A Visit from Our Hospice Nurses....

On Friday March 12, we got a call from our Hospice. They had a meeting with the doctors about mom. Based on what they were told by the nurses who visit 3 days a week, they think that it is time to quit all the invasive medications and blood tests that we have been having mom go through. She has been so agitated and sad lately and the nurses picked up on in in the last couple of weeks. It was hard to make a decision like that. After talking to them for a long time, we decided that they are right. Basically, mom is not going to get better. Her mind is really struggling and our goal needs to be to just make her peaceful and happy. That is hard to do when you are shoving pills down her three times a day, taking her blood sugar twice a day, giving her insulin at least once a day, and inviting nurses in to draw blood at least once a week. So as of Saturday, we have cut her pills down to just a few important ones and we no longer check her blood sugar or do insulin. I have to say, she seems much calmer!

• Today we had a hoist delivered to help lift mom. It is so nice to be able to get mom where she needs to be without having to scare her. As part of the progression of her disease, she quit walking about 2 weeks ago and this past week, she became scared to stand. Her mind just cannot relay a message to her legs. You can imagine how scary that would be! I was showing Ann and Joni how the hoist works and Joni said," Gail you are so excited...you are like a kid in a candy store!!" She is right! It has been so scary to try to get mom around and have her legs just go limp on me! I was so afraid of hurting her. Thanks to the hoist, we can fearlessly go from the bed to the wheelchair to the potty! Oh Happy Day!!!!
  
• We had lots of visitors this weekend! Kira, Rusty, Aunt Shirley, Alma and Dawn came on Saturday. It was a beautiful day so most of us stayed outside and we let a few visitors go back to see mom at a time. She does better visiting with only a couple of people at a time. We got her up later in the afternoon and these are pictures of that visit.
  
• Shirley came on Sunday and helped Larry while Barry and I went to church. We go to the Wake Forest Ward and really enjoy that time. I loved being there although I miss our ward! It is hard to be a temporary visitor and not be able to get to know some of the people you meet...but they are some sweet people! We do know a few people in the ward that we knew when we lived here before and it is so fun to get reacquainted with them! I love the sunday school teacher!! She reminds me of Whoppi Goldberg! She kept us all laughing so hard and still taught an excellent lesson!