Hello Everyone!!! Sorry it has been almost a month... Holy Cow! This month has been busy here... We sold our house in only 2 weeks!!! So we are packing like CrAzY and moving in with my parents until school is out for the kiddos & then maybe up to Wisconsin with Gayle until the end of the summer... and then hopefully we will find a home of our own! :) Brad started his new job today!! He is so HAPPY to be back on Wisconsin Soil... I don't remember him being this happy since maybe high school... he is almost giddy!!!??!!!
So... the reason we are here... CATHY... MOM:
Communication - Cathy is basically Mute. She does sometimes say a few things but it is a struggle for her to get things out. And when she does it is very mumbly & soft. 99% of the time she answers with a shake of her head yes. So it is even hard to ask her questions and get the correct answers. She still Smiles & Frowns which is the best way to judge how she is feeling.
Choking - Cathy has been choking more again. Ice Cream, eggs, toast, bread...etc... The nursing staff has her eating at the feeding table with them now.
Sleep - Her sleep is still not the best. They have changed some of her meds around to hopefully help with this.
Eloping - (sneaking out??!!) She is still trying this on & off. The staff works so well with her... they are patient & caring yet firm and are usually able to get her back in without a fight.
(It is hard for me to comment on her daily life... I am mostly going off of what I hear from those who are there. So not all of the facts are completely accurate. Thanks to everyone who keeps us posted & stays in touch!)
I talked briefly with Cathy's Dr. in LaCrosse about allowing her to drink alcohol... we just wanted to confirm it was ok with her current meds. His nurse is SO WONDERFUL & called me back quickly and said it was ok, with moderation of course. But Truly, we just want what keeps her happy at this point.
We have had some good updates from friends that I will list below. Brad & I saw her for the first time in a few weeks & it was HARD. Big changes again, as expected, but it doesn't make it easier. I think it gets harder & harder to see her that way... but every once in a while she will shine through & warm our hearts. Brad & I swung through Wisconsin for 2 days the end of the week to look at houses. We went over to see her Thursday morning (on her official BDAY!) and took along her sister, who is in town from Georgia for a week visiting Cathy). It was Nina's first visit since September & Cathy cried when the 3 of us walked in. Hugs. Tears. We didn't stay long because we were heading across the state, we left Nina to visit & headed out. Sometimes short visits seem to be just enough though... she pointed at us and towards the door. Guess it was time for us to go??
The next morning I went over for a while to say a quick hello before leaving... & ended up hanging out for 2 hours! She changed her shirt, switched over her bird pin (a pin she won in Bingo), put on her favorite blue jacket, pulled up the hood, tied the string tight around her face (looked like she was heading for a rain storm), & pointed at the van keys. So... we went out. It was the first time I had taken her out since she lived in the home. She has been out with Gayle, Jean, Barb, & Ryan. And it has been going surprisingly well. So... off we went. It is VERY hard to communicate with her now. So I couldn't ask her where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do. Instead I just guessed & she would point at what direction I should turn. We went to Wal-Mart & bought a few things and then over to McDonalds for Ice Cream. And then back to the home, her home. I was used to having her out in public so I was prepared for how fast she takes off, how she chokes on food, & how she grabs things quickly when shopping... but it was harder now since she is basically mute. And I noticed you get alot of stares from people... sometimes I wondered what they were thinking & wanted to say, "If you only knew..." But what I was happy about is that most people were kind & genuinely friendly. Small Towns are such a great place to be, I know that alot of the people know her or know about her situation & that helps!
Notes from Friends:
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3/26/08
Just got home from visiting Cathy,
and I took her to the church services that in one of the dining
rooms, she seemed to enjoy, but anyway the Pastor was talking about sharing your smiles and
whatever with a special friend,
guess what Cathy did later when we were sitting and having coffee?
I don't know if you have noticed those two stove pipe orange and
green bracelets she wears all the
time? well she took one off and put it on my wrist and patted my
hand, yes, tears came to my eyes,
so I said,Cathy are we blood sisters??? she shook her head and smiled,.... sure made my day..
It doesn't get any better than this...
Love Jean
(The bracelets were made by Chase & Mia when we visited... I was so happy to know that she was still wearing them!)
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4/1/08
Hello Everybody:
Just an update on Cathy...She is
enjoying her days out of her unit..
especially on Mondays when we go to bingo... she's been quite lucky and she wins 2 or 3 times
each time we go.. today the home had a birthday party for all
the residents April birthdays,,, Cathy, Ryan, Gretchen, Laney,
Bryson, Barb S. and I went there to help celebrate, guess what? They draw one name for the door
prize and it was Cathys!!!!
We had cake and ice cream and some good old sing alongs... it was fun.... Before that , the nurses said they were having a hard time
getting her to shower, but I was able to convince her to shower before her party... She wanted me
to stay very close while she was in the shower, and I did.... we washed hair and she said good, I think she was trying to say that it
felt good, so I told the nurses I would try and help them with this
as often as they need.. any way it
was a good day for all. Love
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4/15/08
Hi everyone, what a great day, sunshine and warmer weather. Just got back from spending time with your mom. We went for a nice walk outside and we stopped at Human Services where I work and she met my co- workers. She enjoyed that and of course they knew so much about her from me. Then when we got back home it was Happy hour in dinning area. Gayle called me last night with the O.K. for her to have a drink or two, so when they came around with the cart, they had beer, wine, whisky, brandy, vodka and others. They named everything off to Cathy and she pointed to rootbeer, guess we don't have to worry about us gals getting to crazy at happy hours. Then they hooked up the new WII game with bowling and she laughed watching others, but was ready to go back to her room before she got a turn. Next time we can bowl against each other, all though the way she wins Bingo she'll probably beat me at bowling. Take care and love to all. Love,Barb
Once Again... HUGE THANK YOU to Barb, Jean, & all her friends for spending time with her!!! They are all so Amazing!!!
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