Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bittersweet!

Bittersweet is defined as something that is both "bitter" or painful and "sweet" or pleasant. This visit with my mom has certainly been bittersweet. Wendy came down to Mississippi on February 22nd to work on some business with FEMA and since our family lives here it was a great opportunity for her to get to see mom, Mac(my step-dad), Jason(her son), Chris(my brother), and Kim(my sister). We've been talking for at least a year now (Wendy and I), about how nice it would be if mom was getting properly cared for. Mac, bless his heart has tried to take care of mom, but then again, he likes to think he knows mom better than any doctor or even her children for that matter. Wendy has worked sooo hard to get mom into a nice nursing home while she was down there visiting.

My mom had to stay in the hospital for 3 days and the Dr. ran tests. Here's a picture of my mom with Chris at the hospital:

I landed up flying down to MS on March 10th to help Wendy with all the Medicaid paperwork and power of attorney etc. If nothing else, to give moral support since she wasn't getting any help at all from the rest of the family living down there (except for Jason). Chris doesn't have ANY time left in his day after driving 2 hours to and from work. His wife Deb also works. My little sister Kim is unfortunately a totally dysfunctional family member which I choose not to go into right now (that's a whole different story and this one today is about my mom), so she is no help. So, I spent a week helping Wendy and we managed to get everything done.
After mom stayed at the hospital for 3 days, she was moved to the Nursing Rehab Center into a nice room with another lady who just so happens to have the same first name..June! She's a wonderful woman who has been very kind to my mom. 'They are in the rehab section until my mom's Medicaid gets approved and then she'll move into the nursing home section. Not sure if her room-mate will be staying but I doubt it. The rehab section is just for that purpose but my mom will move into the nursing home section soon.
It was so nice to visit her. We (Wendy & I) would go twice a day to visit and if there was one thing my mom was very aware of is, we live in Ohio and we would be leaving to go back..soon. Bless her heart. She was so happy to see us everyday. The facility is nice and has a whole flock of peacocks living on the grounds. My mom is enthralled by the creatures. Here's a picture of her in the dining room looking out into the courtyard at one:

Trying to make my mom feel comfortable in her new surroundings, we bought her a few things. One thing we found at Cracker Barrel was a butterfly coloring book. My mom was an artist and she would paint gorgeous paintings and I thought if I could find an "adult" coloring book that maybe she could find some peace and joy in coloring. She loved it:
Me showing mom her coloring book.
Let's color mom :)


So, now we are back home and currently dealing with my step-dad Mac and his declining health. Such a shame that there is no one down in MS to help him and we have to do this long distance. I'll chat about him soon.
As I close, here's a couple of pictures of my mom from the last week. A totally different mom from the first picture with Chris in the hospital! We have it set up to where she gets her hair done once a week and even has her nails painted!! Just what my mom needs, a little pampering!!
My mom and me. We got a chuckle out of her!!

My little sister Wendy with my mom. 

Close up of my mom holding Wendy's hand. I don't think my mom has had her nails done in over 15 years..what a treat for her!!

3 comments:

  1. Oh Val such wonderful photos and so glad you had the time with her! Love her hair and she looks so so happy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW Val, tears streaming as I read this. What a truly touching story and I am sure it was very hard for you to write. Thank you for sharing such an intimate experience.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Val, such a heart-wrenching process to be done. I know how hard it is, but she will settle in and be grateful. Hugs and hugs to you and Wendy for your love and compassion toward your mom and Mac. You are 2 in a million!! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

    ReplyDelete