Thursday, May 12, 2005
SEPTEMBER....1991
September came in quiet with the usual routine activities. George left for LAN training in Philadelphia on the 8th and Becky left for the Academy at Jefferson City for a week of training. Mom seemed distracted most of the time and tired. Her feet were purple and cold….edema. They were taking measures to correct it but it’s a slow process with lots of curves and guesswork.
Some neighbors of mine years ago, called the evening of the 12th….they were passing through our town and said they would like to come see us if we didn’t have plans. Bear went down town to lead them to our place. Small town directions are sometimes like trying to follow a “cow path” so it’s easier just to go find where ‘they’ are. We visited till quite late and they left for home in Shawnee. Dee was a nurse and I asked her advice about mom and the care she was getting etc: There is no magic formula when a person is 87-years old with the health problems mom had. Still it comforted me to be able to ask about things that were troubling me.
Bear called the next morning after I got to work and said WC had called and mom was having chest pains and difficulty breathing. The doctor sent her to the hospital by ambulance. They would be running tests so there was no need for me to come home….Bear went down to sign the admittance papers and make sure she was doing alright……then he came home. He told me not to go see her until the next day after a lot of the preliminary tests were run and they might know something.
Becky came home that evening and we all went to see mom the next day. She was resting and quiet so we stayed for some time and then left. We went back the next morning and she was fretful and hyper. She fought the oxygen, heart monitor and refused food or liquids. We stayed with her most of the day to try and keep her from ripping everything off of her. We left later in the afternoon. George called later that evening telling us all about the trip and classes he attended. He’d had a good week.
One of Bear’s cousins from Nebraska called to see if they could come visit and of course we said yes. They arrived on the following Friday night and were here when I came home from work. We had a good visit and they stayed over with us. The next morning I got up early and fixed biscuits and gravy and we visited until they left for Branson to spend a few days. We went to see mom and she was in bed and had been most of the previous day. She had a low grade fever and they thought she might have Shingles. She looked pitiful. Becky and I went to see her the next day and she looked a little better. She was sitting at the nurses station (back at Willow Care) and had her fair fixed and a bath. Although she looked better, she was very weak and listless. She ate a little caramel corn and became tired so we helped her to bed.
Morris, our cat who was a dead ringer for “Morris” on TV had been at the Vet’s for several days with an obstruction on some kind. They finally got the problem fixed. He had eaten a 10” decorative ribbon and it bound him up. They finally declared him well enough to come home. When Bear got the bill, he said, “Well, that little piece of ribbon he ate cost us $10 an inch. That’s pretty expensive ribbon.” Needless to say I didn’t put another ribbon back on the stuffed bunny where Morris liked to sleep …………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Some neighbors of mine years ago, called the evening of the 12th….they were passing through our town and said they would like to come see us if we didn’t have plans. Bear went down town to lead them to our place. Small town directions are sometimes like trying to follow a “cow path” so it’s easier just to go find where ‘they’ are. We visited till quite late and they left for home in Shawnee. Dee was a nurse and I asked her advice about mom and the care she was getting etc: There is no magic formula when a person is 87-years old with the health problems mom had. Still it comforted me to be able to ask about things that were troubling me.
Bear called the next morning after I got to work and said WC had called and mom was having chest pains and difficulty breathing. The doctor sent her to the hospital by ambulance. They would be running tests so there was no need for me to come home….Bear went down to sign the admittance papers and make sure she was doing alright……then he came home. He told me not to go see her until the next day after a lot of the preliminary tests were run and they might know something.
Becky came home that evening and we all went to see mom the next day. She was resting and quiet so we stayed for some time and then left. We went back the next morning and she was fretful and hyper. She fought the oxygen, heart monitor and refused food or liquids. We stayed with her most of the day to try and keep her from ripping everything off of her. We left later in the afternoon. George called later that evening telling us all about the trip and classes he attended. He’d had a good week.
One of Bear’s cousins from Nebraska called to see if they could come visit and of course we said yes. They arrived on the following Friday night and were here when I came home from work. We had a good visit and they stayed over with us. The next morning I got up early and fixed biscuits and gravy and we visited until they left for Branson to spend a few days. We went to see mom and she was in bed and had been most of the previous day. She had a low grade fever and they thought she might have Shingles. She looked pitiful. Becky and I went to see her the next day and she looked a little better. She was sitting at the nurses station (back at Willow Care) and had her fair fixed and a bath. Although she looked better, she was very weak and listless. She ate a little caramel corn and became tired so we helped her to bed.
Morris, our cat who was a dead ringer for “Morris” on TV had been at the Vet’s for several days with an obstruction on some kind. They finally got the problem fixed. He had eaten a 10” decorative ribbon and it bound him up. They finally declared him well enough to come home. When Bear got the bill, he said, “Well, that little piece of ribbon he ate cost us $10 an inch. That’s pretty expensive ribbon.” Needless to say I didn’t put another ribbon back on the stuffed bunny where Morris liked to sleep …………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
