Thursday, May 14, 2015
Took Mom outside today. According to the sign-in sheet, I'd just missed Sis and Big Bro' by a bout ten minutes which was probably fortunate. In nearly five years of visiting, they've never thought of taking her outside and I have to overcome strong reservations about it being either too hot or too cold to do so. One of the things I found out early on is that, despite her disabilities, Mom is still capable of saying, whether she is too hot or too cold.
So, as soon as I discovered that she was out of bed and dressed fairly securely, I disengaged the brakes on her barcolounger and started easing her toward the elevator. Amazingly, she put up no resistance and for that I should probably thank Sis and Bro since they probably left without telling Mom "Goodbye" and she probably thought this was all part of the same visit (which, in a way - it was.)
I took it slow, so as not to give her any cause to complain about bumps or going too fast. We reached the sliding doors with barely the slightest encounter with another wheelchair (and the automatic button had been repaired since the last time, a month ago).
I continued to press my luck by rolling Mom as far from the entrance as possible and toward the farthest end of the patio. The sun was busily burning through some light cloudiness and the leaves of the courtyard trees were still bare enough to emit a strong beam or two, depending on where I positioned the barcolounger. Mom didn't seem to mind having having it shine directly on her face, so I stopped while i was still ahead.
I'm sure she must have realized she was outdoors. The sun was warm to the touch. And, the birds were particularly noisy this afternoon. It would not have surprised me at all that she assumed she was somewhere Down South.
I owed Kelvin a phone call, so i dialed him up on my cell phone. Mom seemed like she might be talkative, even repeating the words, "Delilah's son?" after I told her who it was, but, she couldn't grasp what I was trying to do when I put the phone to her ear. She was was just cautious and silent.
Later on, she did respond with an "Oh." when I told her Kelvin had said, "Hi."
About a half hour into the visit, I noticed her taking a big yawn which told me that she was beginning to relax. She actually fell asleep a couple of times and that meant reminding her who I was each time she awoke. But, she was growing more and more alert each time and that meant the usual round of scratching and the rubbing of her stump. At least twice she let out a yell as though she were in pain.
As she grew more agitated, I started looking at my watch. We'd arrived at the courtyard around 3:00 and we would soon have been there for an hour. I started asking her whether she was ready to go back.
Mom: I do't know what I'm supposed to do next.
I hate it when she says that. She seems so defeated when she does.
Me: You're supposed to have supper soon.
Mom: You're supposed to have supper?
Me: No, you're supposed to have supper.
Mom: You're supposed to have supper?
Me: No. You. You.
Mom: I'm supposed to have supper?
Me: Yes, Ma'am.
As the hour struck four, I began wheeling Mom slowly back toward the sliding doors. She responded instantly.
Mom: Where's Lou?
Me: Aunt Lou is Down South.
Mom: And Nannie?
Me: She's Down South, too.
Mom: And, where am I?
Me: You're in New York.
[PAUSE]
Mom: Does Lou know I'm here?
Me: Yes, Ma'am. I'm pretty sure she does.
[PAUSE]
Mom: Tell everybody I said, "Hi."
So, as soon as I discovered that she was out of bed and dressed fairly securely, I disengaged the brakes on her barcolounger and started easing her toward the elevator. Amazingly, she put up no resistance and for that I should probably thank Sis and Bro since they probably left without telling Mom "Goodbye" and she probably thought this was all part of the same visit (which, in a way - it was.)
I took it slow, so as not to give her any cause to complain about bumps or going too fast. We reached the sliding doors with barely the slightest encounter with another wheelchair (and the automatic button had been repaired since the last time, a month ago).
I continued to press my luck by rolling Mom as far from the entrance as possible and toward the farthest end of the patio. The sun was busily burning through some light cloudiness and the leaves of the courtyard trees were still bare enough to emit a strong beam or two, depending on where I positioned the barcolounger. Mom didn't seem to mind having having it shine directly on her face, so I stopped while i was still ahead.
I'm sure she must have realized she was outdoors. The sun was warm to the touch. And, the birds were particularly noisy this afternoon. It would not have surprised me at all that she assumed she was somewhere Down South.
I owed Kelvin a phone call, so i dialed him up on my cell phone. Mom seemed like she might be talkative, even repeating the words, "Delilah's son?" after I told her who it was, but, she couldn't grasp what I was trying to do when I put the phone to her ear. She was was just cautious and silent.
Later on, she did respond with an "Oh." when I told her Kelvin had said, "Hi."
About a half hour into the visit, I noticed her taking a big yawn which told me that she was beginning to relax. She actually fell asleep a couple of times and that meant reminding her who I was each time she awoke. But, she was growing more and more alert each time and that meant the usual round of scratching and the rubbing of her stump. At least twice she let out a yell as though she were in pain.
As she grew more agitated, I started looking at my watch. We'd arrived at the courtyard around 3:00 and we would soon have been there for an hour. I started asking her whether she was ready to go back.
Mom: I do't know what I'm supposed to do next.
I hate it when she says that. She seems so defeated when she does.
Me: You're supposed to have supper soon.
Mom: You're supposed to have supper?
Me: No, you're supposed to have supper.
Mom: You're supposed to have supper?
Me: No. You. You.
Mom: I'm supposed to have supper?
Me: Yes, Ma'am.
As the hour struck four, I began wheeling Mom slowly back toward the sliding doors. She responded instantly.
Mom: Where's Lou?
Me: Aunt Lou is Down South.
Mom: And Nannie?
Me: She's Down South, too.
Mom: And, where am I?
Me: You're in New York.
[PAUSE]
Mom: Does Lou know I'm here?
Me: Yes, Ma'am. I'm pretty sure she does.
[PAUSE]
Mom: Tell everybody I said, "Hi."