Pacemaker

Mom saw the cardiologist today. Luckily John had the day off and he and Joe transported mom to the doctor's office, and I headed over there on my lunch hour. Worked out nicely. We were kind of surprised to hear that when mom was in the hospital there were some stretches of up to 10 seconds where her heart did not beat! Yikes. We had no idea. No wonder the woman keeps falling! Anyway, pacemaker is set up for Monday morning, we need to be there at 7:00 a.m. Doc's office is right across from hospital, so while I went back to work John wheeled mom over for pre-procedure blood work and some other stuff. Pretty nifty. 

We were highly amused in the exam room when mom commented that she hoped it wouldn't be scheduled too quickly, because she needed time to "rest up because she was tired". John and I kind of laughed and made some bad jokes about resting up from what lol she said oh, just a week or two . . . so when the scheduler came out and said Monday, mom was kind of shocked, and when they asked if she had any questions about the procedure she said . . . "THIS COMING MONDAY?" lolol.  Dad had good results and increased energy when he got his pacemaker and we are hoping for and expecting good results for mom too. She has been very tired and weak in the legs, and the pacemaker will help with those issues. Her appetite is picking up a bit too.

I found it somewhat amusing that on the day we went to the cardiologist I had made biscuits and gravy to tempt mom's appetite. We did not tell the doctor that . . . 

That's all folks. 

Kathleen :)

Bug

Well, Mom can't catch a break. She is recuperating from a bug, chills and vomiting and diarrhea. She is on the upswing now. For a few days it was nothing but water and a little 7-UP. She is eating now, not a ton, but her appetite is picking up, thank goodness. She is pale and weak, but now that she is eating things are looking better. We had her to her ortho a week ago Friday, it was wicked cold and windy out,  our first outing since she got home, and it ended up being a very long afternoon.  Appointment was at 2:45, we didn't get home until 5:00. I think she just got chilled through and it really tuckered her out. Then the bug hit her on Saturday.

The good news at the ortho is her hip is healing fine. He wants to see her one more time in 2 months. I made an appointment with her GP for Monday. We were supposed to do a follow-up after her discharge from rehab, but the cold was so wicked, and it was slick out, and she was doing so well, I was putting it off. But  we need to see if she has to keep up on some prescriptions that she took after the surgery, if she needs a pacemaker, some follow-up blood work, etc. so we can't put it off any more.

Joe is so good with Mom, just as he was with Dad, so I have no worries while I am at work, for which I am very grateful. And I'm so glad I got a job close to home. I can come home at noon and give Joe a little break and he can have an outing. And his strength is coming in so handy, as Mom is weak from her illness. Her strength is coming back, so I'm positive we will have a good outcome. She missed out on her therapy this week due to her bug, but that will start up again next week. I'm going to see if she can get some extra visits, due to this setback. Mom is tough and in good spirits, thank God, but we don't need any more setbacks!

Enjoying this warmer weather. That cold snap sucked . . . .

Hope all the family is well and happy and flu-free!

Kathleen :)

Happy New Year!

The cats like to take a ride in Mom's new wheelchair. Here is Midge. Too bad the house is so small. If I win the Queen of Hearts drawing tomorrow I will fix that! I just wheeled Midge back to mom's bed, her favorite spot in the whole world. When Mom gets up to exercise or eat or for whatever reason, Midge sprawls right in the middle of it like she owns it! Amuses Mother to no end. She will not move either, until Mom nearly sits on her. She's a stinker. When I pretend I'm going to sit on her you should see how fast she moves!

Did you know Medicare will give you a wheel chair OR a walker. Walkers are a dime a dozen at the thrift store, so we chose the wheelchair. Medicare will also give you a commode. When you have aging parents you learn a lot of stuff. My friends who have been through it are teaching me the ropes.

Mom is having some ups and downs. She was picking up speed, eating better, color was better, and then appetite tailed off, she was pale, her cold sort of flared up again. Now she is picking up speed again, but her leg is sore. Could be from having physical therapy 3 days in a row this week, then the aide came and Mom had a shower yesterday. Lots of action. She was supposed to go to doc Friday but appointment got rescheduled. I'll be curious to see if she needs to stay on blood thinners, if she needs a pacemaker, etc. Mom says no to the pacemaker, but we'll see about that. I really didn't want to take her out in the wicked winter cold, but we are going to have to go out eventually. Mom's spirits are good, though she does get impatient with herself sometimes. I'm cooking good things to tempt her appetite. She enjoys everything, but only in very small portions. Not me man. I've only gained 5 pounds so far. Or maybe that was from Christmas time, not sure.

Mom reminds me that she is 80 years old, it will be slow going. And she has only been home two weeks after all. Patience patience. Joe is really good with her, they do very well during the day when I am at work, which is a big relief. So things are coming along.

Stay warm and stay home today, it is super slick out!

Kathleen