Friday morning Mom called me, in panic... I could barely understand her, her speech was garbled but she finally got out, “I’m sick.” Okay, Mom I’ll be there in a little bit, why don’t you go lay down for now.

When I got to her apartment and let myself in, she was extremely lethargic. She had herself tucked up into a ball on the bed.

I called her doctor and spoke with her nurse, with Mom on speaker-phone. The nurse said that she would consult with the doctor and call me back in just few minutes. I was to take her immediately to the Emergency Room!! Fortunately Mom was fully dressed, so all I needed to do was put her shoes on and a coat.

When I pulled up to the entrance to the hospital, I asked straight away for a wheel chair and got her all-checked in. We only waited for about an hour to be seen by a doctor. They started an IV, drew blood and whisked her away.

I sat there in the ER waiting room for 4 hours before finally wising up and asked someone, “Where’s my Mother?” I was taken to one of the rooms located in another part of the building, where they were running a full battery of tests on her.
Poor thing, she was almost beside herself, “Where were you?”

I was furious!! I didn’t say it out loud, but why did no one inform me what was happening or at the least come and get me to be with her, she was clearly upset.

I have to say that I did come in barking and was very much not my regular kind and friendly self. I went right into the nurse's station and requested a status update on her. Not long after, the ER doctor came in and talked to me, “Your Mom is very ill, but we just can’t figure out what’s causing this. She will be staying with us; we’re just waiting for a bed to open up in the main hospital.”

I have never seen so much blood drawn from one person in a matter of a few hours before. Not to mention all of the other tests they did on her. The lab tech told Mom you'll be a raisin by the time you leave here. :shock:

My Mother's nurse came in at one point and Mom asked her, “Can’t my daughter go home, she’s been here all day.” I liked her answer, “I would do the same for my Mom.”
I told her I wanted to wait with her until she did get a room and help her to get settled. She said that would be fine, until 8pm, at that point I’d have to leave, that visiting hours would be over for the day in the hospital. Mom was not happy, even though she told me to go home, I know she wanted me to stay with her.

The next morning, I went over to Mom’s apartment and collected some things I thought that she may need, not knowing how long she’d be there.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen my Mother so happy to see me before. I sat with her for most of the day and chatted.

So here we are on Sunday and they still have no clue what is wrong with Mom. The doctor came in to check her this morning and all she wanted to know was, when can I go home? NOPE! Not until all of your blood work comes back clear, and so far, it’s far from that. Mom was not in a good mood today.

Tomorrow is a new day. I’ll go over to apartment again and collect more things for her prolonged stay in the hospital and take her something nice to eat. She told me today that she does not like the food there, that mine is much better. :ohmy::LOL:;)
 
That's quite a bit of worry there, K-Girl. I would be scared for my Mom, too, if I was dealing with this. Hopefully, now that the weekend is over, I hope you get quick answers for what is ailing your Mom. Perhaps lab staffing is reduced on weekends.

Also, about sitting and waiting. When Himself was in the hospital for back surgery, he was the first patient for his doctor that day. While I was in the waiting room, I left briefly for a potty break. I told the staff member at the desk I was waiting for the doctor's update and if he came in to let him know I would be right back. I returned, started talking to the woman next to me a few hours later. She mentioned that her husband was having back surgery at the time... with Himself's doctor! Turns out the guy at the desk never noticed the doctor come in and call my name, never bothered telling me he had been moved to recovery. By this time Himself was out of recovery and in a room for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, I had him dead. [emoji44]
 
Oh, dear! I'm so sorry to hear this news, K-Girl!! Sending prayers for healing and that they figure this out soon!!!

Mahalo, thanks Ginny!

Sending healing vibes for your mum, Kgirl. And god bedring (Danish for good bettering).

You don't know what this means to me taxy, mom is danish! I will pass this along to her.

CG, hope she's back on her feet soon. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, take care of yourself.

Right Andy! DH is making sure that I don't over do it.

That's quite a bit of worry there, K-Girl. I would be scared for my Mom, too, if I was dealing with this. Hopefully, now that the weekend is over, I hope you get quick answers for what is ailing your Mom. Perhaps lab staffing is reduced on weekends.

Also, about sitting and waiting. When Himself was in the hospital for back surgery, he was the first patient for his doctor that day. While I was in the waiting room, I left briefly for a potty break. I told the staff member at the desk I was waiting for the doctor's update and if he came in to let him know I would be right back. I returned, started talking to the woman next to me a few hours later. She mentioned that her husband was having back surgery at the time... with Himself's doctor! Turns out the guy at the desk never noticed the doctor come in and call my name, never bothered telling me he had been moved to recovery. By this time Himself was out of recovery and in a room for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, I had him dead. [emoji44]

So true CG!
When DH had scheduled surgery in the same hospital, in the waiting room they have a TV like computer screen, showing each patients progress, where they where... not so in ER! :mad: That might be a good suggestion to the Admin.
 
