on the way

The rest of our time in Connecticut passed as wonderfully as those first few days.  We went to Mystic - 10 years after our first trip there!  And we saw the patriotic concert and fireworks at Talcott Mountain, with over 10,000 other people enjoying the spectacular weather.  Saturday we lazed about most of the day, went to Mass, and headed to the Cape in the early evening.

That turned out to be a fantastic choice, since we had zero traffic, and crossing the Bourne Bridge we saw a string of fireworks displays strung out along the coast.

Sunday I took the family to visit Mom at the rehab, and they played a little concert for her on the grand piano in the dining room. My sister came for her usual Sunday visit, too.  Mom loved it.  She seemed well, and enjoyed the time we sat outside with her, admiring the flowers.

Monday was not as good a day.  She told me she felt like crying all the time, and when I asked her why, she said it was because she felt sick to her stomach. Her head aches, too.  The nurse practitioner was in, and said she was starting an antibiotic for a UTI.  I asked for medicine for the nausea, and they wrote her a new prescription.

Today was Mom's care meeting.  My two sisters came down, and the boys called in on a conference call.  Mom has made some progress but she is approaching the limit imposed by her many medical conditions.  The clear outcome of the meeting is that while Mom can recognize that she needs help, she cannot identify what to do to get it. She is not capable of making decisions for herself.

So all of us, her seven children, have to decide for her.  Her GFR (kidney function) is down to 10.  Her nausea and lack of appetite are consistent with kidney failure, and the anti-nausea meds don't work consistently.  Off the steroids, her femoral nerve pain has returned.

The next step is to have a meeting with a provider of hospice services to determine what must be done, and I'll request that tomorrow.  

I went to see Mom again this evening, and she was shivering in her bed.  I helped her into her fleece jacket and that seemed to help, and then I propped her leg up on a pillow.  She was cozy and as comfortable as I could make her, but she had a very difficult day.  I still just want her to be comfortable, pain-free, and well cared for.  We're getting there.