FAMILY

 My 87-year-old mother has been dealing with chronic COPD for years and it’s getting worse.  She ends up in the hospital with, what the medical folks call, COPD Exacerbation.  It means she can’t breathe due to getting a bad cold, bronchitis, or even COVID (which she has had two times).  Each time this happens, her brain is not getting enough oxygen and she gets very confused.  This is happening more often.  And her mental capacity is getting worse.  And not a single doctor (she has several) has mentioned her dementia.  But it’s obvious if you spend time with her.  

So - my sister took her to the ER and they admitted her to the hospital Sunday before the July 4th holidays.  My sister and I took shifts with her every day she was in the hospital.  We were allowed to visit from 8 am to 8 pm and we tried to split days.  But then my sister had to work each day and then damaged her back and I was trying to cover more so she could get some rest.  I took Mom back to her home July 3rd.   She has to have someone with her 24/7 for the first week (at least) in order to keep her out of a rehab facility. 

So - I was sitting with her Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and my sister will sit with her today and Friday.  On the weekend the 2 adults living with her (her grandson and his partner) can cover.  It is not easy.  It is stressful and sad and just plain hard.  It is checking her oxygen levels, making sure she eats (she was down to 88 pounds because she wouldn’t eat), takes the right meds, uses her cane when moving through the house, etc.  

So this is life right now = either being with her during the days until her grandson gets home from work or talking to doctors and nurses, planning her medicines (she cannot keep her meds straight and since most of the pills she takes are little white pills I can see why she gets confused).  She now has a nurse come in but it’s just 1 time a week.  She may need to have physical therapy to get steady again.  But no one addresses the dementia and how it’s hard to talk to her about her bills, her bank, what she is paying and why it seems she is paying a lot more each month than she should be paying.  

This is hard. 

I’ll try to look at your artwork, friends, as I get time, but may not comment for a while.