Friday, April 29, 2011

It feels so good!

Well, I can't believe how good it felt to actually scrapbook a page today! I think the last time I scrapped was a couple of months ago before all the crap with Mom & Mac. Recently there's been so much drama down there, with Mac checking himself out of rehab after just 2 short days and trying to take my mom home, to him wheeling the wrong person down the hall claiming it's my mother and then falling in the yard today. Way too much drama and I was starting to feel sick to my stomach on a daily basis.
So, to scrap today without any feelings of stress or interruptions was actually wonderful! Here's a simple lo I did of Paul holding a hornets nest we had found in the oak tree out front. A branch was hanging over the roof and that's where they made their nest. We waited until Fall when all the hornets left and abandoned it and then Paul took it down so we could get a closer look. He took it to work and gave it to his sister Sue who gave it to her grandson to take to school for show and tell!
I hope to scrap some more today and maybe get some done over the weekend. Fighting a cold though and I do want to play with the new camper we got. Picked it up on Good Friday but the weather has been soooo awful that I haven't been able to take any pictures. I think the weather is going to cooperate this weekend!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

We had a visitor...

I was in the kitchen when Paul, trying to not be too loud, yelled to me in the kitchen to come right away into the sun-room and bring my camera. Just out one of the left windows was this gorgeous hawk
there's something in the talons

a mouse perhaps


He flew over to the top of the swing-set and that's where I got these shots. If I didn't have the damn strap tangled over the viewfinder, they might not have been so blurry.

Mac finally woke up last Tuesday. He's slowly coming around. They took the breathing tube out and now they're working on getting his throat clear and helping him swallow. He's had a feeding tube in for a few days now and they took that out yesterday. He's been sitting up in a chair and yesterday for the 1st time he walked with help.
Wendy left AL on Thursday and went to MS so she could visit mom for a couple of days before heading home. Our hope was that Mac was going to get out of ICU before this weekend and then we could meet in KY (Wendy on her way up here and me on my way to AL) and spend the night in a hotel before both heading out again the next day. As un-luck would have it, Mac is still in ICU so I'm just waiting to hear he's being moved into a room before going to help him. Selfish for me to say but I'm saying it anyway, now is not the perfect time for me to go. Nicole and Corey are coming to visit for about 4 days on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday I have the Assisted Living Appreciation Dinner and then on Saturday we're picking up our camper (and getting training on how to use it). Oh well. I just put on my big girl panties and suck it up. We do what we have to do for family and if I'm needed, I'll do what I can.

Friday, April 8, 2011

You can't go back in time

I found this great photo of Mom and Mac when I was going through photos that got damaged in the basement flood.
I think it was taken about 20 years ago. Definitely happier times..or just maybe younger. Mac is still in ICU and I don't see him getting into a regular room for a while. Since he had the breathing tube in for so long, he know has trouble swallowing. They were going to work on that today and run some tests but he was too tired. So, they'll do the tests on Monday.

