I found Mama today apparently asleep at the lunch table where her two fellow residents were finishing up their lunches with apparent relish. Mama’s lunch was untouched and she was doing that chin on chest heavy breathing/wheezing thing she does. She was “out of it” and barely able (or willing?) to open her eyes to look at me most of the time I was with her. At one point, being a little silly (can you imagine?), I suggested I needed to check her pulse. Having never done this in my life I was shocked her pulse was so easily found and it seemed fast to me, based on what I don’t know. They checked her and both blood pressure and pulse were fine.
When I forced her to engage she complained bitterly about pain, pointing all up and down her abdomen. At other times she gave no indication of pain but still was not able to engage in any meaningful way. If I didn’t keep her stimulated, she immediately went into the chin on chest mode.
The new facilities are … new, clean, and very, very nice. The staff were very engaging and responsive to both my questions and to my behavior around Mama. They questioned each other about Mama’s previous night’s sleep, how her day began, etc. and were not at all defensive. They appear to be truly engaged with the residents, etc. Very encouraging.
No uplifting anecdotes or behavior to report this week. Rats! 😦
Hope this message finds you all doing extraordinarily well!
Love
Wint
Martha Dolores Winston Pylant 