It's true! Rick and I went to the movies for our night out and saw "Horton and The Who". We picked a time when the theater would be less crowded, the 5:15 p.m. show, got seats right in the middle with a railing so we could hike up our feet and settled in with our miniature bag of popcorn...we hadn't had dinner yet. It was wonderful. I think the voice of the Mayor of Who, Steve Carrele (sp), was well done. I particularly liked the way he was drawn; his fur looked real! And there is a buzzard that has wings that are so believable you can feel the breeze when he swoops.
Afterward we went to see Grandma Whittaker. Our stay was brief because she was getting tired and wanted to get ready for bed. She had actually gotten up and dressed before anyone came in to help her that morning. She was excited to hear she was going to be moving closer to home, and then she quietly leaned over to Rick and asked him where home was. Oh, my. When he explained it was the condo she lived in on 45th she seemed a bit confused but glad to be leaving where she was.
Easter is getting close and we are looking forward to spring weather, Peeps, and lots of chocolate.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Changes
Yesterday John and Rick were at the care center trying to determine what needs to be done by the family and what the care center is accomplishing. Grandma was up and about with a new outfit on and her hair done. It was an amazing difference from the last time we were there. She just peaks and valleys and we're never sure what we can expect.
John is interested in possibly moving her to a facility in Salt Lake that would put her closer to those she knows. Marilyn is going by tonight to give the new place the once over to see if she thinks it would be worth moving her. Because they are smaller they have more nurse to patient care and it would be nice to see that happen. There are so many decisions to be made and we are all anxious to make the right one at the right time.
We had a Relief Society birthday party last night. Rinda Christensen and I were in charge of all the food and it worked out well because the ladies kept coming back for more. That's always a good sign. We had pasta salad, a homemade roll, and a chocolate covered strawberry on the plate. Then a dessert table with cakes and bars (brownies and lemon bars). The decorations were three multi-sized stacked boxes covered in neutral paper and tied with wide fabric ribbons. Each table had it's own color of ribbon with balloons tied to the boxes and colored tissue and sparkles under them. It was festive and cost all of $6.00 for the balloons!
Hope you are all staying busy and well.
John is interested in possibly moving her to a facility in Salt Lake that would put her closer to those she knows. Marilyn is going by tonight to give the new place the once over to see if she thinks it would be worth moving her. Because they are smaller they have more nurse to patient care and it would be nice to see that happen. There are so many decisions to be made and we are all anxious to make the right one at the right time.
We had a Relief Society birthday party last night. Rinda Christensen and I were in charge of all the food and it worked out well because the ladies kept coming back for more. That's always a good sign. We had pasta salad, a homemade roll, and a chocolate covered strawberry on the plate. Then a dessert table with cakes and bars (brownies and lemon bars). The decorations were three multi-sized stacked boxes covered in neutral paper and tied with wide fabric ribbons. Each table had it's own color of ribbon with balloons tied to the boxes and colored tissue and sparkles under them. It was festive and cost all of $6.00 for the balloons!
Hope you are all staying busy and well.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I Can See Clearly
Yesterday I saw an interesting turn of events regarding the care and keeping of Grandma Whittaker. Because of her changing needs she has been moved from the lovely assisted living facility to a level three, constant care, almost lock down facility. You have to press the right code to get in and out of that wing of the care center. Because she hasn't been able to help herself, hasn't been aware of what's going on around her, and her incessant drive to get to the bathroom has been causing her to fall more often than not and represents some pretty sad bruising. The final blow was putting her bed on the floor so she wouldn't fall far when she attempted to get up. She just doesn't have the mobility to make it on her own. With all of this happening she hasn't really been aware of her circumstance. And now these last several days she has been fighting a bout of flu.
Yesterday I went to the care center and she was in the dining facility with her head down on the table, her full plate pushed away. Next to her was a nurse sitting behind a semi-circle table helping half a dozen patients through lunch. One of the patients was calling out loudly "No, no". The woman suffers from dementia and it's an ongoing effort to get her to eat. I went in and touched Vivian to let her know I was there...it was immediately clear to me that something had changed. I could see that she could see. She was clearly lucid and knew her circumstance. She quietly said to me "I don't want to be here." We moved from the dining room in her wheelchair to her room where she observed the bed on the floor. She asked why we would do that. I explained that she had been trying to get out of bed and had fallen so much our concerns led to placing her there for her protection and safety. Her eyes grew wide and she said how sorry she was but that she didn't remember any of it occurring. In those few moments of her clearly seeing her circumstance I thought I would come undone. I visited with her about her wonderful life, her children, how the Lord has truly blessed her, and then we just talked about getting old and being ready to go home. I made sure she knew that family had come by to visit and that others always ask after her and that was nice.
I didn't realize all the emotion that moving through this phase represents. Although mom did this with dad it was done in their home where others didn't see the day to day struggle. The Indians had it all figured out in times gone by. The elder (man or woman) would say their goodbyes to family and friends and walk off into the sunset. Their body would be found later propped up against a tree or beside a rock. They knew when they wanted to die and they just went out and made it happen.
Oh, my heart hurts.
Yesterday I went to the care center and she was in the dining facility with her head down on the table, her full plate pushed away. Next to her was a nurse sitting behind a semi-circle table helping half a dozen patients through lunch. One of the patients was calling out loudly "No, no". The woman suffers from dementia and it's an ongoing effort to get her to eat. I went in and touched Vivian to let her know I was there...it was immediately clear to me that something had changed. I could see that she could see. She was clearly lucid and knew her circumstance. She quietly said to me "I don't want to be here." We moved from the dining room in her wheelchair to her room where she observed the bed on the floor. She asked why we would do that. I explained that she had been trying to get out of bed and had fallen so much our concerns led to placing her there for her protection and safety. Her eyes grew wide and she said how sorry she was but that she didn't remember any of it occurring. In those few moments of her clearly seeing her circumstance I thought I would come undone. I visited with her about her wonderful life, her children, how the Lord has truly blessed her, and then we just talked about getting old and being ready to go home. I made sure she knew that family had come by to visit and that others always ask after her and that was nice.
I didn't realize all the emotion that moving through this phase represents. Although mom did this with dad it was done in their home where others didn't see the day to day struggle. The Indians had it all figured out in times gone by. The elder (man or woman) would say their goodbyes to family and friends and walk off into the sunset. Their body would be found later propped up against a tree or beside a rock. They knew when they wanted to die and they just went out and made it happen.
Oh, my heart hurts.
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