Laughing Through the Tempests

We are stepping up our game and getting the hospital style bed for mom. Not because she has declined, per se, but because she is having such a hard time getting into and out of bed. Yes, we did get the bed that moves so that we could help with that, but eventually it became too high also as her ability to settle into it decreased. So we took its legs off and now it’s the perfect height to get into… but it’s impossible to get out of when it’s that low and her joints are feeling so achy. So we are pulling out the stops, and the chairs in her bedroom, and having a hospital bed installed. Then maybe we can put the legs back on the bed so that I don’t have to feel like I need someone to come and pull me out of the bed each time I need to get up. I was going to rig the dog up with a sled dog harness for that purpose, but she identified her disapproval with that plan and I have moved on.

We are going through days when mom has frequent toilet runs each night, like every two hours, followed by days when she only goes one time a night. I obviously get more sleep on the latter nights, but both tend to make me worry that something is wrong. Therefore, I am working on practicing the great advice I was given by both the Hospice nurse and our friend the Alzheimer program nurse… Don’t fret over the day to day changes in her intake and output. Such changes are all part of the disease and are perfectly normal at this point. In fact, we have found that even her blood sugars are falling into line without any night time insulin. I know she is much happier having one less poke in her daily routine.  I know she shakes her fist at us every time we come in to poke a finger or her belly or even to poke food in her mouth. She’s still giggling when she does it, but I worry that one day she might just mean it!! It’s been a long time since she actually spanked me!

All in all, though, she is maintaining her happy disposition and is enjoying the blessings of life, in so far as she is able to do so. She is just taking life easy now, day by day. She’s sleeping in late and being waited on hand and foot… and that seems to work for her! I guess, after all those years of taking care of everyone else, it IS her turn!