Exhale!

Did you hear that? Yup, I just gave out the biggest exhale, the breath I didn’t know that I was holding.

Mom was released from the hospital this afternoon! :clap:

My phone rang as I was on my way over to the hospital to visit with her, “Come get me!”

:LOL:

“I’m on my way right now Mom.”

Before going into her room, I stopped at the nurses' station for a status update. Everything looked good except her blood pressure, but that’s for her PCP to deal with. When I went into the room Mom was dressed and had her shoes on, “Let’s GO!” I gathered up all of her things and collected the necessary paper work.

The next stop was the pharmacy to pick up two medications for her to take at home.
Here’s the rub on that though: Mom is directionally challenged and had no idea that the pharmacy that her script was sent to was two towns away from the hospital, where I live.

Oh well, we’re going for a ride Mom.

Since we’re around all of the places that we like to eat, aren’t ya hungry Mom?

“Yeah, I’d really like a cup of soup and half sandwich.”

HEH! Today, our favorite soup, salad and sandwich joint has the soup we just love, that’ll work. :yum:

By the time I got Mom all settled in, back into to her apartment, she was pooped! I asked her to wait for me tomorrow to help her get a bath and get all cleaned up. I didn’t want her trying that task on her own, not yet anyways.

PHEW!

That wasn’t an easy path, but we all made it.
 
Mahalo, thanks everyone.
Today is the first day that I won't be with Mom in a week.
I feel that she can "handle" on her own, and quite frankly, I think she's tired of having so many people around her at this point.
Not to mention that I need to just sit and do nothing, worry about nothing, just sit.
 
New Experiences For Mom

Mom had her very first “housekeeping” appointment at her new digs. Mom has never had a cleaning service before, so I made sure to call her this evening to see how it all went.
“Great! For $35 I’m happy that I don’t have to do it.”
:LOL:
The Senior Living Community that she lives in offers, how shall I say, a la carte services to the residents that they can cherry pick as to what they want and pay for outside of their rent. :flowers:

When Mom was still locked up in the hospital, I asked her if she wanted me to call my younger sister to let her know what was going on. “No, what good is that going to do? She can’t do anything and would just worry.”
*shrug*
So during our conversation today, I asked her if she wanted to maybe call her youngest daughter herself.
“Oh yes, I did that today as a matter of fact. Your sister said that it was a good thing it wasn’t you calling her or she would have had a meltdown.”

My sister and I do not get along and no longer speak, at least not on any sort of regular basis, and if I were to call her, she’d know straight off that something bad had happened.

Upwards and on onwards …
 
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Back To Some Basics

Well!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the Adventures With Mom thread.

I seem to recall telling y’all that Mom planned on taking all of her meals in one of the two restaurants in her Senior Living Community, so that she could meet folks.

That has now changed :LOL:

Mom said that the breakfasts and lunches are okay, but dinner really isn’t all that great. Mainly, she doesn’t care for the way that they prepare their vegetables. She has now decided that she wants to go back to cooking some for herself.

Oh and, she’s made oodles of new friends, has joined two more of the many activity classes and goes to “the movies” there at her place. It seems that they convert one of the multi-function rooms into, simply put, a big living room with a ginormous TV. Every Sunday afternoon they play a “still in theater” movie for the gang.

Oh wait! And every evening they serve Wine and Beer (and non-alcohol beverages too) for Happy Hour before dinner starts.

Wow!

But back to the topic on hand ...

My Mother does buy a bunch of the frozen pre-made meals from the market, but has only grocery shopped twice in her, what, three months there in her own apartment. I was talking to her on the telephone in fact today and she scheduled herself to take “The Bus” that the facility provides to “Wally World”.

“I like Walmart better to get my Marie Callendar.”

:ROFLMAO:

In the meantime, I have collected some of these

pyrex bowls with lids.jpg
(photo credit Walmart)

Pyrex 2 cup bowls with lids... perfect size to take Mom some of my home cooked foods.

IMG_1593.jpg
(Grilled Chicken, Asparagus and oven roasted Potatoes)

I intentionally cook more of the dishes that I know she loves and take those over and fill up her `fridge and freezer. She said tonight for dinner she’s having my Chicken Enchilada Soup and crackers, “one of my favorites.”

Ahhhh
:wub:
 
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All great news! I have those bowls too. I use them for proofing (& freezing) pizza dough balls. They are great little bowls.

I'm happy for all 3 of you!
 
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