Thursday, October 20, 2011

I did not know what to expect upon arrival today because Momu called Dad twice this morning telling him she needed to get the hell out of Meadowbrook.
I went into see Popa first - he was resting and woke up right away. He looked really tired today - but he got a shave!!! He walked into Momu's room and wanted to know if she was going downstairs for dinner. She said no so I walked Popa down. Almost at the elevator I heard him say 'Erica, Erica" turned around to find him standing with his pants at his feet. I laughed - asked where his belt was - he said he did not need a belt. I pulled his pants up, folded down the waist band and off to the dining we went. Chicken Marsala - he was happy.

I went back into Momu's room - still has some odor but I got passed it and sat on the edge of her bed. First thing was she told me that she needed to find a facility in Pittsfield because Meadowbrook was making her sick. Good news was she did not say she had to go home. I explained that they ran some tests and there was blood in her stool and they were waiting for some additional results before deciding how to treat her. She did not realize she may have more than an upset stomach. She then said she was fine before arrival at MB (going to abbreviate from now on) which is when I reminded her she was not fine and she was in the hospital for 2 weeks.

Then Dorothy told me that Momu had not picked out their meal choice for the period starting October 30th. I explained that to Momu and she said she would not be there that long. I decided to talk straight with her. I said Yes you will be here. Then she again asked for her credit card to start basement renovation. This time she is going to rent it out to 2 nurses from BCC and Momu would have a buzzer for when she needed help. Momu asked me if I thought that was a good idea. I said NO - told her Popa can't go home, she can't take care of him and he can't take care of himself. Popa needs to stay at MB and reminded her the most important thing was for them to stay together. She agreed and looked sad. We talked about 'circle of life' and the current situation was what it was. I told her they are still working on a double room and she smiled and said that would be wonderful.

Momu and I talked for about an hour - good memories of her best friend Helen and their kids. It was sweet. She also told me she was sad that Stephanie hasn't called yet. She got teary.

I left and had a chat with nurse on duty. The nurse confirmed that Momu's memory was as bad as Popa's. And this has resulted in Momu ringing the nurse buzzer all day long for the same thing!

Momu wants to paint and was upset she missed the session today. She has no interest in knitting.

I will continue to be as matter of fact as possible each and every time I visit with her.