Weekend in Virginia

We spent the weekend in Virginia.  It was a great visit.  Saturday we spent some time at Jaclyn's, then had supper at Emily's.  We got to see how much Scooter had grown and meet Rue for the first time. (Those are Emily's cats.)  On Sunday we picked up Caleb, Jack, and Sam and spent the morning with them at the park.  We had lunch uptown in Radford and then went to the yogurt shop.  Even though we threatened to kidnap the boys and bring them to NC with us, they had to stay with their parents. After lots of hugs, we headed back down the mountain towards home. 

September 15, 1994

Today is a special day for us.  It's Hannah's 17th birthday.  She's our youngest, the baby of the family, the end of the line, the caboose.  Hannah was born 2 weeks before my 40th birthday and now, in my advanced years, I don't know how I'd manage without her.  She's the brains of this operation and she keeps everything running smoothly.  Happy birthday to Hannah!

Hero of the Week

Yesterday Mom had a doctor's appointment at 2:30.  She's gotten much weaker and I knew that Hannah and I weren't going to be able to get her down the steps and into the van by ourselves.  I asked Bobby if he would be able to help me.  He was in school in Shelby until 1:45 but he said he'd come and help.  Bobby got here a little after 2 and Mom said she wasn't getting out of the chair.  Bobby convinced her to get up, got her into the wheelchair, got the wheelchair down the steps, and got her into the van.  At the doctor's office, they had someone come out and get her out of the van and then back into it after her appointment.  When we got home, Bobby drove over and helped get her out of the van and back into the house.  I don't know what we'd have done without him.  He went out of his way to help.  So Bobby Ledwell is my hero of the week!  Thank you, Bobby.

Mom's doctor is concerned that she's much weaker and more confused.  He took her off her some medications to see if they were causing her decline.  She's going back September 30.  He didn't have her records from the ER the day she was unresponsive so he's getting those. The physical therapist did her reevaluation today and she could see the decline as well.  Please keep Mom in your prayers. 

Updating

I want to bring everyone up to date on my mom and on Phillip's mom.  It's been a rough week.

Last Wednesday Phillip's mom had a stroke.  She had another one a few days later.  There is really nothing that can be done for her at this point.  She will open her eyes but doesn't show any recognition of anyone.  She can swallow pureed foods so she won't need a feeding tube, at least for now.  Her right side is paralyzed and they suspect that she's blind in her right eye.  The plan right now is to move her from the hospital back to the nursing home tomorrow morning.  This is a sad time for all of the family.

Last Thursday we had to call an ambulance for my mom.  She had been very sleepy all day, but during the afternoon, she wouldn't respond at all.  I checked her blood sugar to be sure it hadn't dropped, and she didn't even flinch when I stuck her finger.  (Her blood sugar was ok.) At the ER, they couldn't find anything wrong.  She was very combative and totally confused.  They told me to take her home and see how she did.  Since then, she's been much more confused.  Most of the time she doesn't know who I am.  Occasionally she'll call me by name, but not usually.  Sometimes I'm Helen, but other times I'm somebody named Joyce, or I'm "Hey Lady."  Yesterday she fired me and said she was getting somebody else. I really think she had a mini-stroke last Thursday. It's hard to accept, but I read a comment once about Alzheimer's disease.  It advised families to let go of the person their loved one used to be and accept and enjoy the person they are now.  That's what we're trying to do.  We have some really good times together, whether she knows who I am or not.