8-5-2021 Lessons in eating, walking, talking and using the bathroom

(Marilyn - AM)

I got there around 9:00 and when I walked in the room, she said, "Oh, I'm SO glad to see you."  And I said, "I'm glad to see you, too."  Then she said did I bring her car keys.  She said her car was right outside and she was ready to go.  I explained she couldn't go until she was able to walk, talk, eat and go to the bathroom by herself.  She said she could walk so I asked her to bring her legs off the bed and onto the floor and she was unable to lift them.

When I came into her room, I had a cup of coffee in my hand and she reached out and grabbed it.  I said, "Hey, that's coffee and you don't like coffee."  She said, "Yes, I do."  She took one sip and handed the cup back to me!

The lady across the hall died last night and the family was cleaning out the room today and Linda wanted to know why all those people were in the refrigerator. It has been suggested that when Linda says things that are kind of off the wall, we should not contradict her, but try to just change the subject, so I just talked to her about how she was feeling, etc.

They came in and changed her bed and got her dressed and into her wheelchair and while they were doing that I went and spent 15 minutes with the head nurse to try to get my head on straight.

Then Paula came in with lunch and sat with Linda for an hour watching Linda eat and telling her that if she continues to gobble extra large spoonfuls of food, she could choke. She said if Linda didn't make an effort to eat smaller portions, she would be put back on pureed food. Linda started using the phrase "I beg your pardon."  Every time Paula tried to show her how she needed to eat, Linda would say "I beg your pardon" and yank her fork or spoon away, sometimes making food airborne. Paula was extremely patient and hopefully it sunk in.

She whispered to me that her nurse does everything wrong.  I asked for examples and she said, "Oh, I don't know."

After the food tray was taken away, Linda looked at me and said, "Okay, now we should go to that place in Arkansas."  I said what place.  She said, "You know what place, let's go."  I changed the subject again.

I left at noon and will go back again tonight.

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(Marilyn - PM)

Got back around 5:00.  She was in bed.  Says she got into bed by herself, but the therapist says otherwise.  They said they had to get her to bed because she kept sliding partially off the wheelchair.

She tried to get out of bed by herself and was about to slide off the bed. I called for the nurse to get her back in bed after which Linda said, “See what you did? I almost got out.” She was upset because i wouldn’t let her get out of bed by herself.  I told her we needed to get two physical therapy people to get her up and monitor her walking and she said, "I don't want them touching me."

A lady walked by Linda's room and she thought it was her friend Sue.  So she kept calling out, "Sue!" I told her it couldn't be Sue because Sue was in Mountain View.  Linda said "how do you know that?"  I said I had gotten a text from Sue asking how Linda was doing.  But Linda swears it was Sue.  LOL

She got frustrated when I couldn't understand what she was saying. 

When they brought dinner she made a face and said take it away. But they left it and she ate it all and she leaned back and said, “boy that was really good.”

When she finished dinner she laid her right hand on the food in her plate and didn’t want me to wipe it off.

She continues to complain about tailbone pain which we believe she got when she fell at her home at the beginning of this saga. I've mentioned it to several nurses but tomorrow I'll try to pass that information on to the Nurse Practitioner.

Keeping up with her changing temperament is an emotional challenge for me.  I had my first atrial fibrillation episode in five years.  And I spoke to my cardiologist's office and tomorrow I will send my Pacemaker data to them.

Stay tuned.