This last week and a half was a wee bit on the stressful side.
A little over a week ago…my 84 year old mother Gayle fell while walking down the hallway at her assisted living facility. It started some days of pain, stress and uncertainty for both Gayle and me.
Even in the midst of this winding road called Alzheimer’s it had its odd and funny moments.
Starting out with Gayle in the Emergency Room at Placentia Linda Hospital…while the nurses were caring for her…my sister Denise and I mentioned that she had at one time been a nurse. Their reaction was very sweet and they asked where she worked and what she did. She had been a Utilization Review nurse at Brea Community Hospital…which has since closed.
Gayle inquired as to where she was at and we told her she was at Placentia Linda Hospital. To which she responded, “Oh that explains things.” Thankfully the nurses got a chuckle out of that.
Gayle was released from the hospital on Monday…and I was able to take her back to her assisted living facility. It was nice…because shortly after being back there…you could see the difference. Yes…she was in a lot of pain…and felt wretched…but she was Gayle again…and not “the broken arm in 224”.
Now don’t get me wrong…some of the nurses were very nice….but nonetheless…I hate hospitals. I was so glad to get Gayle sprung from that joint. I think I was surprised at how unfamiliar the hospital personnel seemed to be in working with Alzheimer’s patients. Especially when compared to the nurses at the assisted living place.
On Thursday…I got a call from my mom’s assisted living place…telling me that she needed to be taken to the emergency room again. There seemed to be a problem with the cast and her arm was swelling. Which is a whole other story altogether.
While waiting with Gayle in ER…for testing, doctors to examine her and get test results back…I was chatting with her. Since I was trying to multi-task and complete my BSF lesson…I was talking with her about God. I asked her, “What was the greatest blessing that God had given her in her life?” She looked me right in the eye and said, “I suppose it’s you.”
Today I had another one of those Alzheimer’s speaks moments…when my Gayle was laying on her bed and said to me, “You are a very lucky girl because you have me to spend your time with.”
So with Alzheimer’s….you just never know what’s going to come out.
2 comments:
Loved this: “You are a very lucky girl because you have me to spend your time with.”
Wonderful! :) Thanks for sharing your mom with us... Debra
Aw. This really touched me. I lost my father to Alzheimer's a few years ago. He was 65. It's a strange and terrible thing. But we had some reallly sweet moments in there, too.
May God bless you for looking out for your mother, Susan.
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