Update on Rob

On July 30, Rob was involved in a car accident. He sustained significant injuries to his spine but is thankfully not paralyzed. He did break two vertebra. T-12 and L2. T12 is a more significant break and both are very very painful.

He has been in St Mary's since the day of the accident and is doing well except for severe pain that is difficult to control. He is able to get himself out of bed and can get to a chair, etc, but cannot yet go home.

They plan on moving him to a rehabilitation unit tomorrow to begin helping him gain strength and stability so that he can go home. He will be in rehab for from 2 to 14 days.

I have shared this info with Dorothy's permission. If you want their address of phone number, please get in touch with me on facebook or via phone and I will provide it to you.

Prayers are requested and gratefully accepted. Their church family is taking care of meals and errands for now but I've told Dorothy if there is anything I can do all she needs to do is call me.

Updates as they occur.

Best,

Amy

All,

Rob was involved in an auto accident Friday afternoon as he left Mom's. Apparently someone was in his lane coming around a curve on, I'm assuming, Midway road. He had to swerve, caught a wheel on the edge of the road and ended up against a tree. He has suffered a significant injury and may or may not be back at the farm any time soon. He's in St Mary's but may be released on Sunday or Monday.

I just thought you all would like to know.

Amy

Whew! So much going on within family that I won't even mention save that Helen now has a deeper shade of rose-colored glasses and was a bit more disoriented during the first of the week than she was Thursday/Friday. The only other change has been: more laid-back, more naps but all in all, that's all.

A few tussles over taking her Namenda, which she says she "takes when she goes to bed." Yes, I let her do that one time this past week knowing that I would know when I walked in the door the next morning whether she took it or not (radical change for the worse, a lot of rummaging, sort of manic in that way.) Anyway, a five-year-old could spot it. She is liable to forget to forget her meds (I do.) I won't let that happen should she get horsey about it again. As I've said, I'm not above mixing one that has been crushed to powder into her food or drink. I hope it doesn't come to that, but it is standard operating procedure when dealing with a non-compliant elderly person. R

Helen Wins The Non-Compliance Game

A good day right up until her pm medicine time so I could go home. Helen refused to take her Namenda. She knew exactly what she was doing and, as said, if she were my mom, a no-holds-barred knock-down-drag-out fight would have started right then and there and the medicine would have been taken. No such thing with Helen. First of all, she is not my mom and secondly, I have a certain mood with Helen which focusses on our common traits and I am not going to sacrifice it's ability facilitate compliance in other areas for one Namenda, although I am not above mortar and pestling one to slip into her food. All suggestions welcome. RC

6/23

Nothing much to report today. Helen cleaned her plate, took a long nap watched Gunsmoke in the morning and The Sting (following that crazy plot) in the afternoon and did not give me any trouble with her afternoon medications. A Good Day.

6/22 Tuesday

Okay. p.m. meds not given again. Helen scattered again upon arrival. Gave Namenda and will be giving pm medications before I go. The Aricept w/ the instructions "one a day" will now be given in the morning as I have seen do better with it given that way. Not like today when she changed or rearranged several articles of clothing 6 or 7 times. Same clothes, new "arrangements." This where "care, affection, and allowing harmless odd behaviors (harmless) go. Let her change clothes to her heart's content. To make a fuss over it would be challenging her perception of what she needs to do. Just don't do it for reasons I'll explain further. She got better after her afternoon Aricept and ended the day quite well. Got the kitchen floor clean and will get to the wooden floors as soon as I figure out what to use. Mop and Glo? Finally, Gunsmoke to the rescue again. It's like shooting in the dark trying to find movies whose plot she can follow for 2 hrs. which, as I type realize thats expecting too much. R.

thaynk yew maystr dillin

Day (Monday6/21) started out weird with Helen up and restless, then going through her cupboard showing me where things were kept. Either a mini-stroke or she's missed a med, I thought, hoping it was the latter. It was. I called her pharmacy and asked when the Aricept should be given since the only instructions were "one a day." So the big yellowish pill is in the night time part of the box now. I'll try and keep it full, but not all the way as Helen uses "oh, I've taken that already" when she hasn't and for all I know that's how she remembers it, but the pill box will allow whoever to show her that she hasn't.

Helen was very unfocussed and I tried Bonanza, then Rawhide w/o success. Gunsmoke to the rescue! She settled into Dodge with Matt, Chester, Miss Kitty and Doc and we watched it the rest of my stay. So, remember the healing powers of Gunsmoke if Helen gets skittish.

One of the things we all learn as babies is how to calm ourselves down when we're not. Then when we get old, we lose our calming reflex and can't calm ourselves down when we're not. I lose mine about three times a week. You?