Last night I let the Advent candle burn for too long, so here's another candle for today
I like to light a candle outside the front door in the evening. I think it's an attractive was of welcoming people to the front door. For the first time in ages I was home first this evening, and I'm glad I got it lit before anyone else arrived.
I visited my mother this morning with my husband. We waited while they finished getting her ready, and found her in a freshly-made bed, clean nightdress, and made up ready to meet the world.
With just us two there, I think we saw a different side to her. It's hard to describe. I think that she felt that she didn't have to make an effort to present a lively, cheerful, brave face. That isn't to say she was depressed, or sad. I'm her daughter, another woman, and I think it seems to make a different kind of bond. Not more, not less, just different. Anyway, it brought the whole situation closer to me.
We had a chat, talked about a "Gone With the Wind" poster I had printed off - what was the name of the actor who played "Rhett Butler"?
In the afternoon, my father visited (with my husband). They had a long talk with the Doctor, and the upshot is that everyone agreed that my mother should be given "thinner water" to drink. It increases the risk of chest infections and other complications, but it is all a balance between quality of life and health implications. Other discussion centred around which of the other medicines she takes are no longer required. For example, the calcium tablets, which she has always loathed and spits out as soon as the nurse has turned her back!
The "thinner water" provision has been implemented already, and she was given a cup of liquid which she could drink properly. About the texture and thickness of an ordinary milkshake.We'll just have to see how that goes. We keep saying it; it's about her being comfortable. That's what is most important.
No comments:
Post a Comment