A Day in the Life

In anticipation of my sister's arrival and takeover of care, I thought it might be wise to make some notes about how Mom likes things done. That started me thinking about posting a typical day with Mom. I even made some notes throughout one day this week. And that made me realize a critical truth: There is no typical day. There is no schedule. There is no routine, other than listening for the bell.

Mom is clearly getting more worn down. My siblings notice it on the phone. I see it in the effort it takes for Mom to transfer from bed to wheelchair, from wheelchair to red chair, from red chair to wheelchair, from wheelchair to bed. I see it in Mom's ever-chainging schedule. Last night, Mom's catheter did not leak at all, so she slept from 9:30p.m. to 8:30a.m. So far our day has looked like this:

8:30--Coffee, hot water to wash face, empty cath bag, change diaper
9:00--Wheel Mom to front window, cook breakfast, Mom eats
10:00--Mom asks for change, stays in bed for nap
11:30--Change diaper, wheel Mom to front window, fix lunch, Mom eats
12:45--Wheel Mom to t.v. for 1:00 program
1:30--Serve ice cream, change diaper, Mom stays in bed for nap
3:00--Change diaper, wheel Mom to driveway, ice water and snack

I anticipate a 5:00ish change and nap, then dinner, Huckabee, and bedtime. Nighttime is a toss-up. If the catheter is leaking, then Mom will ring about three times throughout the night for changes. If not leaking, she usually does not ring until morning.

And there you have it, a day in the life. Today anyway.

Editing to Add: Just to show that my predictions are useless, Mom stayed outside until 6:00. Came in for a change, wanted a nap, but heard Karis was home with a McDonald's bag for her so she got back up to eat. Huckabee at 7:00? Who knows?