Sunday, March 23, 2008

I picked Mom up today to bring her to the house for Easter dinner. She was all dressed in her new black Easter hat, boiled wool raspberry jacket, black turtleneck and black pants...and her black Italian shoes. She looked fantastic.

Mom was feeling a little weak when I picked her up. We drove by her mother's grave at the cemetery to see the Easter lily I had placed there earlier this morning. She cried and said "'Poor Mom" but did not explain the meaning of her words. When we got to the house I brought her in through the basement so she could see all the progress Mark has made on the downstairs renovation.

Pamela helped me get Mom up the stairs and get her seated at the table We served dinner right away as she was hungry. Easter lunch was...chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, homemade macaroni and cheese...and some delicious cheesecake. She began to have trouble swallowing her food immediately. She then proceeded to vomit 4 or 5 times ..each time we came running with a plastic bag. I cleaned her up and finally got her to the bathroom. It was hard to move her as she kept getting sick. I got her all washed up after she got sick in the bathroom and took her back to the table. She said that she was tired so I suggested she sit down in the big club chair and put her feet up for awhile and take a little nap. Pamela brought her a blanket and she drifted off for a little while.

When she woke up I told her that I was concerned and if this kept happening I would need to take her to the hospital. She would not hear of that and insisted on returning to the table for her cheesecake...which she again threw up. At this point, I got her cleaned up again and got her to drink a little water. I was thinking that her weakness was really related to dehydration. We brought out her Easter baskets and she enjoyed looking at all the treats we had selected for her.

We packed up some leftovers for her to take home along with her Easter treats and helped her into the car. She was ashamed and embarrassed by what had happened during dinner. I told her not to worry about it...but to think about taking smaller bites, drinking more water while she ate and just taking it all a little slower. When I got her home I put all the leftovers away. I put her Easter card and candies out for her to see. I hugged her and kissed her goodbye and told her I would call her by 6pm. When I called she was fully recovered. She said she had managed to have one of the hot cross buns I had bought for her along with a cup of coffee.

I am pretty exhausted from all of this. I wish she would have the procedure to stretch her esophagus...but she refuses. Mom's health seems to be more of an issue every day.

Saturday, March 16, 2008

Pamela and I went out and had Sunday lunch with Mom today. She did a pretty good job of getting the majority of the meal together. We finished up with a couple of things and then we served the meal. Mom had trouble eating the beef roast again...and had to leave the table a couple of times. I think her esophagus is still giving her trouble but she will not even consider having the procedure that was recommended a couple of months ago.

While I washed the dishes, Mom and Pamela looked at a gardening magazine and talked about the plans that we have for the backyard. We left after that because Mom appeared to be pretty fatigued and wanted to take a nap.

Her edema comes and goes and her breathing seems more labored after she does any physical activity. I need to get her to the doctor early in April for a cholesterol test and to have her checkup. She also needs to have her medicines renewed. Hopefully, she will go along with this willingly and not get upset again with the doctor.