Church, B.J. & Mama Mia!

Today we went to church with mom, like we do every Sunday. They have a branch at the Care Center, and we love the spirit and the people there. Sundays are really long days for mom. She doesn't get her after lunch "nap" as soon as she wants to. She wants to be able to get in bed before lunch, (right after church) but they want her in her chair for lunch. So that usually leaves us to occupy her time until her lunch tray gets there. Today she seemed to do well, not too cantankerous.

Then, later, we came back for our second visit of the day, and took B.J. with us. (That’s 6 nights in a row!) She was thrilled! She has been asking for a few days to watch Mama Mia, (the movie) so we took it with us and watched a few scenes. She loved it! She still remembers most of the words to the ABBA songs, she’s a huge fan! After only a few scenes, she told us she was tired so we said goodnight!

She is super excited for some visitors tomorrow, (you know who you are!) She can’t wait!

P.S. This is picture of B.J.

The “Carousel” Ride

Today started with a phone call from the care center at 2:00 in the afternoon telling us that Sheila was upset and had been screaming for about 25 minutes. It seems she was confused about what the activity was for the afternoon. She wanted singing time (which is the first and third Saturday s of the month) and did not want the movie. By the time that Holly and I got to the nursing home she had calmed down and she was in watching the movie with some of the other residents. We stayed and watched the musical “Carousel” with her.

We found out today that the urinary tract infection that she has is resistant to the antibiotic she was given on Friday. They switched the antibiotic and we hope this one will work.

She seemed to be doing better throughout the day. Hopefully we can find out what is contributing to her discomfort so that we can keep her comfortable.

Our Anniversary

Today is our Twenty-second Wedding Anniversary. I had the girls deliver to the nursing home 22 pink roses that we arranged ourselves. She was thrilled to get flowers.

I then went and had lunch with Sheila. Sheila loves when I come to the nursing home to have lunch with her on “Fish” Fridays. We get to have fish without the girls’ commentary about how gross fish is. So it has become “our” time together. Then for dinner, the girls fixed a fantastic meal, which we took it to share with Sheila. For just a few minutes it was almost like we were all back at home having dinner together.

We found out today that Sheila has a urinary tract infection and that they were starting her on a course of antibiotics. We’re hoping that is the source of the pain that she cries about. Unfortunately she is not able to fully express to us where it hurts.

I am so thankful that I have been able to spend 22 years with the love of my life and pray we still have a few more together.

“Miss Thundercloud”, Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson

Today we all met with the management of the nursing home (WCC) for Sheila’s Quarterly Care Plan Review. They want to make sure we were happy with the care that Sheila is receiving and to address any concerns. WCC is concerned with Sheila’s vocal outburst and their inability to get her to calm down and tell them what is bothering her. They also want us to find a local neurologist instead of taking her to Logan. If we want to keep going to Dr. M. Williams in Logan then we will have to pay for a private transportation company to take her as WCC will not provide transportation to Logan. We are not really sure what we want to do about that.

After our meeting we joined Sheila for group singing time. The girls and I really enjoyed learning some very old songs, but Sheila did not. She just wasn’t in the mood to be around other people. We have learned that if she isn’t excited to see us; then things are not well.

This afternoon she got so upset that WCC had their medical director prescribe Klonopin (Clonazepam) to control her anxiety. This seemed to work really well. By the time we got to her this evening she was feeling “really good”. She kept telling us how sad it was that both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. She can’t understand why Farrah doesn’t get as much TV time as Michael does. She also remembers that growing up my brother had a Farrah Fawcett poster in our bedroom.

Looking up

Well, it looks like things are FINALLY starting to look up. We got a letter from the Nursing Home Medicaid guy letting us know we get to keep most of Mom’s disability money for household expenses. Hallelujah!


B.J. went for another visit today, which made mom SO happy!


That’s all for today! We’ll keep you updated!

Doctor’s Appointment & B.J.’s Visits

Sheila had her quarterly follow-up doctor’s appointment yesterday. Dr. B. Williams thinks there are changes happening in the brain and wants her to be seen again by Dr. M. Williams, her neurologist in Logan. He said that some of the behavior issues could be caused by further changes in the brain. Dr. B. Williams also thinks it would be good for Sheila to be seen by a counselor to help her deal with many of the changes that she has gone through and continues to experience. He really does not want to start her on pain meds at this time but would like to keep up with the Tylenol and try other things to maintain her comfort level.

Today she was in great spirits. We have taken her cat B.J. in to her the past two nights. She loves when he visits and he loves to see his “mother”. When B.J. is there; life is good.

Agitation

Sheila is becoming increasingly agitated. We're not completely sure as to what is causing this. After these angry outbursts she doesn't remember them at all. (Like why her spoon is on the floor after throwing it at someone.) We hope that on Monday we can get some answers from the doctor and hopefully something to take the edge off of the pain she is experiencing.