Mom

I can't believe it's been a little over 10 years since I last posted. Sometimes I wish I would have kept up with the blog, it's a nice record of the time! A lot has happened in those 10 years, but I'm here to document my mom! It's been 12 years since my dad died. Overall, my mom has done really well. She stayed in her own home for about 6 years and then she moved to an independent retirement community. Although she didn't like it at first, she made some great friends and I believe thoroughly enjoyed living there. The last two or three years have been tough on her. Her health has declined somewhat, she uses a walker, has aches and pains, and has taken several falls. She's been so fortunate that none of those falls have resulted in any broken bones and overall, she's recovered well from them.

However, this last fall that she took, has taken its toll on her. She fell out of bed on Friday, October 8th. She was unable to contact anyone until the following morning. Paramedics came and brought her to the hospital and the doctor's did a thorough examination. Thankfully, there were no broken bones. She possibly had a cracked rib, but that was the most serious injury. She was in the hospital for 3 days and then was transferred to Tabitha for rehab. She was doing well! However, something happened and on Tuesday, October 12, she was normal mom and doing fine. By Thursday, she had steadily declined and was disoriented and confused. She didn't know where she was, she asked me where I was, she couldn't remember how to hang up the phone, or push the nurse's station button. By Friday, she was very non-responsive, giving mostly yes and no answers or shaking or nodding her head in response. Over that weekend she steadily got worse and was refusing to eat or drink. On Monday, October 18th, she was moved back to the hospital. She became less and less responsive, not following commands of the nurses or doctors. She still refused to eat and drink. She went from normal mom to almost full on set dementia in the span of about 72 hours.

The doctors ran all kinds of tests - blood tests, CAT scan, MRI, EEG, etc. Everything came back normal for an 88 year old woman (She had a UTI infection, but that was cleared up with antibiotics). No stroke, no tumors, nothing out of the ordinary. The doctors were puzzled and baffled.

By Friday, October 22, the decision was made for her to be transferred to hospice. I am planning to fly up tomorrow, October 23, and spend what remaining time she has left with her. It's such a shock that in less than a week that this is happened and there's no explanation for it. I'm trusting God that this was her time. She misses Dad and is ready to be with him. October 30 will be 12 years since he left this earth. I wonder if she's planning to do the same?