Grandma had an appointment with her heart doctor last Wednesday. An ultrasound of her heart revealed that it is a normal size, but her blood pressure and heart rate are still severely elevated (her resting heart rate was 115). Also, her heartbeat is irregular. Her doctor put her on yet another medication designed to slow down her heart. The fear is that she'll have a stroke or heart attack if her heart continues to behave like this. The medication makes her very tired, and, as her dementia has become a lot worse in the last week, I think it's also affecting her ability to think.

Right now, she is taking: three heart medications, one osteoporosis medication, one blood pressure medication, and vicodin with OTC pain meds. I'm sure that some of her symptoms are due to the medications side effects.

Mentally, she's been in a bad way the last few days. She's becoming fearful and suspicous, and very forgetful. To illustrate: we bought a load of groceries for her on Sunday and needed a reimbursement check. Because she doesn't remember that we bought the food, she thinks I'm taking her money. :(

We had a visit with the social worker on Thursday. She will determine how much help Grandma needs and how much the state can pay for her care (through In Home Support Services). We're also applying for food stamps, which should help with costs.

I'm going away for a weekend with my dad, and my little brothers will cover for me until I get back. I need a small vacation--I especially need a couple nights of uninterrupted sleep!

That's all; I'll try to update once more before leaving.

Current Mood: geeky

Grandma isn't doing to well. The last couple days she has been VERY tired, and hasn't left her bed much. She feels very BLAH, and can't really tell me a specific thing that's wrong with her (we went through the whole body--"Grandma, does your head hurt?" "No" "Does your chest hurt?" "NO"). Dad thinks it's just depression after hearing about her brother. Yesterday she wanted to go to Kansas, but changed her mind by the evening.

We are hoping that Grandma will be well enough to travel to Southern California for Thanksgiving. Our family is having dinner down there with Mom's family. I'll post more when I have details. I know that Grandma would love to spend some time with her SoCal kids. :)

Grandma really appreciates all the phone calls. Thank you!

The last few days have been kind of tough, so when you think of Grandma, please pray for her. She has a lot of back pain. Also, being told that there's really nothing that can be done for the pain (besides painkillers) is hard to hear, and she's been pretty depressed. She feels lazy because she spends most of the day in bed, and gets frustrated because I have to do all the household chores. I try and tell her that it's no big deal, that I want to help, but y'all know how independent Grandma is, and admitting that there are things she can't do--and letting me help her with them--is hard. :(

Uncle R, we've been eating up all that great granola! Grandma loves it! She also reads your letter 2-3 times a day--and since she can't remember much, it's almost like a new letter each time.

Thanks for your prayers, everyone! :)

Current Mood: blah

I thought I would let you all know about the needs/wants that Grandma and I have, in case you'd like to contribute. Several people have mentioned that they would like to help out. Here are some tangible ways to do so:

Prayer: Both of us need it!

Pictures: Grandma is having trouble remembering family members, and pictures are a great way to remind her.

Grocery Money: In addition to just feeding more people (that would be me), we're also spending money on better food. I'm endeavoring to cook meals that will be heart healthy, but also tasty, as Grandma doesn't like to eat. We're eating more organic, whole-gran foods, fresh fruits and veggies, etc. Sending a Safeway giftcard seems to be the easiest way, and it's always a big help.

Books: Grandma spends the majority of her day in bed or on the couch reading. She has exhausted her library, and is getting close to reading every Nora Roberts book in the county library (she's already read every Lori Wick book in the Marin County system.) Light, easy reads are best (nothing she has to concentrate too hard on) and books need to be paperbacks, as she can't hold hardbacks up.

Phone calls/letters: Every phone call and letter is precious to Grandma, and she will talk about your calls for days. When Dad or Mom visits, she'll pull out the letters and pictures you have sent. She struggles with loneliness most of all, as she can't leave the house very often.

Thank you!

(PS: I may not be able to get a thank you note sent off all the time. I do appreciate everything you do. It means a lot to both Grandma and I.)

Current Mood: hopeful

If you missed it, the introduction post is here. Also, if you haven't had a chance, check out our user info.

Grandma is at home, taking her afternoon nap, so I was able to sneak down to the library. Both the YMCA and the library are walking distance from our house, which is nice. For everyone who doesn't know, I'm living with Grandma full-time. I do all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, home medical care, and personal hygiene assistance. Mostly I'm there to provide companionship and comfort at this stage of her life. I don't anticipate being able to fix her, or even make her better, but I do want to improve the quality of her life and make sure this last stage is peaceful.

( An update on Grandma's condition: )

Again, if y'all have any questions, just let me know. I'm borrowing my folks digital camera tomorrow and will be taking some pictures. (Grandma mentioned that if she was standing in a crowd of 20 women, she didn't think her kids could point her out. I told her that probably wasn't true, but agreed to send on some photos.)

That's all for now!

Current Mood: awake

Hey, all!

First, I would request that you all review the information in our user info, seen here.

Now, welcome to our blog! It seems to be the most convenient way for me to keep everyone updated on Grandma's condition, but we'll see how it goes. I'll try to update as often as possible, so check back every few days and see what's new. This, of course, is not a substitute for a phone call, and Grandma always loves talking to her family.

Please remember to keep names, addressees, and other personal information out of the comments. You can certainly drop me an email if necessary. This is a public journal, and as such, anyone can view it (though they probably won't). For Grandma's privacy and protection, we need to keep things as anonymous as possible.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or drop me an email. My email is in the user info. I receive email notification on every comment, so I will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks for being here! :)

Current Mood: accomplished