A surprise visitor

Dianna was surprised when I walked into her room with a surprise visitor.  I told her that Kevan Caswell had come to see her.  Kevan is my late brother Steve's son.  As expected Dianna couldn't place him but, as I related various occasions when we spent time with him she seemed to have a clearer idea of who he is. While it is difficult to know what Dianna is thinking at the best of times I felt confident by her behavior that she knew him. I'm told Alzeimers patients often recognize people by their voice as voices don't change much.

Regardless, Di seemed comfortable with Kevan as she chatted with him saying enough that Kevan could pick out things she was talking about.

The next day we visited Dianna again and this time Scott joined us. Dianna was delighted to have this much company and made an effort to engage in conversation with us.  At one point Kevan mentioned Toronto and Dianna's reply was "been there, done that"..which got a good laugh from all of .  On another occasion she turned to Scott and Kevan and said"ignore him" (meaning me of course). She was in good spirit and quite enjoyed our visit as the picture shows.

Sisters Visit

Here is a note from Linda after her visit with Mom this past Monday...

Hi had a lovely visit with Dianna.  The bonus was that Phil was there so we three visited for about 45 minutes  and then he left.  Dianna looked much better than the last picture posted on the blog.

I read to her then and what a joy to me when she stroked my hand as I was reading..I think she was in her way telling me she knew I was there.  Naturally I had tears!! 

The nurse brought in her medication which she as very good in taking, not that she didn’t make a face because she did. Too funny.   The nurse commented that she must be hungry since she did not get up until 11:00 and missed breakfast so she brought her a banana which she “gobbled”.  I gave her a drink from her cup and was a little surprised that the liquid was very thick so I had to ask the nurse about that because i was not sure what I was giving her.  Found out all her liquids are now thickened  to help her swallow.

Next lunch came and OMG it was all pureed.  In former years Dianna would have been appalled because she was so particular in her cooking and presentation.   However, she ate everything and then started to fall asleep.  So I got another pillow for her to rest so her neck would not get stiff, told her I was leaving so she could have a nap, gave her a kiss and told her I loved her.

Got outside and cried.....Oh how I miss her!!!!

Dianna is back

It was a scary time.  We didn't know how serious the situation was. However, the antibiotics have worked.She is finally getting a good sleep whereas before the coughing was keeping her awake.

I was in to see her the last couple of days and clearly she was feeling better. I always know when Dianna is okay....she finds something to give me s--t for. You can see this in the pic below (trust me...she is not saying words of love)

Dianna struggles with chest congestion

Mom had a challenging day today. Her neck was hyper-extended once again and she seemed to have some chest congestion.  Dad was with her for about 2 1/2 hours during which time he was trying to help her clear out some of the fluid.  He had a discussion with the head nurse and they decided to use a piece of equipment designed to assist people to remove the congestion. A tube was inserted down Mom's air passage to suck up the fluid.  Later when Dad called the Lodge to see how she was doing, they reported Mom's breathing was much better.

Happy Birthday Lester!

This past Sunday June 8th was Lester's Birthday. Les ventured over to Comox last Friday to spend the weekend with me and Bella, and to see Mom - we enjoyed a couple of good visits.  Happy Birthday Lester!

 

A whole lot of Heart!

Dad has returned safely from Victoria having just had his pacemaker replaced. He was away for four days. Coincidently, he stayed at the Heart House while he awaited his procedure - this is the place where we had stayed 10 plus years ago with Mom before and during her Aortic Aneurysm repair at Jubilee Hospital.  It sounds like it's still a caring place of love, kindness and support for families and friends of loved ones who are undergoing heart related procedures at the near by hospital. Upstairs in Mom's linen closet is a small little red heart pillow which Mom received from the Heart House as a momentum of her journey.

I decided to stick around Comox a few days to keep an eye on Daddio who drove from Victoria to Nanaimo Sunday (against Dr.s wishes) to meet Les and I at Departure Bay. After sending Les off on the ferry, I drove Dad home but not without a stop at the Lodge to see Mom. We found her sitting in the dining room having just finished her lunch. She was alert and delighted to see him - as she called out his name and a smile lit up her face! It was wonderful to witness their exchange - a heart-to-heart reunion for the two of them. Mom asked Dad for a hug which he obliged of course.  Back at Mom's room a short while later, we sat with Mom and soaked up the moment, as did she. Mom was clearly enjoying our company and it was obvious how precious we are to her - Dad shot these nice pics...

Precious moments are Precious

I ventured up to see Mom again after work today arriving about 5:15. She was in the dining room against the wall in her broda chair and had just finished dinner.  Her food was served to her minced to make it easier for her to chew and swallow.  And I'm glad to say her eye has cleared up.

