FLU..GETTING HELP…

Well I mean it.. There is hope and help. It seems that even if you got a shot or get one you STILL can get it. You might get a lighter version of the flu, but you still get it. Yesterday the news was full of advice and reports on how bad some places have it and others don’t. Seems the flu is picky this year.. It hates humidity and the sunlight. WELL guess those in FLORIDA are lucky maybe..if it is there it might not be as bad. Only time will tell.  The experts tell us  to wear a mask, if you can find one. I had a hard time getting to a store that had them in stock. The demand is on the rise. I finally found a box with 10 in it, could not wait to put one on. I wore gloves in the store when I touched things. Hard to do..they were hot and cumbersome. I heard that even if you wore such protection that it would not help because the germs get everywhere and you are covered the minute someone coughs near you. YES remember that they linger on for hours too. Well then why wear a mask, gloves etc, nothing will really keep you away from germs other than complete isolation. WHO CAN DO THAT??  I used the hand sanitizer, but only one of the SEVEN stores I was in had wipes for your cart. I had a small atomizer they gave me a few years back full of alcohol and sprayed my cart with it. It worked wonderful. Nice to be able to refill it and use it again and again. This is a product worth buying.

 CAN WE SAY PARANOID??  MAYBE NOT!!

One thing I learned wearing the mask is people look at you funny..but they also give you PLENTY of space. You may not be sick yet, you may just want to keep from breathing  in the germs, but people WILL give you a large area to get around in. In a weird way that seemed to work. I got hot wearing the mask, in the frozen food section of the store my glasses fogged up. Wearing a winter coat and hat and a mask, well I must have looked like a robber to the clerks and the patrons. So I take precautions, maybe I go overboard, but it is all worth it not to get sick. Having asthma all my life, and many bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis along the way, I do know what it does to me personally to get sick. In September of last year I got sick and it lasted three weeks. It wasn’t flu but high fever and infection took me out and reminded me once again how sick a person can get really quick. 

WELL I got supplies in all the stores I visited. I think I can get by without having to go to a lot of stores in the  next few months. Just one problem, I have to wait at least 5 days now to see if I have gotten near any bad germs. It won’t end at Spring this year..the news last night said there still could be cases of flu way into May and June. It’s going to be a long flu season..keep well out there in blogland.. First day of summer is coming June 21st, just five  months away. 

GET WELL SOON!!!!!!!

A GREAT BIG GET WELL SOON TO MY SIS CAROLE IN TENNESSEE. I SURE HOPE SHE CAN HEAL UP AND FEEL BETTER FAST. A STRANGE INCIDENT CAUSED HER TO FALL AND BREAK HER WRIST AND HURT HER KNEE.

 

GET WELL SOON SIS!!!  XXOO

SAD NEWS

The sun is out and the skies are blue…there is no snow today but it is a cold February day here. The sun is so bright on the snow that you must wear sunglasses or be unable to see much when you get back indoors. The schools are still closed and many roads are still impassable. While all this winter weather was going on we had to make some difficult decisions. For those of you who are not on Facebook and haven’t been following there, Mom was just not able to endure any more dialysis treatments and they were stopped as of Tuesday.

  The  blessings involved are that mom is not aware of how very sick she is or that her days here with us will soon end. She is not in pain and won’t be in pain. She will slowly drift away from us into a coma state and leave peacefully. I am so grateful for that. It has been a long road this past 14 months, full of hospitalizations, and procedures and many hours sitting getting treatments. WHY would she want to go ahead with these at her age because… “I am not ready to go yet!” she told us very emphatically. It was her wish to continue and so she did.  I made sure that whatever she wanted, that made her happiest that we would do just that. She spent many hours going through circle the words books because “It keeps my mind busy.” We spent time outdoors and in the car traveling the roads and seeing the sights. We ate the forbidden foods like fried chicken and ice cream and had fun knowing we were breaking the rules of her strict diet. She spent time with her two grandchildren and loved every minute of it. I was so glad that she was alert and able to do that.   

