Is It Worth It?

Riding the crazy train with a demented conductor always leaves me scratching my head wondering what exactly just happened.

"You know, I'm wondering, how did I get here?"  My mom asked this morning.

She is clear this morning with a lower blood pressure reading, 134/67.  It feels like a good day for my mom and indirectly, a good day for me too.

My mom was up early, around 6 but she let me sleep.  She didn't squeak the floor until 7 when she wanted a cup of coffee.  

"Good morning!"  My mom sang to me when I reached the top of the stairs.  Music to my ears.

We had a bean and vegetable soup last night, a hodge podge of ingredients that I had in the fridge.  I used all vegetables that I had on hand and picked fresh herbs from my garden.  I used spices that are known to help folks with cognition issues.  I have noticed that when I make a soup for dinner using cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, thyme, basil, oregano, my mom has a good day.  I'm excited.  We'll have left over soup for lunch.

Today we see Dr. Barton for another Acupuncture treatment and this afternoon she sees the ophthalmologist about her "magic eye", the eye that has retinal hemorrhaging.  The doctors want to operate.  I worry about anesthesia and how it will effect my mom.  I have heard that anesthesia can have negative after affects on folks with dementia.

Is it worth it?  

When we see the surgeon today, I'll ask if surgery is guaranteed to fix her vision or if the risk is high for going blind in the eye.  She has one good eye which will allow her to see.  She has been using her one good eye for a very long time.  Maybe going blind in her Magic Eye will help stop some of her hallucinations which seem to come from shadows that are formed in the eye?

Is surgery worth the risks?  From where we stand today with the knowledge we have to make a decision, the answer would be no.

Happy Friday!