Dinner, A Fall, Test Results, Sleeping

Tony and I did make it to dinner with our dear friends Kellie & Doug. Kellie has been through Cancer treatments, surgeries, scans for 5 yrs. She continues to be a medical miracle. God has been amazing us with her progress. Dinner was fine, fellowship was FABULOUS! Kellie stood up with me when I accepted Christ as savior. She was there when Tony and I welcomed Sarah Beth into the world. Kellie is truly my sister in the Lord!

The doctor's office called with results. Mom has a UTI, it is being cultured so we'll know what is happening in the next few days. She is on an antibiotic today. Her Thyroid went from 15 to 10 to .04. So now she is below normal and a month ago she was way above normal. They are waiting on another test result, T 3 Free, for those who know....that takes a few days before we address her thyroid.

Mom's nurse Sharon (a real sweetie) came this morning. She has ordered a new med for mom's skin tears. Mom fell or "crumpled" as dad said while we were out last night. No new skin tears but a few more bruises. No pain today so all is well. We are doing the two man potty brigade now so no more full night sleeps...but that was expected at some point along this journey.

I'm reading the book by Erin Lutzer One Minute after you Die. I'll keep you posted. One of our elders just read it the week before our Senior Pastor entered into glory. He said it was timely and encouraging. I hope it will be for me as well.

Off to pop a pizza into the oven....my husband is so thoughtful to suggest pizza tonight and to go get it at -10 degrees...it is VERY cold today. Mom's room is a steamy 70 degrees...

Mom is sleeping on her side this evening, it has been a sleepy day for her. I hope the antibiotic does it's job and her foggy mind clears up in the next day or so. Lord willing.

Poppa's Buddy

Willoughby Sebastian Morrison III

Our English Springer Spaniel

Willy follows Poppa everywhere. He has found a buddy to throw his ball and keep him company while the kids are working on school. Early on Grandma would toss pieces of her toast to Willy during breakfast, she's being a grandma, spoiling even the dog!

Confusion today...

Today mom is still confused. The Home Health Nurse sent a request for labs to the doc , but when we called the doctor's office they hadn't received the request. Soooo more phone time. Tony is off today so he headed to the lab to get the right tubes to draw mom's blood. If he wasn't off it would probably be another day or two before we get the answers to why she is confused. It is often ammonia levels which are building up in her blood/brain and affect her ability to think clearly. I'm also concerned about her potassium. When she was in the hospital last they took her off the potassium completely because it was slightly high. Within a week it was normal, I'm guessing that possibly her potassium is now too low..or not. Tony will be home in about 30 minutes with the tubes, we'll draw her and get it back to the lab. Since it is a STAT Tony will stay and work it up himself and then call the doctor with the results. So I'm hoping to know by 2 or 3PM what is causing the confusion and be able to adjust mom's meds and see some improvement.

We are still considering paracentesis to lessen the pressure building up in mom's bod. She isn't having any shortness of breath or pain and when we have discussed it she isn't wanting one. She knows there are some risks and once you start having taps then you usually have to have them more often, increasing risk of infection.

Mom said she didn't feel well Monday or Tuesday and then today she said something is wrong. So I know she knows...which is good in some ways. She has enough going on up there in her brain to know things are out of whack.

She ate a good breakfast; poached egg, 1/2 of her sourdough toast, and only a few sips of her boost.

After her breakfast I turned her on her side, massaged some lotion into her legs and feet, massaged her hip which was bothering her, and changed two skin tear bandages and a tailbone bandage.

This afternoon I'll shampoo her hair and give her a bed bath. Never a dull moment. Now on to Sam's math! Decimals today.

Today's word was about Honoring Parents, Exodus and Ephesians. The first commandment with a promise. That you will live long on the earth and it will go well with you! Praise God!

Yesterday was about the Blessing Parents bestow upon their children and what happens in people's lives when their parents don't give them their blessing. How they spend their lives searching for significance to fill that void. It was so precious when later in the day mom said "I'm so proud of my family." She has only spoken in broken sentences and mostly answering our questions, smiling, or such...so when she shared that with me, I was quite moved.

Dad was outside burning early today. Since mom was only up once last night he had a good long sleep. He's reading a western in the recliner while Sarah is practicing her piano...which isn't always soothing, working through a new piece can leave my teeth on edge. I'll have to see how he is handling it.

Tony and I were invited to dinner with good friends in Anchorage. We are waiting until the last minute to finalize our plans after we see the lab results.

Happy Birthday Grandma Vi

In 1908, 100 yrs ago, my Grandmother Violet Elaine Samuelson, Brown, McDonald was born. Visits to Grandma's house were always an adventure. The smell of toast, oatmeal, coffee, half & half were present in the morning. Grandma used to let me feed the leftovers to the barn cats. I loved her barn kitties. The guest bedroom had squeaky floors, wonderful breezes through the lace curtains, the softest bed in the world. The linens were hand embroidered, a hand mirror and dainty bottles lined the dresser. The His and Her's pillow cases were one of my favorites. One whole end of that room was floor to ceiling drawers and cabinets. Treasures to be found by curious 8yr olds. If we were visiting on a regular day, I would find Grandma with a parring knife in her hand working a bad spot out of a peach or she'd be cooking something up. You didn't just sit and visit at Grandma's, you worked and visited at Grandma's. I have pages of fond memories in my mind! The dishwasher with a hose connecting it to the sink, and rolled around the kitchen was a strange appliance to me. The mantel clock that had the most comforting gong. The claw print on the dining room wall from the owl that was stuck in the chimney and came bursting into the room to escape a newly made fire. What excitement that was. Grandma's handy kitchen towel to the rescue and out the door went Mr. Owl. I have a rock from the pasture sitting on my window ledge. I remember sitting on the back of a truck while the men hauled in straw or hay. Thanksgiving at Grandma's was always delicious! A houseful of Aunts, Uncles and cousins to play with. The apricot tree, orchard and garden. The basement was always cool and the scary laundry/pantry tested my childhood fears on more than one occassion. Grandma had shelves of jars full of delectible delights. And if you needed information, Grandma Vi was go to gal. One call to Grandma and she would catch you up on everyone. We lost a major keeper of our history when she passed away. I hope to see her again in Heaven and catch up! Happy Birthday Grandma Vi, We miss you!

Welcome To Joy's World!!

Joy isn't feeling well today. Wish I could manufacture a better day for her, especially with this being her first blog day, but we work with what we are given. Mom is tired, sleeping a lot today. I get most frustrated when she won't eat. I guess my love language is feeding people! So I fuss over her 4 bites and try not to exhaust her with "I wish you would eat more" requests.

I'm hoping to figure out how to post photos so you can see what's happening around mom and with mom.

Thank-you for your continued prayers.