Mom didn't acknowledge me when I went to her and said hello. I can usually see a glimpse of recognition on her face, but not today. I wheeled her down to her room and positioned her by her bed in the sun. I turned on her favourite music station and sat on the bed to be close to her. As I gazed over her beautiful face, I noticed the hair on her chinny chin chin as she would say, was needing some attention, so I grabbed the tweezers out of her drawer and started to work. The first pull and Mom exclaimed 'Owie'! I apologized profusely and carried on. She was amazingly patient with me as I worked away. Afterwards, I gave her face, neck, arms and hands a rub down with a warm towel and massaged her skin with some cream.  Then I brushed her hair. Mom seemed to be relaxed and jibber-jabbered on about not much of anything understandable.  I was struck by how precious the moment was and wanted to stay there with her forever.  I understand the meaning of precious moments are precious because they will never be had again.

I left her asleep in her chair.

P.S...

As for me...I've decided to go off my low-glycemic diet tonight, and drink wine and eat bread, and am listening to Jan Arden's Where No-one Knows Me, and totally relating.

Tomorrow's another day and I'm hopeful.  Happy to report Mom is doing well tonight, resting with a clearer sounding chest.

Thanks to my Bro for your calm presence and for the good laugh, and to you Dad for being my Dad - Love you all very much!

Troubling Visit

I am grateful I'm able to work from Comox now - I arrived last night, and after a day's work, went to see Mom. It's been about a month since we've seen each other on account of the  Norwalk shut down, and my time at home to on-board my new job.

Mom recognized me, smiled and said my name - tears welled up in my eyes, as much as I tried not to. I was overwhelmed with emotion.  She was in her Broda chair in her bedroom by the window. The sun was shining in and she had the TV on.  You can see from these pics that she was struggling with her posture - her neck was hyper-extended and she was restless.  Also, her pallor wasn't good and her right eye was filled with a yellow discharge.

I sat with her for a bit before going to the dining room to fetch her dinner so we could visit while she ate in her room.  Dinner was a pork stew with brown rice and canned green beans.  Mom wasn't able to feed herself today - I think her neck situation was a part of the problem.  I started to feed her meal to her which she took with some degree of interest. I noticed the chunks of meat where a bit challenging for her to swallow as she was coughing some.  The next bite was trouble - when she swallowed, she started to cough and try and clear her throat, but she is somewhat congested today and it wasn't working. Coughing is hard for Mom these days.  Then I could see she was in trouble. I jumped up and reached behind her to get her sitting more upright and was about to reach in to her mouth when someone walked by her room.  I yelled 'help!' and the care-aide came running in. Bella leaped up and barked and scared the crap out of all of us.  She was startled. I shouted 'Mom's choking' and she ran out to get help. Seconds later, there was team of 4 in the room working with Mom.  I moved out of the way and over to calm Bella (and myself).  They managed to help Mom clear a chunk of meat out of her airway. She was frightened and extremely agitated as you can imagine!  They were going to try and clear her lungs and throat with a machine that would be inserted into her airway but decided against it considering Mom's state.  I assured them I would be with Mom for a while and they left.  I sat with her and massaged her neck and stroked her hair encouraging her to relax, which she did.  Within a few minutes she was leaning back with her eyes closed. I continued for while and then decided it was time to go. I left her in peace. The pics might be a bit scary to you, but rest assured, she's doing ok.

On my way out I had a chat with Tammy one of the care-aides, asking her to report Mom's eye and congestion to the head nurse. I'll call later tonight to see how Mom's doing and to see if we can get a Dr. in to see her.

Summer visiting

I have visited Di on May 31st and today, June 1st.  Both visits were in the pm after she had had her lunch.  I stayed for a couple of hours.

On May 31 when I arrived I noticed a beautiful vase of flowers.  Di didn't know who had brought them and there wasn't a card. I found out later that Cheryl had been in to see her on Saturday; the day before. When I told Di that Cheryl had brought the flowers she then remembered her visit telling me they jibber jabbed (her words) and it was great to see Cheryl.

During the visit I took Di outside where we sat under an arbor and chatted. It was a beautiful summer day and we both enjoyed being outside. When it came time to go I told her Scott would be dropping in to see her; which he did shortly after I had left. By then she was back in her room.

Todays visit was quieter and we stayed in the room the whole time. Di loves listening to the music channel on her tv and will often move her shoulders and hands to the beat. She likes to look out her window observing what may be going by at the moment. Today one of the maintenance staff was cutting the grass.

This picture was taken outside under the arbor.