June 05, 2006
Yesterday I did something I haven't done before - combing a woman's hair. Grandma's hair was getting kind of messed up, so we brought a comb and a barrette from home to help her. So, I combed her hair. I've heard that women really like their hair being combed - I really don't understand why though. But, grandma liked it.
Today was harder though. Early his morning they called and let us know that grandma's dementia is worse than is apparent, and she's going to need care 24/7 - either with full-time nurse care in the house, or a care facility that specializes in the elderly with dementia. That kind of hit me harder. I really don't mind her moving in with us, but thinking about her with dementia (not Alzheimer’s, btw) just is a bit harder for me. I actually ended up not going to church today - just didn't feel up to it. I just feel completely wiped. So tired.
I'm at the hospital again now. She just had a new IV put into her arm. It was kind of difficult. Her veins are really good, sizewise, but really fragile. When they tried to stick her, her veins would either roll away, or burst when they tried to flush the tube. I think it took six tries before they got one to work. That means five new bruises. Luckily, she said it wasn't hurting her.
These days are just long right now. The future of what's going to happen with grandma, where she's going to live, what's going to happen - it's all just up in the air. Most of the time she seems completely lucid, other times maybe not so much. If anything it's like she's gone back to an early childhood mentality. And basically, it all seems to stem from her not eating enough. That's a problem we're still fighting with now even. She takes her medicine just fine, but food - she just doesn't want it. She really needs to eat though, not get tubed.
Anyway, that's pretty much where things stand.
Today was harder though. Early his morning they called and let us know that grandma's dementia is worse than is apparent, and she's going to need care 24/7 - either with full-time nurse care in the house, or a care facility that specializes in the elderly with dementia. That kind of hit me harder. I really don't mind her moving in with us, but thinking about her with dementia (not Alzheimer’s, btw) just is a bit harder for me. I actually ended up not going to church today - just didn't feel up to it. I just feel completely wiped. So tired.
I'm at the hospital again now. She just had a new IV put into her arm. It was kind of difficult. Her veins are really good, sizewise, but really fragile. When they tried to stick her, her veins would either roll away, or burst when they tried to flush the tube. I think it took six tries before they got one to work. That means five new bruises. Luckily, she said it wasn't hurting her.
These days are just long right now. The future of what's going to happen with grandma, where she's going to live, what's going to happen - it's all just up in the air. Most of the time she seems completely lucid, other times maybe not so much. If anything it's like she's gone back to an early childhood mentality. And basically, it all seems to stem from her not eating enough. That's a problem we're still fighting with now even. She takes her medicine just fine, but food - she just doesn't want it. She really needs to eat though, not get tubed.
Anyway, that's pretty much where things stand.
