Disclaimer

I am not a doctor. I am providing information based on experiences that my mom has with natural remedies. The purpose of this blog is to help folks to educate themselves. Use this information with your own discernment.

07 June 2011

Better Days... Finally!

Yesterday, my morning visit with my mom was very good.  

"Ah, FINALLY!  Where's my coffee?"  I was stunned by her greeting.  

Sunday, my mom looked like she was ready for hospice.  Hollow eyes and an expressionless stare; Ma?  Where are you?

The nursing home that I found for my mom is very nice.  A five star facility; how on Earth did I find it?  Was it all the praying that I had done to Mother Mary?  

The last 2 years, I spent countless hours researching and visiting facilities.  I toured some of the saddest places on the planet; I left in tears.  The residents sat in chairs, lethargic, no one talking, no one communicating; folks were clumped in a room, together yet alone.  There was a smell in these homes, not of urine or human feces, it was different; I wonder if it was the smell of death?  I cried.  I worried that I would never find a home for my mom.

The five star nursing homes have wait lists, long lists of a year or more.  I prayed.  I visualized my mom in a nice home, one where staff smiled and were attentive to the needs of the residents.  I believed that I would find such a place, I knew they existed... I saw them!

I waited.  I called, "We're still interested, any beds open yet?"  I waited a long time for "the call" to come, telling me that they had a bed for Jo.  The call never came.  I teetered on the edge of depression.  I took a deep breath, pulled myself up and focused on the goal; finding a bed in a 5 star nursing facility.  

Time was running out; mom was declining rapidly, falling and needing 24 hour care.  I couldn't provide the care that my mom needed any longer.  Caring for my mom was killing me.

I prayed.  I prayed the Hail Mary prayer so much that I heard it in my head constantly.  I prayed.  I would close my eyes and see the Blessed Virgin Mary in my minds eye.  She glowed.  She became brighter and brighter as I recited her prayer; it was the mantra that kept me focused on hope.

Calling all the facilities that we are on wait lists; all homes gave me the same answer, "Oh, not yet my friend."  I cried.  I didn't want to do this care giving job any longer.  I didn't want to visit more nursing homes; I didn't have the strength.  Blood pressure rose as my patients dwindled; I was alone in my nightmare.  I had to make it stop or I was going to die before my mom.  

Few cared  or heard my cries; I was becoming seriously depressed.  It sucked.  I began to think about death every day, my death.  Death felt like it was the only way out of this hell that I had been living for the last 3 years.  

I prayed.   My mom needed a home.  She was falling every day and forgot how to walk up the stairs.  It was not safe for her or me.  I turned to the internet.

Google helped me find my mom's facility.  I began searching homes that were outside of my mom's insurance "network."  One call led to another as I asked the same questions, "Do you have any beds available?  How about short term beds?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact we are discharging someone tomorrow.  We will have a bed for your mom tomorrow.  Can you come tomorrow morning for a visit?"  My prayers were answered.

Chirping birds greeted me the next morning; my heart skipped a beat... I FOUND IT!  The facility was perfect, it had everything that I had hoped to find for my mom.  



My mom was smiling yesterday as she held her "baby," Savita the cat.




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