My mother has relatives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...
...at least, at last look she did, and, as well relatives in Mechanicsville, which is probably being affected by the flooding of the Cedar River and its tributaries, so we spent a fair amount of yesterday scanning through channels on the TV at the facility [Which doesn't have the option of Closed Captioning, by the way, which I find strange, considering that, at least on her floor, many of the residents are elderly and the din of blaring TV sets throughout the day is fairly regularly interrupted by a resident in some room yelling, "Turn that TV down!] looking for specific news about specific communities with which my mother is familiar.
    I discovered that the bad night and coughing fit that my mother's roommate described were caused by my mother managing, in her sleep, to twist her industrial strength brief into a position in which she peed directly onto her bedsheets. The aids check sleeping residents three times a night. When my mother's predicament was discovered they not only had to change her completely out of her briefs and pajamas, but change the bedding. I'm sure the coughing fit was because, for part of this, she had to be on her back and being on her back causes her to cough. I'm also sure, now, that when she called out she was calling out, "No, Gail, no," protesting the upset in her sleep. When I have to do something to her that interrupts her sleep she often protests in this manner. I have been considering that her roommate may be misinterpreting Mom's "bad nights", as my mother doesn't have really bad nights, much, unless she's really ill. Now, I'm sure of it. This knowledge in no way lessens my gratitude that Mom's roommate is alert, it just reminds me that she, too, is Ancient, about to turn 89, and although significantly more mentally and physically spry than my mother (spry enough to live alone), she is also hard of hearing, although not as much as my mother, and, as well, liable to misinterpret what she's sees out of a sense of protectiveness. But, I'm glad she reports to me, no matter how muddled the facts become. She'll be leaving on Saturday. I'm glad she's ready to go home, but I'm sorry we'll be losing her as a roommate. I hope we get another roommate that is at least half as cordial as she. I'm going to miss her, jealousy and all. I know my mother will, too.
    My mother's concern about people in The Dead Zone who might be affected by the flooding in Iowa is high, although not anxious. She's philosophical about natural disasters (that must be where I get it). She worried, yesterday, about whether "Lucille's violin" was lost in the flood and "what Lucille would do if it was." Lucille is the cousin who was touched by some sort of "brain fever" she contracted in India when she was a child and displayed her dementia through fits of uncontrollable laughter and wildly playing her violin. Mom is concerned, as well, about "the farm", although about which farm I'm not sure. I questioned her and it seems that the time she is remembering does not include her parents' owning of a farm, so they must have been plying their trades in town at the time my mother is imagining; my grandmother with her candy business and my grandfather at his auto repair shop. For some reason, though, despite her seeing the videos of stores flooded halfway up their storefronts, she is not concerned about her relatives losing their businesses. Interesting attitude. My recollection of my mother's memory of the various businesses her immediate and extended relatives owned and operated emphasizes business as being an aspect of the person who owns and operates the concern, not the buildings and the inventory.
    Although she was tired, she fully participated in therapy. The PTs reported that she was slow, but continued to improve in walkering and sliding about on her ass on surfaces in order to reposition herself. She is not yet, though, ready to try walkering around the halls with me following her with a wheelchair.
    I've started picking up the cleaning slack here over the last two days. It's going to take awhile and I am still sure that the house will not be completely Hospice-ready when she comes home, but, oh well. Got yet another night of good sleep, as well.
    Today, sometime in the afternoon, I will be turning on the a/c and the evaporative cooler before returning home for the evening. I'm curious to see if either conks out, even though I have checked and maintenances both thoroughly. If they do, I hope I have the time to have them serviced. If not, my mother comes first. She likes the heat, so waiting until she comes home to have them serviced won't be a problem. Oh, reminds me, I need to pick up an oscillating floor fan. The one in front of the window a/c no longer distributes the cool air evenly. Hope I get a chance to do that today.
    I also found my copy of How We Die. It has a couple of chapters on cancer, so I'll be taking that with me to the facility to read.
    I should be catching up on my Highlights Catalog, but I'm not worried about losing any details. They remain fresh in my mind. They probably will for a long time to come.
    Time to shower, eat yogurt, gather supplies and head out.
    No, I'm no longer feeling overwhelmingly alone. Just overwhelmed by To Do Lists.
    Later.
- posted by Gail Rae @ 05:40   email  this post