Having three surgeries in one month last month took its toll on her. She was just unable to bounce back the way she had done in months past. So now she will be with us only a very short time longer.

I AM SO GRATEFUL for all the support and caring thoughts and prayers of all the blog community.. It is just so wonderful to know that we both have so many people who care so much..

WORDS CANNOT SAY HOW MUCH WE THANK YOU!!  

CATCHING UP…

THINGS are happening sometimes here at lightning speed, at other times at a snails
pace. Hard to tell what will go on from one day to the next. Have had little on-line time to catch up with everyone. This I truly miss a whole lot. I miss all my blogging family.
Mom’s condition has deteriorated lately and we are continuing to speak to counselors and doctors,. therapists and Hospice workers. The whole process is mind-boggling. What will be paid for and what isn’t covered is sometimes shocking. I have years of experience under my belt with elderly care and their concerns and tribulations. I sure am glad now, because it is really coming in handy.I would hate to be traveling down this road without some prior knowledge of how things work. The things that happen daily could be written in a book…in fact… I have been documenting Mom’s whole

journey from the beginning. No wonder I completely wore out one computer and one camera. They sure did the job admirably.

  

 Above is the long hallway to the end of the  building. Many times I have found mom rolling down that hallway to look for deer out the doorway windows. The handrails on either side of the hall help the patients by them reaching and pulling themselves along. Probably the one of the most germy places in the building as they rarely are cleaned. The floors and walls and bathrooms etc are always done but the railings not. I avoid them like the plague. 
Well just wanted to catch you all up on what is going on.. lack of time, energy or wi-fi at home make it extremely hard to get computer time. January is grinding down and
February is at hand..Spring can’t come soon enough for me.

WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH??

Recently one of the therapists told me that Sis and I were visiting mom too much at the care center. “Dear, we are concerned that you are visiting and spending too many hours here and you should be giving yourself a break now and then.” I paused a minute to take in what she said. It might be true that we do spend many hours more than other people do there. It also is true that Mom does a whole lot better when we visit than when we stay away. She needs assistance eating right now, and despite the fact that we have talked and urged every person there to help her with meals.. NOTHING has been  done about it. I asked the head administrator to step in and make sure there were orders to help her. So far.. they are dragging their feet. STAY away and see if they follow through with the order if you are not there…DID NOT WORK.  We have a friend who has stopped in on Mom at meal time and she was alone and not eating at all.   IS this serious.. YES! Is it worth pulling her out of there.. NO not yet.  Decisions, Decisions.. when is enough really enough?

I value the opinions of my blog readers.. I sure will appreciate any thoughts you may have on this subject. whether you have experienced it or not.  Given Mom’s condition and how weak she has been, do we just sit ourselves down and MAKE ourselves NOT visit her? The therapist’s opinion was that 3 or 4 days a week was plenty and NEVER more than 2-3 hours maximum.  She would not miss us that much at all. I BEG TO DIFFER! She notices it!! I told the therapist that. She is “with it” enough to KNOW she hasn’t seen you in days. It would be easy to do if Mom were able to do more for herself right now, but she can’t. I DO have complete confidence in the staff there. I know they are taxed to the limits with running after so many patients. I have been there to see it for myself. I have asked them if THEY think we are spending too much time there. I think they held back in their answers though, because with us present…well.. it is less work for them naturally. I am not there to DO their jobs, just help mom some until she regains some strength, if she ever does regain it to the point it was before she got sick.

Mom has been through so much in the last several months. We asked her often if she really wants to continue with her treatments. She has made it all too clear she is not ready to just “give up”.  I think when that time comes she will know it. It’s true her mental state is pretty confused these days, sometimes she confuses day with night and other times she is pretty with it.  Time to make decisions.. but when to do it.. THAT IS THE  QUESTION.

I thank you all in advance for your opinions I value them highly..