Mom is so different from what I remember just a short time ago. Since she got to the nursing home, she's been in a wheelchair and actually strapped in, which pisses us (the kids) off. In the beginning, they said she'll go through physical therapy and then when she's strong enough, they'll have her use a walker, which was all bullshit. She was using a cane at home. So, she keeps trying to get up and can't. She doesn't understand why they won't let her walk around and I can imagine how frustrated she is to go from walking with a cane to confined to a wheelchair.
Then there's the hearing aid issue. Mom's hearing aid is broken, therefore she can't hear. Wendy found some amplifying headphones online and we thought that might work. When I talked to Administrator, Lisa Robinson the other day, she told me many of the residents had those and she thought it would be a good idea for mom. She also thought they might have a pair there we could purchase. Of course I never did hear back from her so I called and was put in touch with the social worker, Miss Simmons. She told me she would check into it but that she knew they could be purchased at Radio Shak. Wendy is in MS and today she looked at Radio Shak and saw none. She talked to Miss Simmons and was told that they tried to get mom to use them and she refused. 
Recently mom got moved into a much smaller room in the older section of the building. Every time I called to talk to her, they said someone would have to go down and bring her closer to the desk because the cordless didn't get good reception that far away. Kim tells me the other day she was in mom's room waiting for her while she was in PT, and a nurse came in to clean up and was talking on the cordless the whole time. So, today Wendy mentioned it to the social worker and was told that whenever they give mom the phone she doesn't know what to do with it and it lands up in her lap. Okay..really? No one has 5 minutes to stand there and help her talk to her daughter who is 1,000 miles away so they come with another bullshit story about the reception not being good?
This room is suppose to be temporary and I hope that Lisa Robinson isn't lying about that.
Mom only has a couple of personal items left in her room. They confiscated everything.  Last week she tried putting Fixadent in her eyes and was lighting crayons with a lighter and then trying to apply it to her face. I tell you..my heart is broken. This is not my mom. I do see what she's trying to do though. Since day 1 at that place (yes, it's now called "that place") they have neglected to put Fixadent in her dentures and she can't talk or eat without it. So, I know that's what she was trying to do but at the same time she wanted to look nice and put on some makeup...therefore she became confused.

Monday, April 4, 2011

In spite of the weather...

I went outside and got a couple of shots of Spring...

 
dodging raindrops and trying to protect Nickie-D the whole time from getting wet. The crocuses are out front and the dew drops (I think that's what they are) are in the back. We have storms coming through and it's rained all day.  I can't wait for a couple more weeks and the yard will be in full bloom. Hopefully Paul can keep the deer away from the tulips..they love them! I think he's ready with his arsenal though LOL!

Mac still hasn't woke up. They did a CAT scan this morning and it came back normal. Then they did an EEG to check brain activity and although they said it's slow, that's normal for someone in a deep sleep. The doctor said because Mac waited so long to have the surgery and he was soooo sick when he finally did have it, that and the fact that he's 76, might be the reasons he's taking so long to wake up.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

A nice diversion

I scrapped a page over the weekend. It was a nice diversion from mom & Mac and I loved sitting in my scrapbook room with the CMT top 20 on.

A day of sledding. Top photos; Paul & Logan, Emmy. Bottom photos; Eric, Jess & Emmy, Paul & Logan

Journaling reads: I woke up one morning to find it had snowed the night before-a perfect snowfall for sledding. What a great time we had at Huntington in Bay Village. Top photo is Logan. Bottom photos; me & Jenn, Logan.


It's seems like it's been so long since I've done anything in here. Well, it has been since the basement flooded. I think I might spend some time sorting photos into my category drawers this afternoon.

Mac still hasn't woke up and still has the breathing tube in. They (the nurses) did say he's a little more responsive this morning; moving his fingers, toes and trying to open his eyes. They put him in a private room, still in ICU but he now has a window and a TV. Wendy says the visiting hours have changed and she'll get to come in and spend a couple of hours with him instead of the 10 or 20 minutes previously.

Chris and Deb went to visit my mom today. Oh how I wish my mom lived up here so I could visit her everyday. At least they took her outside for some fresh air and she looks pretty good. This is a picture Chris took of my mom with Deborah.

My mom with Deborah


 God I miss her.

Friday, April 1, 2011

TGIF (for lack of a better title)

Mac came out of the surgery fine. As luck would have it, the Dr. was able to perform the heart surgery laproscopically so he didn't have to open Mac's chest. This is really good news since his healing time will be so much shorter and the risk of infection lessened. Plus, the reason Mac put it off for so long was he didn't want his chest opened. He's still groggy and has the breathing tube in but hopefully this morning that will taken out and he'll be awake more and get to talk to Wendy.

Last Sunday we celebrated Logan's 5th birthday-Spiderman style! What joy this little guy brings to my life.

Oh boy!!