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| Mom, Nikki and me visiting Ma the day after a sleepless night |
"Where is it? Come on! Come here! Where's the little girl?" Mom has been frantic and confused during the days following her sleepless nights.
Walking is out of the question when she has not had rest. Mom's care givers and I find ourselves in a catch-22 situation; no walking leads to agitation and more sleepless nights. Nocturnal wakefulness causes her more confusion and her state of being is worse than the day before.
It's been a difficult week.
What can we do? A question that consumed my thoughts, unable to think of any thing else, I took a deep breath and cleared my mind.
ACUPUNCTURE! Of course... I set my mom up with an appointment to have acupuncture with Dr. Barton, our favorite Naturopath Doctor and Acupuncturist. He has helped my mom in the past to have better days, why couldn't he help her now?
Yesterday afternoon was mom's appointment with our Naturopath. She was super insane; one minute she was agitated, the next she was in a state of bliss. Getting her into the car was easy; getting her to walk into the doctor's office was nearly impossible. She started out walking well and then suddenly as we were walking up the ramp, she decided it was time to sit.
"No! Not here Ma! Please, stand. A few more steps and you can sit on the bench." I pleaded with her.
My words fell on deaf ears, she decided to sit. I bent my leg, supporting her fanny as I held her up. No one could see us because of where we were on the ramp. What was I going to do? Why didn't I take her wheelchair out of the trunk and use it? Why did I think she could walk 20 feet up a ramp?
Taking a deep breath, I put my arms under my mom's and I lifted her. I carried her up the ramp and into the office; we made it.
Mom couldn't get on the table as she had been able to do in the past. She couldn't lay down flat when I did get her on the table. Her treatment was done while she sat in her wheelchair.
Dr. Barton gave her a one time drink of a homeopathic remedy; something to calm her.
It worked!
On the drive back to the nursing home, mom was settled down. She tapped her foot to the music that played; her favorite Frank Sinatra crooned "I"ve got the world on a string... sitting on a rainbow..."
Pushing her wheelchair, she lifted her feet. She didn't try to put the breaks on, confused with what to do with her feet or where she needed to go. Mom was noticeably more calm.
I called her night nurse this morning; mom slept through the night. She was still sleeping at 6 AM this morning; mom should have a very good day today.
Acupuncture, is it an insomnia cure? If you ask me, YES!
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Great news. Mom used to have sundowners so she is on sleeping meds. I go the lazy way.
ReplyDeleteMom also used to just sit anywhere. I think she was forgetting how to walk and stand so she would just go down. It was pooring rain one day when she went down at the doc's. office. My sis took her that day. I was at work. I heard it was not a fun day.