Tag archives for mom

  1. Make me a stress monkey

    I was getting a little stressed this morning because it was taking longer to get out of the house to head to Seattle. Little did I know how minor that would be. Stopped by mom’s to bring Elaine some books to read, and to see if the new caregiver needed anything. I arrived and mom…
  2. Walk to D’Feet ALS 2008

    My mom is organizing a team to raise money for the ALSA again this year. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to match donations like I did last year. I’m keeping up two places, so I gotta watch my pennies. But I am going to offer something: free books. If you donate $20 or more through…
  3. Siblings

    Within 15 minutes, both Elaine and Dan have let me know they are on their way. Elaine fixed it so her maternity leave starts early, and she will be having her kid in Bellingham. Dan will be here for a week starting the 16th. Mom will be thrilled.
  4. One down, caregiver land

    Well, yesterday there was an incident with the weekend caregiver. Turns out she was wrong. She can’t do 3 day shifts with my mom since she needs too much help and doesn’t sleep enough to let the caregiver catnap. So rather than admit this, first she badgered my mom into taking morphine. My mom doesn’t…
  5. The Green Sheet

    Mom signed the green sheet today. This is a huge relief! Basically, the important parts says to, no matter what, do not lay her on her back (that would essentially make it so her lungs don’t work) and no intubation, no tracheostomy, and no ventilator. Basically, they can attempt to revive her only through external…
  6. Bi-pap

    Mom’s bi-pap machine stopped working this morning. Hospice came out and fixed it later today. That doesn’t really concern me that much. What does concern me is that while mom was laying down, she could barely breathe without the bi-pap. She can breathe if she’s sitting up with her brace on, so that’s what they…
  7. More

    I really don’t want this journal to become a chronology of despair, but for some reason I want to have a record of mom’s decline. This week has been hell. After having one person flake on us, I got some more references and called more people. Two of them came over on Wednesday; we hired…
  8. In other news

    Starting shortly, mom will have 24 hour caregivers. I’ve got Monday through Thursday covered, and am working on Friday through Sunday coverage. Dad is not thrilled. I don’t blame him. There will be someone he barely knows in his house 24 hours a day. That’s a tough nut to swallow. It’s really pretty wrenching to…