Friday Update

Hi everyone - it's Margaret.

I saw both Mama and Papa today. Mama was not very good. She was on her bed crying and could only say, "Oh please, oh please." I asked her if she would like a drink and she managed to say, "Water." She had trouble using the straw and trouble swallowing; however, she did drink an entire glass of water. I was told that she had only eaten some fruit since she got up this morning; I wasn't successful in getting her to eat anything else. She seemed quite agitated and didn't really respond to me; I don't know if she recognized me as a family member or not. I asked about the bruising on her face and the huge bruise on her arm (these are old bruises and I suspect they happened last weekend), but the aides didn't know. Tish, did you ever get a chance to ask the nurse about the bruises?

I then went to see Papa. He was sleeping in his chair with the oxygen on. I brought him the two pairs of lightweight sweat pants that I got for him, but he was not able to try them on. I hung them on hangers and put them on the door handle of his closet so that he wouldn't forget about them tomorrow. His face looked swollen to me, but his hands and feet looked good. He had trouble speaking coherently. I noticed there was no water in the plastic bottle on his oxygen pump and checked with the nurse about that. I have written some notes in the notebook in Papa's bedside stand regarding the filling of this bottle with distilled water to help keep the oxygen moister so that Papa's nose doesn't get too dried out.

I reviewed the family news about Drake finishing his training, Liti and Bob's move, no birth yet for Amber and John (I spoke very briefly with Amber this morning, she is coping with her ongoing pregnancy so much better than I would), me getting more assistance, etc. He seemed happy to hear these things, but I am not sure how much he actually took in. It was nice having some cheerful stuff to talk about!

Papa is getting to the point where he isn't anxious to go see Mama. I think this is one of the letting go steps. It is quickly getting to be too much for him. He did not go today. I suggested that the staff call over to see how Mama is doing, before sending Papa over to see her. Even though he is only scheduled to visit three times a week now, it is horrible for him to make that physical effort only to have her either so doped she doesn't know he is there or to have her not recognize him.

I will be in Athens with Ken this weekend (back Sunday at noon); the boys will be here with their sitter, Danny. Mikey and Alex each have their first baseball games on Saturday.

That's my Friday update. Hope everyone has a pleasant and productive weekend!

Love from your favorite

Margaret