Mom update

One of the reasons I decided to take a little mini vacation out to the mountains these past few days is sort of like the calm before the storm. After I leave here tomorrow I plan to make a trip to Ontario to spend some time with my mom. As mentioned in previous posts my mom's health is deteriorating due to Alzheimer's. Over the past week, however, there have been some events that have taken place that have made me cry and also realize that I have to face some realities when going home.

I've said to some and can admit this on here that I do have some hesitations about going home. It seems as time goes on though my visits are becoming more precious time that I can spend with my mom. On April 1st she had another knee replacement surgery which was much needed, however, the down side to it are the affects of the anesthetic and the role it plays with her Alzheimers.

I won't go into too many specifics but since the beginning of the month she has deteriorated to the point where she needs assistance in pretty much every aspect of her daily life. She needs help with even the basics as eating. Because of all of this she has had to move to another care facility that will give her the care she needs. It will most likely be the last home she will be in but I'm sad that she has to leave the home she was in because it was a great place. Gosh, I even enjoyed staying there! Now, however, as much as the home she is in will give her the attention she needs I know it will be a very hard pill to swallow to see my mom where she is. Some of the residents that are there are quite docile and my one sister told me of a woman just sitting in a wheelchair holding a doll. It's those sort of things that I'm not ready to face knowing that my mom is equivalent to this status in life now.

Bottom line to all of this though is, it sucks. It really sucks. The mom I knew isn't the same and our family really needs to start mourning the loss of who she was. The road is still long but it isn't going to be pretty to have to witness this. Yes, yes, I understand that everyone has to face something like this at some point but again, it's not something I feel I'm ready to deal with just yet.

When my sisters were moving my mom into her new home last week one of my mom's friends was there as well for support. The nurses kept asking my mom's friend questions thinking that she was my mom's daughter but then she clarified she was just her friend and they were shocked that my sisters are the daughters. They kept commenting (and it hasn't been the first time) that they were surprised that my sisters were dealing with this stuff at such a young age.

So, to warn those that will be around me upon my return....I don't know what I will be facing when I get back home but I don't know how 'chipper' I will be when I get back to my 'regular life'. I'm sure it will be hard and I appreciate the friendships I have that support me but I thought I'd write on here some challenges I will be facing. I feel more for my sisters who face this on a daily basis. There's something to be said for being in a 'Sandwich' family. I think that's what they call it when you have to not only look after your young ones but your parents as well.