Mom Update - Wednesday, May 26

I didn't write about my visit on Sunday so I'll start from there.

Sunday, May 23 - Dad and I both visited with Mom today (we arrive seperately). When I walked in the room she was sitting up in her bed, smiling and chatting with Dad. She was a little quieter than usual but was joining in the conversation - asking about people, replying, and generally sconversing normally.
She did seem to be somewhat confused about leaving that day. She mentioned several times that she was told she might be leaving with us and that the nurses would tell her more and for certain once Dad arrived. But it obviously didn't make true sense because they wouldn't wait until visiting hours to release her. So as she mentioned it maybe a third time I told her that I didn't think that she would be leaving that day (Sunday) and Dad said the same. When it was time to leave she stood up with us to see us out but then reached for her things on the table and asked the nurse if "this is all I need to take with me? My clothes?" thinking again that she was leaving with us. The nurse assured her that she was not going home yet and we confirmed it with her. Then she hugged us both and said goodbye to us and waved from her room door, going back in after a few seconds.
Her wishing to leave and the confusion wasn't overly upsetting because she didn't appear to be upset herself but it left me feeling sad because somewhere within she was obviously wishing to go home.


Monday, May 24th - I didn't hear from Mom and didn't call her myself. I'm not what everyone else did.

Tuesday, May 25th - I arrived about 10 minutes late and when I came in Mom was lying on her bed staring at her wall appearing tired and nervous. Dad was looking over her chart. She immediately told me that I needed to leave because something was wrong. She told me that her room was dirty and that she was dirty and that I had to go, that the nurses didn't want me to be there because of it. So I asked her how long she needed me to step out and she said she'd let me know. I turned to Dad to ask about this and he shook his head saying that nothing was wrong and there was no reason for me to leave. There was nothing wrong or "dirty" about Mom or the room that I could tell. The only thing was that a seat had a small area that apparently something spilled on it, probably from dinner, so I washed it off and sat down to visit with her and Dad.

We both asked her about her day, activities, meals, etc but she mostly only gave 1-2 word answers and didn't seem to want to talk about anything. Dad said they had given her something to relax her which it definitely did. She never showed much emotion, asked any questions, or seemed interested in any conversation. We stayed and just chatted, mostly with eachother, so that she had at least had family around. She wasn't upset at that point, just very calm and quiet and content to look at the wall. Dad got her to smile a little a few times.

Another patient stopped by the door and mentioned that she had been upset and crying earlier in the day. That when they couldn't calm her or distract her with anything that they decided to have her go lie down, of which they apparently carried her to her bed to get her to do so. They also made her take a shower, helped her dress, and gave her the calming medication at some point. This other patient is apparently a new friend and Mom smiled and spoke to her a few times, too.

There aren't any TVs in the rooms, in fact they're extremely stripped of everything and are very bare without any decoration or entertainment misc. This is to serve as a safety for patients who are a danger to themselves or others and to encourage them to leave their room to reach out to people and join in on group therapy times and scheduled available activities. Being reclusive and withdrawn is part of the symptoms and deterioration of depression. So I brought her several magazines and a puzzle book which is permitted. I mentioned them several times and told her not to throw them away because I wanted them back (I only said this to encourage her to keep them around so they weren't asked to be thrown out before I could even make it back to my car later).

When it was time to leave we said our goodbyes and she stayed on the bed. I think the medication probably made her physically tired so we weren't expecting her to get up to see us out. She did speak and wave slightly and said she'd see us at the next visit (Thursday).


Today, Wednesday, I will call her this morning before I leave around 10:30. And I'll probably call her this evening. I'm not sure why she was crying yesterday but she does go through that sometimes at home.

I hope to see her smiling and conversing at tomorrow's visit. Please pray for her when you read these updates because she's still there and needs your prayers!