19 Feb 08 This was my first visit and it went pretty well. On Saturday I did not get to Black River until around 1400 but went straight to the NH to see Mom. After a quick call to Brad for directions I navigated the halls to her unit. She was sanding in the hall waving like Forest Gump to Lt Dan. I don’t say that to be disrespectful but to illustrate the amount of excitement! She had a big grin and was giggling up a storm. I was greeted with a hug and a kiss. She eagerly accepted the customary offering of a Three Musketeers bar and a Diet Coke and proceeded to stick the whole candy bar in her mouth! (Note to self: buy the miniature candy bars.) With the freshly inhaled candy bar still in her mouth she attempted a drink of the Diet Coke. The result was a frothy mixture of chocolate and bubbles sprayed all over the wall and window followed by both of us laughing and cleaning up the shrapnel. We had not quite finished cleaning up the chocolate and she was popping half of the pack of Strawberry/lime trident gum that I had intended to surprise her with into her mouth. The gum made her quite content so I confiscated the remainder and gave it to Melanie (a wonderful nurse) for rationing. We then watched the first 15 min of “Ever After” about 10 times in a row while I told her about the kids and how things were going. She didn’t show much interest in what I was saying and was in and out of the room but it was nice to be able to talk to her. Her speech has deteriorated rapidly over the last year but in the time I was there she did manage to say some names while looking at pictures as well as the “on fire” phrase but every word was a struggle. I think the fact that I see mom less than the other members of the family makes the progression more apparent. After about an hour she handed me my jacket and keys. I asked if it was time for me to go and she said yes (with a giggle). She then thrust the bear that we had made at Build-a-Bear into my arms. The voice was already fading after a couple of months from pushing the button so often. She seems to love the bear so I left with the determination to get the bear fixed by the next day but left her with a stuffed animal that Brooklynn had plucked from her collection to give to grandma. It plays the song “Wild Thing” and seemed to be a suitable addition to the rapidly expanding family of stuffed animals living with her. Every time she pressed the critter she would start dancing and even showed it off to the staff and other residents. With the help of dad and a very nice lady at the Build-a-Bear store we were able to do a voice box transplant and basic suture job to make the bear almost as good as new. I gave it to her the following day as planned.
The rest of the visits were pretty much the same. She is always changing her room around, packing and unpacking, and hanging pictures and then taking them down again. She is regularly staring down the hallway looking for visitors and waving at anyone who moves. There is usually a smile on her face and she seems content. I think it is reasonable to conclude that having her own room is very positive. It is a convenience but may have been the one thing that has allowed her to adjust so rapidly. It plays to the social deterioration of the disease and allows some degree of separation when she wishes to have privacy yet keeps a social environment at arms reach. Dad also went with me to visit once and it went very well. She was very warm and full of hugs; not angry like she has been over the last couple of months.
Over all it was a positive trip. Hopefully I will able to return for another visit soon. There is no doubt she enjoys visitors and I hope as many people come to visit as possible in the short time she has left. While I understand that not everyone can make it to see her, I would like to thank all who have taken the time to visit. It means a lot to me and judging by the smile on mom’s face it still means something to her.
God Bless
Toby
No comments:
Post a Comment