Change of Pace

I'm going to try writing in outline form just to make sure I've got the basics covered and then go back when I'm able to fill in the details.

A. Nathan and I got back to St. Louis on Saturday night

1. Relatively easy traveling with just the kid
   
2. Didn't leave enough time to get to the airport, so couldn't check the carseat
   
3. Missed great photo op of pack mule self
   
   • a. Nathan strapped to my back
     
   • b. Carrying overstuffed diaperbag and the carseat
     
   • c. Big DELTA sign reading "Need Help?"

B. Texts started arriving with info about various crises in Columbus

1. Sat 8:30 pm: She refused to sleep downstairs
   
2. Sun 6:30 am: The caretaker hours need to be adjusted
   
3. Sun 8:30 am: She refuses to take any meds & threw her juice across the room, scaring my grandma
   
4. Sun 4:30 pm: Email request arrives from a family member that I put my mom on Valium or Xanax
   
5. Mon 7:30 am: She refuses to eat or take any meds
   
6. Mon 8:00 am: Grandma is really upset
   
7. Mon 8:30 am: Apologies that this isn't going to work.

C. I called in a prescription for an anti-anxiety/sedative to try and get everyone at least through the week. For my mom, but I guess we all could have used it!
D. Since our plan to move my mom into the not-yet-open assisted living memory unit is not going to work, Jack and I spend the evenings of our "caretaker break" visiting area nursing homes. We make a suicide pact for our golden years. Tres romantic.
E. Wednesday, my mom had a really good day.

1. "Pleasant, talkative and very mobile"
   
2. Developing attachments to her caretakers
   
3. MUCH improved appetite, taking her meds crushed in food
   
4. Showing interest in and concern for her mom

F. Jack's kids ended their week with us early, so we could drive up to Columbus on Saturday. Nathan held up pretty well, but with all the stops it ended up being a ten-hour trip, so a certain amount of crying and frustration was to be expected.
E. My mom was super-subdued when we got there.

1. She was already in bed and didn't respond much when we saw her
   
2. She DID recognize Jack and call him by name
   
3. She didn't open her eyes when Nathan gave her a good-night kiss, but she did make some barely audible kissy noises.

F. Sunday, it was back into the car for the trip back to St. Louis.

1. My mom expressed a desire to stay in Columbus, of course.
   
2. Lunch at a Cracker Barrel in Indianapolis. Challenging, but successful.
   
3. Break to stretch our legs at a Cracker Barrel in Effingham, IL.
   
   • a. She pulls her pants all the way down in the main part of the restroom and refuses to go into the stall, starting to cry...while I'm trying to change Nathan's diaper.
     
   • b. Back in the parking lot, she tells me she's not going with us and won't budge.
     
   • c. Cars wait for us to move out of the way and she gets agitated when I try to get her to go to our car.
     
   • d. She shows an amazing ability to run quite quickly as she makes a break for it.
     
   • e. Cracker Barrel management comes outside to ask if we need help.

G. Back in the car. No more stopping until we get home!
H. Home.

1. Nice dinner
   
2. She agrees to sleep in Nathan's room downstairs after a brief crying jag upon seeing that the room she lived in last year is now the boys' room.
   
3. 2 am: She wakes up to use the bathroom, but goes right back to sleep
   
4. 3 am: Nathan wakes up hungry. Rare these days, but he's had a long couple days too.
   
5. 5 am: Nathan wakes up again crying. When I get him, she's gone....up at the top of the stairs, trapped by the baby gate. Good Morning everyone.

I. Monday: She reluctantly accompanies me to the nursing home we've picked out.

1. I had to hold it together when they couldn't accept the THREE MONTHS worth of medication that I'd just refilled (Anyone want some cheap Xanax?)
   
2. She does seem responsive to the caretakers.
   
3. Very subdued mood, lots of crying.
   
4. Complains about the color sceme.
   
   • a. "These are NOT good colors for me."
     
   • b. Hot pink and signal orange? I think she's justified in this.
     
   • c. At least her room is a soft teal, definitely a good color for her.
   
   
5. 4. Repeatedly asks, "Why are you doing this to me?"
   
6. 5. Not pleased with the idea of having a roommate
   
   • a. 103-year-old
     
   • b. crotchety
     
   • c. snores
     
   • d. leaves poop smeared on the toilet seat

J. In lieu of cleaning up roommate's feces, we are directed to the bathroom by the reception desk.

1. Toilet seat hinge is broken.
   
2. Seat slides off to the side when she attempts to sit.
   
3. Hard tumble to the floor, resulting in a bruise to her forehead.
   
4. Ambulance ride to the hospital emergency room for a CAT Scan.
   
5. Results are completely normal. As expected. The whole ordeal was really to satisfy Delmar Gardens' liability concerns.
   
6. Four hours later we return to the facility.

K. Nice relaxed bedtime after a quiet day adjusting to the new surroundings. Not.

1. "PLEASE let me go home with you."
   
2. Super friendly nurse aide who tries to rush mom into pajamas and into bed. Doesn't work.
   
3. Snoring roommate
   
4. LOUD nurses hollering back and forth in the hallway
   
5. Crying jag over forgotten toothbrush (that it turns out was in the suitcase all along)

L. Home.
M. Tuesday am: Back to Autumn View Gardens to pick up most of the belongings we left there.

1. I allow myself some snarkiness when a couple residents who were not nice to my mom ask, "Where's that CUTE baby?" I tell them that they'll never see him again. "Oh, give him a kiss for me." I don't think so. He has no idea who you are.
   
2. A housekeeper expresses interest in buying some of the furniture. I guess that's a good thing. (Anyone want a cheap loveseat?)

It's 11:30. If there's any hope of me getting to work on time tomorrow, I need to get to bed an hour ago.