Hello

Hi Everyone, I realize we haven't been posting very often, however, so little has changed from post to post. Today I took a small video of mom so you all could see her. She recently had a bed sore which is healing nicely. Penny takes care to make sure she spends time on her side. It's not as pleasant for mom and she seems more restless when laying on her side, however, it's best to help heal/prevent bed sores. We were able to get some "I Love Lucy" episodes on DVD for her to watch during the day. She seems to enjoy those. We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and are looking forward to celebrating Christmas. Love, Julie (for John and Mom)

Not Much New

Well, it's been awhile, however, there's not much new to report. Mom continues to be stable and is doing well, considering her illness. She continues to eat 3 to 4 small meals a day along with a couple of snacks. She's put some weight back on which is a blessing. We are so thankful that she hasn't had any major bedsores. Some small outbreaks have healed very well. About two months she began a different medicine to help with anxiety which seems to be working. She's not as restless as she was before.

We're celebrating a Phillies victory. Mom has a Phillies blanket which keeps her toastie at night. She and Dad always enjoyed watching ball games when we were little and Johnny and I were reminiscing how Dad bought a new color TV to see the Phillies go on to win the World Series in 1980.

Well, we trust you are all well and appreciate you checking in for updates. Please continue to pray for both my brother, John, and myself. There's so much to be done around the property it's just overwhelming and the list seems to keep growing.

August Update

Good morning. It's a foggy August morning and I'm sure the humidity is on the rise again. Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day here but Sunday was quite rainy. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written an update on Mom, but it's partly due to the fact that there's really nothing new to report to you all.

Most people would visit and feel complete sympathy for our mom...especially if they knew Jackie 10 years ago! Mom was so articulate and loved to be with people and talk with them. She's still much the same way, except she's unable to be understood. We're not really sure how much mom understands. Her dementia is different than Alzheimer's so we're not sure what kind of confusion she faces each day or even what she's thinking. However, she seems to still know us and greets us with a smile most days.

At times she seems restless but we're working with a new medication which seems to be helping her calm down during the day. She sleeps through the night and still has a very healthy appetite. Mom enjoys spearmint gum but we don't enjoy having to coax her to give it up. She'll chew the same piece for hours! We're afraid she's going to take off our fingers one of these days when we try to get it out of her mouth.

Hospice continues to come to the house every day to help with her care. She has received excellent care and has no bed sores. Her skin is beautiful and I never realized how pretty my mom was until this ordeal. She has beautiful white hair and her skin has very few wrinkles. Our local hairdresser comes to the house now to cut her hair and mom still allows us to style it. I think she finds it therapeutic.

We trust you all are enjoying the summer and we appreciate your faithfulness in praying for our family as we continue to go through this trial with our mom.

Mom Turns 77

As we celebrate the beginning of summer, we also celebrated mom's 77th birthday! We're so very thankful that she was able to see another birthday. She enjoyed a quiet day at home, and we want to thank all of you who sent cards. She received so many and we sat down and read each one to her.

Mom continues to eat regular meals but we're convinced that she savors ice cream the most!

Although unable to speak, we can get her to laugh most days and some days she's quite giddy. We don't always know how to calm her when she's restless. It doesn't appear that she's in any pain. When asked if she's having any pain, she can still answer "No." We believe it's just her dementia causing confusion and fear. John will often sit next to her and just pray with her which seems to calm her more than anything else.

Unbelieveable!

Sorry we haven't updated in a couple of weeks, but mom continues to eat, and Eat, and EAT! We're thrilled with how well she is doing. She is still unable to walk, but we have a wheelchair for her that enables us to get her outside a bit nowadays. We've had quite a bit of rain and cool weather, but things are looking up! Mom's spirits are good and she's not in any pain. God is good and we are truly thankful for the time He has given us with mom.

Smiley

It brightens our day to see Mom smile. She's doing well. She's not in any pain. And she's enjoying several small meals each day. Although bedridden, we are able to move her to her chair for periods of time. We're looking forward to the warmer weather and hoping she can sit in her wheelchair out on our deck to take in some sun. For the most part, she sleeps well at night and Penny continues to take excellent care of her. We are also grateful for hospice and the commitment to care they show toward mom. They are all surprised at how well she's been doing. We're simply thankful and it seems that mom is as well.

Don't Ask Me to Explain It

"Don't ask me to explain it", said mom's hospice nurse. My reply was simply, "You don't have to." Mom is eating again. She started eating about 3 weeks ago. I was snacking on some cashew nuts and mom threw me a look as if to say, "What do you have there"? She always liked nuts and especially cashews. I asked her if she would like one and she nodded so I placed it on her lip. I was a bit reluctant because she hasn't eaten in so long and I was worried she could choke. Well, she chewed it up into tiny bits and swallowed it. I gave her another and the same thing. Then another...and another...and another. She ate about 6 altogether and we figured that was enough for someone who hadn't had any solid food for almost 3 months.

Since then, she has graduated to 2 or 3 small meals each day. Breakfast includes Ensure, a piece of toast and a 1/2 cup of coffee. Later in the day she may have fish, meatloaf, or spaghetti with some vegetables and rice. Again, these are small portions, but she's eating. She's also eating ice cream, pudding, yogurt, and she still enjoys her cashews!

God has allowed her to enjoy eating again. She looks better and is smiling more these days. We thank God for each day we have with mom and thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement.