Saturday, September 24, 2011

Quiet Time

This morning, I am here with the dogs and the cats,all of whom are sound asleep.

Moxie taking a snooze curled up with Little O
It rained all night,and just stopped around 8:30. I dropped Rick and Zach off up in Tamworth last evening at the Webelo Fall Overnight.Our Boy Scout Troop helps run the various stations for the Webelos each year. Brother B has gone somewhere with Brother Dale,so I have the whole house to myself,which is a rarity. Well, me and three cats and two dogs!

I slept in this AM,til 8:15. I am enjoying the silence and my cup of coffee. This past week has been busier than usual. Last Thursday,my Mom, who is 85,needed to get something out of her cabinet. She didn't want to go to the closet to get the step stool,so she grabbed one of the kitchen chairs to stand on.

You might be able to see where this is going.

She had stocking feet,and the chair had no cushion. She got on the chair,opened the cabinet,went to grab whatever she was after,and...slipped,falling onto the floor,in which she landed on her shoulder. After laying on the floor in pain for half an hour because she couldn't get up,she finally made it to the phone where she called my sister and the ambulance.

My sister called from the emergency room. We were at Zach's open house at school,so by the time we got home and received the message,my Mom had been released. She broke her shoulder in four places,and the arm bone was snapped out of her shoulder.

Friday I went down and spent the day and night with her. The pain meds made her sick (even though they gave her some anti nausea pills),but I also think it was the shock to her system. Her neck was sore,and her back. She broke her right shoulder,which really annoyed her,because she is right handed. My Mom is a very independent woman (my Dad passed from complications due to Alzheimer's in 1990) and she doesn't like asking for help.I went back home on Saturday afternoon. She was feeling much better by then,and started being able to wash dishes,etc,with her left hand.The nausea had finally gone away,so she was able to at least be somewhat back to normal,as best as she could.

Monday night we went to park cars at the Rochester Fair as a fundraiser for the Troop. Tuesday  after I went grocery shopping I went back to Mom's and brought her to the orthopedic surgeon. He felt that the best course of action was a reverse shoulder replacement.This way,the arm would not have to rely on the rotator cuff if it didn't heal properly.Plus,given my Mom's age and bone density,(or lack thereof)it would be the best bet.

Wednesday night we parked cars,and Thursday I brought Rick to the VA in Manchester to see his TBI Dr. Rick wanted to be put on Ritalin three times a day like before,instead of once a day time release. For some reason,the once a day did nothing for his motivation. Three times a day had him motivated,he kept lists,he knew what had to be done and did it. The Dr was surprised that the once a day dose didn't work out,so he put Rick back on three times a day. Thursday night we parked cars again.

Yesterday,Mom had blood work and an EKG as a pre-op procedure. We sat with the anesthesiologist,and the nurse who was in charge of going over pre -op paperwork,etc. The folks were very nice,which I think gave Mom some comfort. She needs to be at the hospital on Monday for 8:50 AM for prep,then the surgery will commence. After our appt,we went to the store so she could pick up a few groceries,then she bought us some take out lunch which we ate at her house.There was a knock on the door,and a gentleman we had never seen before was there. Come to find out,he works with my brother Valmore in Wisconsin. His wife came up to the door as well. They were on their way to Unity,ME for an antique snowmobile show.In his spare time,he buys old snowmobile parts and sells them,as well as redoing old machines. He thought since he was in our neck of the woods that he would stop by and say hi to Mom,which I thought was very nice. They chatted with us for about an hour,then headed off to ME. After they left, I went home,then drove Rick and Zach up to Tamworth (about 45 minutes north of us,give or take) then came back home. I think the whole week caught up with me. I sat down,totally wiped out. I am not used to being on the go quite that much.

Now I am sitting in silence and just being. It's good to just be every once in awhile,isn't it?

Hope all is wonderful where ever on this lovely planet you are!

3 comments:

  1. i am soooo sorry to hear about your mom and to hear of the busy week that you had. but i am very glad that you got some down-time to yourself. thanks for following our blog and i would appreciate any suggestions or advice on anything that we are doing,

    please take care of yourself eh?
    your friend,
    kymber

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  2. So sorry to hear about your mom. She sounds like a strong woman though. I'll say an extra prayer that her surgery goes smoothly. Hope you have enjoyed your down time. Sometimes we all need some of that!

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  3. Very sorry about your Mom, but I bet everything goes great for her...she sounds like a go-getter and she has all of you to love her. All my best to her :) We also did some apple picking here in Maine this past weekend and it was lovely. We are having a last bit of Indian Summer with the temps in the 70's but that will change soon and we'll have our beautiful fall! All the best.

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