Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Mom...Maybe a Little Better

It's hard to say, but today mom may have showed some signs of improvement. I spent a long time talking with her, my face close to hers. She never looked away from me and when I moved a little, she would follow for a bit. She also reached out her hand to mine and grabbed it three times today. She tried to talk three or four times but could not get the words out.

I don't know if she knows who I am (I think not) but she knows I'm a friendly face who comes to visit her every day and talk to her. She is able to smile ever so slightly when I play the fool with her. That's rewarding for me.

Sally (my dear sister) and I are mom's companions. We talk to her every day and try to cheer her up, try to jog her memories, try to make her feel loved. In this hospital, the first couple of days she had a young lady as a roommate for a couple of days, then she was alone for a day, and then she has had a very nice 90-year-old lady who was there for 3 days and was released today. The 90-year-old said she had never seen a mother so loved by her children. We responded that we were just showing her what she had shown us all our lives - the love of a mother who took care of her two children by herself after losing her husband after only 3 years of marriage.

Sally is fantastic. Despite having her share of pain and her very busy schedule, she seems indefatigable with mom - loads of energy there.

Today she had an MRI. We hope to know the results very soon.

Thank you again for all your support.

2 comments:

bill7tx said...

Joe, your Mom may know perfectly well who everyone is and what's going on, but it just doesn't come out right when she says it. We had the same kinds of problems with my Dad, although his strokes were not the same kind or as severe as what your Mom seems to have had. He used to get so frustrated when he knew what he wanted to say, and something completely different came out of his mouth. Same for my aunt (Dad's sister), and she had a stroke that was much more like your Mom's. Anyway, keep talking to her. Her hearing is her lifeline to the world right now.

On the virus, ask the Dr. if he's ruled out c. difficile (they call it "c. diff" in the States). The false positives on the herpes virus are not unusual. Actually, I kind of doubt c.diff too, since the symptoms are (I think, I'm no dr.) not exactly the same.

I will continue remembering you and your Mom in my prayers and at Mass each day. In the meantime, it's a long road back (as you know), just keep your courage up -- Mom will feed off of that, too.

Anonymous said...

your mom feeds off your energy and love. she knows who you are..she loves you and the fact you are there daily fills her heart with love and joy..Keep up what your doin' Joe..
Continued prayers for you and your family