I'm worried
This morning my mom called to tell us that my aunt Frances fell yesterday and broke her hip. My mom had been visiting her in western PA, so she's now at the hospital waiting for surgery results.
This is especially bad because Aunt Frances has Alzheimer's. (I'm not sure if it's been specifically diagnosed as Alzheimer's, but it sure looks like it. It's definitely some sort of senile dementia. I first knew something was wrog when I called over there to talk to my mom, and asked to say hi to Aunt Frances. In the background, as she was being passed the phone, Aunt Frances was being asked, "Who is moria923?" A few days ago, I talked to her son, who said he'll have to move in with her soon because it's getting to the point where she can no longer take care of herself. And now this.)
I can't imagine how this can play out in any positive way. How can someone with dementia learn a physical therapy routine, once she gets to that point? Probably my mom will stay on for a while and help out, and Aunt Frances's son may have to move in with her sooner than he'd planned. But, crap, how can she take an active part in her own recovery when she has such severe memory problems? (Her son told me she's already forgetting to take her medication, which she never used to do.)
My aunt has always been very sweet to me. She and her husband used to run a beauty parlor in their basement, and when I was a little girl and we visited during the summers, she was the one who would cut my hair. She'd invite me to stay over at her house for several nights at a time. The last time I visited, in 2005, she went out of her way to make the molasses cookies I remembered from my childhood. She told me how she'd wanted to be a nurse as a girl, but her father wouldn't allow it -- I forget why. She probably would have been a good nurse: she's sweet and compassionate. (My state of mind is such that I first wrote "She was sweet and compassionate" and had to go back and correct it.)
If you've got any healing thoughts/energy/candles/prayers to spare, I'll be very grateful. Also, madfilkentist is raising money for a walk to end Alzheimer's. thorbol and I are donating a little, and I hope others will, too.
Also, the storm really hasn't hit much around here, but there *has* been an unusual number of sirens going by. In fact, as I started that sentence, I heard the siren sound again. It's worrisome.
And I haven't worshiped today. Both the Paulist Center and FCS, the two churches I customarily attend, are inaccessible, as the T is down. I could have walked to the Catholic church around the corner, but didn't really feel like getting dressed and running out the door. I don't actually believe that God gets angry at things like this, but then I found out about my aunt, and I feel a little guilty.
This is especially bad because Aunt Frances has Alzheimer's. (I'm not sure if it's been specifically diagnosed as Alzheimer's, but it sure looks like it. It's definitely some sort of senile dementia. I first knew something was wrog when I called over there to talk to my mom, and asked to say hi to Aunt Frances. In the background, as she was being passed the phone, Aunt Frances was being asked, "Who is moria923?" A few days ago, I talked to her son, who said he'll have to move in with her soon because it's getting to the point where she can no longer take care of herself. And now this.)
I can't imagine how this can play out in any positive way. How can someone with dementia learn a physical therapy routine, once she gets to that point? Probably my mom will stay on for a while and help out, and Aunt Frances's son may have to move in with her sooner than he'd planned. But, crap, how can she take an active part in her own recovery when she has such severe memory problems? (Her son told me she's already forgetting to take her medication, which she never used to do.)
My aunt has always been very sweet to me. She and her husband used to run a beauty parlor in their basement, and when I was a little girl and we visited during the summers, she was the one who would cut my hair. She'd invite me to stay over at her house for several nights at a time. The last time I visited, in 2005, she went out of her way to make the molasses cookies I remembered from my childhood. She told me how she'd wanted to be a nurse as a girl, but her father wouldn't allow it -- I forget why. She probably would have been a good nurse: she's sweet and compassionate. (My state of mind is such that I first wrote "She was sweet and compassionate" and had to go back and correct it.)
If you've got any healing thoughts/energy/candles/prayers to spare, I'll be very grateful. Also, madfilkentist is raising money for a walk to end Alzheimer's. thorbol and I are donating a little, and I hope others will, too.
Also, the storm really hasn't hit much around here, but there *has* been an unusual number of sirens going by. In fact, as I started that sentence, I heard the siren sound again. It's worrisome.
And I haven't worshiped today. Both the Paulist Center and FCS, the two churches I customarily attend, are inaccessible, as the T is down. I could have walked to the Catholic church around the corner, but didn't really feel like getting dressed and running out the door. I don't actually believe that God gets angry at things like this, but then I found out about my aunt, and I feel a little guilty.