Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been taking care of my Mom. She has been having a lot of arthritis pain in her shoulders, and It finally became unbearable over the weekend. She let me take her to the hospital, and then she finally got admitted. I won't vent here about the whole hospital ER experience, but it was quite deplorable they were going to put a sling on her arm and send her home. They wanted to put a bandaid on the problem, and not take care of her or get her somewhere she could get help. It took my entire family being proactive to get her the care she needed. Be proactive about your healthcare!
When she was released after 2 nights in the hospital, we took her to an assisted living facility. That was her decision, not ours, and I think it was a great one. The facility is right around the corner from me, and all she has to do to get help with anything is press a button. She seems to really like it so far, and it's certainly a relief to me. She was rattling around in her house by herself at night, and it was making me very nervous that she was alone at night.
Anyway, it's a little after 7 in the morning. I just got up a few minutes ago, and I have to head over to see her in a little bit to make sure she's taking her meds, and make sure she took her meds last night. Being a primary caretaker is exhausting, but I wouldn't trade helping my Mom for anything. I'm so glad she's here and still has her mental faculties. We talk and laugh and just have the best time together. She has become a good friend to me as I've gotten older, and we enjoy being together. She's less ornery now, and we get along so well when she's being nice and "behaving herself", which is almost all the time now. Yay!
Gotta go now, but even with all this stress, I'm not smoking. Cravings have been a bit more frequent lately and stronger, but I know in my head they are short and I can get through them. Also, smoking wouldn't solve my stress. In fact, I'd be more stressed and guilty, so I'm not going there.
Peace y'all!
