This blog and my care for mom has now been going on for more than one year. A year ago the focus was mom’s recovery from an unexpected six day stay in the hospital. Now the focus has turned to accepting life in it’s day to day stages and allowing events to evolve. Set backs can now often be treated using the lessons of experience. But, surprises are never far away.
A lot of the projections for 2014 are continuations of activities and accomplishments that began last year.
• Physical Therapy – Mom is now getting one hour of physical therapy three times per week. She didn’t resist and was hooked after the first session. She feels like she will be able to return to the daily exercise classes offered at the Villas once her strength is build up again. A year ago she complained about the Therapist that was assigned when she returned from the hospital. Eventually she began to adjust and could even admit the benefits. The real issue then was the very idea that someone would come into her home and help her. It had never happened before. Click here to see One Year Ago This was the first of many steps toward mom allowing assistance in to her home and daily life.
Free Parking is always available outside the dining room.
• Nutrition The best news is mom has gained nearly 10 pounds in the last year. It is helpful that she is surrounded by food and encouraged to eat. Meals on Wheels is still to be praised for getting her back on track last year. In hindsight getting Meals on Wheels to deliver still remains the biggest obstacle we faced as far as mom allowing any kind of help. Again, she adjusted and loved it.
• Medication Mom is now down to three pills and I’m still working on more cut backs. A year ago she took seven pills daily. Managing her medication has now moved to using the weekly pill boxes. It’s my intention to sign up for a Medication Management Program just to assure me that she is following through on her own. This kind of program is yet another “It’s new to me” service available for seniors. There’s always some new convenience available.
• Mobility The car and cane are parked. The walker is her new Wheels and she has no problem accepting her need to use it. However, she still talks about how much she would like to drive again.