Aug. 24: We’re now one week past last Friday-which-was-so-hard. Mom had a really quiet and sleep-filled day today. She was feeling better…the pain she was experiencing yesterday stopped in the evening, and she slept long and pretty well through the night.
I took Andrew into Karen’s today and worked until around 11 am at Gathering Waters. Then I went over to Mom’s in time for her 11:30 appointment with her Hospice nurse, Jenny. Hospice has already proven themselves a really valuable partner. Twice now, they have been able to do lab tests in our home that Mom would otherwise have had to go into the clinic for. Jenny will come by once or twice a week to check on Mom, to review her symptoms and make sure that we’re using the best treatments, and to bring us things to make life easier. Her next visit is on Tuesday.
After her nurse left, Mom slept for a couple hours while I made a bunch of calls about health insurance. Mom was in good spirits, and she ate a pretty big lunch. She was also just really worn out, and I think that a quiet day with very little activity was just what the doctor ordered. I left to pick up Andrew at 3:45, and Mom had just headed up to bed for a longer rest. She wasn’t taking any medications today, so it seems like she’s feeling somewhat better.
Maretta’s friend Laurie was in town today, so she had the chance to get out and spend the afternoon with her. Maretta has been doing just a wonderful job helping Mom, but I think she really needed a day away too. She will be in town for about another week before she plans to return to St. Kate’s. We heard from Joe that he and his friends made it to New York to pick up Joe’s roommate. They should be having a nice time together.
I may end up not seeing Mom tomorrow, depending on how things go. Could just take the day and spend it with my boys here at home. I hear that our rainy, rainy days are supposed to end in sunshine tomorrow. It would be fun to spend some time outdoors again.
If there is anything notable, I’ll be sure to post it, but I may back off from daily posts in the upcoming days. Perhaps it’s the little one growing in me, or maybe it’s just that our days are so full, but I’m pretty tired in the evenings!
Feel free to email me if you have questions.
~Althea