Grandma Grumpy Update

Yes, more time has elapsed! I will give a brief update!

She's moaning right now. She's been telling me for awhile now that her teeth keep breaking and falling out. I didn't believe her until last week, when she gave me a few chunks. Before then she would tell me her tooth fell out and it was on the table. There was never anything on the table, so I thought it was corn in her teeth or something. She has lost a few teeth, molars, and tonight she took a drink of cold water and said it hurt her tooth. So...we may get to go to a dentist soon! yeehaw!

I don't remember if I posted July's lab report...but here's a synopsis of August:

It's all the same. Her protein is too low. Her URR is low again. That's how well dialysis is working. It's down from 75% to 69%. Anything over 65% is good. So, it's still effective, but not as effective as it was last month.

Her appetite is horrible. She didn't eat lunch today and she said she was starving when she got home, but only ate a few bites.

Eddie and I went to the last Ward picnic in the park tonight and when we got home she said she wanted some water and that she had got up and filled her cup herself while we were gone.

Now, we all know this isn't true, but she insisted that she had done it.

She's been talking tonight about going to bed in her bedroom and I keep telling her she sleeps out here in her hospital bed. There's no way she could sleep flat in her old bed at this point.

Yesterday the nurse supervisor for Alta View home health came and evaluated her health and will sign her up for Physical Therapy. A therapist is supposed to be coming soon as well as a nurse twice a week for 4 weeks and then once a week for 5 weeks. Chuchi, (yes Tody, that's her name) the supervisor, said that I needed a break and that they would also send someone to bathe her twice a week for 4 weeks and then once a week for 5 weeks. They're also going to send a podiatrist out to do her feet!!!

Chuchi, was very thorough! She told us we would be in their care for the next 60 days and then if more was needed they'd try for an extention! I really liked Chuchi becase she told us stuff none of the other home health people have.

Gma's a little kooky tonight...moaning a lot. I ask her if she's okay and she says yes and then starts moaning again. She's watching strange things on Tv. She's watching Big Brother right now. She's never watched that in her life. I asked if she'd like me to change the channel and she said NO!

Last week I got home from the Memorial Service and she was watching Telemundo! I asked her why she was watching it. She said, "I don't know what it is and I'm trying to find out!"

Last week she asked me where my Father was. I repeated the question..."Where's my Father?" She responded with..."Or your step-father. Whoever the man is who's my age who's around here." I asked, "Is there some man around here I don't know about?" She said, "No." I pointed to dad's picture and asked if she wanted to know where he was. I told he had passed away. When she remembers that it always then goes to....Is mom dead? and then she usually says, "oh ya! The baseball bats!" (The ones we put on Gma Ridge's tombstone!) IT's a good thing we did that, because that's only way she remembers that Gma is dead.

Dialysis seems to have gone okay today.

She still has a blood issue. I didn't get to dialysis today to ask them about it.

She did have an ultrasound a few weeks ago, but the Dr. said, the pictures weren't very good, but what they could see was normal. So she's not concerned. I need to talk to dialysis about it because it seems there's always "fresh" blood in her diaper when she comes home from dialysis. It might have to do with the amount of hepprin (sp?) she gets while on dialysis. Dr. Staples said, that's why they took her off cumadin. I didn't know that was why they took her off cumadin. Sometimes I really wonder about her doctor!

So....that's the low down on Gma Grumpy as of 9:36 p.m. 9/2/08

She's moaning again. I just asked her if she needed something and she said, "Something for my mind." I asked again if she wanted me to turn the channel and she said, "NO!" so...big brother it is! Go figure!

Here's a peak at what's going on right now:

She's scratching her head and telling me her bottom hurts. She just said she needs something to calm her nerves.

"At least the mantle ended up looking okay!"

"Why?" I asked.

She said, "I just didn't know if it would."

Moaning!

I asked, "are you tired?"

"Yes"

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Uh - Uh (negative)

and now I will sign off!