Cody Updates by Mom

These last few (multiple) days have been a rollercoaster of emotions for me and also for my mom.  It is an interesting thing to go through the daily stuff when you have this weight hanging over you.  Last week, I was unable to function at work very much.  My mind was on mom and everything that needed to be done.  This week has been better but there is this thought in the back of my head about the fact that we made this change and it impacts her mentally.

I can honestly say that I have had moments of being a bit overwhelmed.  I know that I will need to navigate the Medical Assistance paperwork and all that is involved in that. From others, they say that they leave the person with $99 dollars a month and the rest goes to the MA.  This means that I may likely need to deal with additional financial decisions prior to the MA being in place.  I am talking to doctors about meds that I know nothing about and hoping that I am making the right decisions on my mothers care.  I continue to tell them that I want her last days comfortable and the most calm that they can be.  All of the health care team seem great, I just have that fear of making a wrong decision.

I continue to talk with the nurses, the psychiatrist and the social worker about mom’s care.  An update on mom.

So let’s do this chronologically:

Mom was still pretty angry with the staff.  She was not eating much and not being helpful with meds or care being given.  She was drinking but not as much as they wanted.  The urine culture was still not back so she was not on an antibiotic yet.  She was more steady on her feet.  The nurse asked me if my mom had a cat.  Mom told the nurse that if she found out who stole her kitty that they were in deep shit when she found them.  Guess we will need to see about the robotic kitty going with her.

This morning I had a conference call with the Social Worker and the Psychiatrist.  Mom was being most resistent at night with the care team and more agressive at that time.  They have adjusted the Depakote to have more of it in the evening to see if that helps.  She is cold a lot and they are working on that.  The memory care unit in Cokato has not responded yet with their availability.  Megan (social worker) said that this is normal as Monday’s are super busy for everyone.  She hoped to hear something by mid week.  They still didn’t have the urine culture back but there was not timeline that the Psychiatrist was a aware of.  In the end, the Psychiatrist told me that he had a one on one visit with mom this morning.  He said that it went okay however she did get a little feisty with him.  He said that she looked at him very seriously and said “If I am not home by the time my youngest is home from school, you are going to be on my shit list.”  Yep.  That’s my mom.

AFTERNOON

This afternoon, I contacted the nurse again.  I confirmed that they all knew where my mothers clothes were.  I also asked how mom was doing.  Today is the 4th day without Lexapro.  My mom is no longer super aggressive and lashing out but she is again very sad and crying a lot.  This is why we put her on the Lexapro to begin with.  The nurse said that she will put that in the notes for the Psychiatrist.  The urine culture is not back yet and the nurse said that it takes a few days to get it.  Apparently it is really hard on the elderly to switch antibiotics half way through a treatment so they wait for the longer culture to be complete.  She thought that they would get it tomorrow.

Dr. Simon will see mom again on Wednesday and give an update back to me after.  They will continue to dial in her meds to help her be comfortable.

Please know that you can all visit mom if you would like.  Below are the specifics.

Address:
Meeker Memorial Hospital
Senior Behavioral Health Unit
612 S. Sibley Ave
Litchfield, MN 55355
Phone 320-693-4500

• Visiting Hours & Rules:
  • Daily 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (every day including weekends)
  • Saturday & Sunday 1:00PM – 3:00PM
  • Due to the drive we have they will make special circumstance visits outside of these hours if needed.  Just call.  It does have to be after lunch as they have planned activities during the morning hours.
• Rules
  • No kids under 12
  • 2 visitors max at a time
  • No purses or bags
  • No outside food or drinks
  • Nothing sharp

Thank you again for your continued prayers!