Thank You Hospice!
by Dennis Gourley
(Arizona)
Mom was in the hospital a few days this week, another fall. She was sent home as part of the hospice in home care group.
A big thumbs up to this organization.
Before mom arrived home, I had a hospital bed, a bedside commode, a wheelchair, a table for the bed, an oxygen set up for in home and mobile plus all her medications. This was all delivered.
Shortly after mom arrived home a nurse came to check on her. Today an aid came and gave her a shower, dressed her and sprayed her with perfume. Later another nurse came by to check mom and make sure I knew how everything worked.
I have a baby monitor in her room connected to my office next door, I can hear her every breath. If she says my name, nine times out of ten, I will hear her. She has a cell phone set up with an orange sticky thingy over one key, she pushes it and it calls me. She has a medical alert around her neck, she pushes one button and they call me.
She is under strict orders to not get up without me. I know her too well so I went one step further and put an alarm pad in her bed. She tried getting up by herself this evening and she was busted. She's like “where were you”... I say I check on you every hour or less, she's like “well I could argue that one” and then later corrects it to “sometimes it just seems longer”. She has three ways to contact me and I am there in less than a minute, but does she do it?
We are so much alike I understand and love her anyway.
She has some of the symptoms of a stroke but nothing confirmed. They told me it was more than likely the beginning of the end. Mom's wish was to come home, out of all the other options, she wanted to be home. It's my decision to be there with her until the end. Her vitals are strong, so no signs of anything imminent, but she is getting weaker and more confused.
Mom gets nurses and aids several times a week and anything else we need, again, Hospice, so far, has been amazing.
It's good to know I'm not alone in this, not that I ever was, I have some family members that love their nana and have been a big help. I know there are many more family members in far off places wishing they could do more, mom knows you are thinking about her.
-- More from Dennis here... ShadeBuilder website!
