You’re probably wondering why it’s been so quiet…

It’s quiet because all is well!  As expected, it took awhile to get Mom truly settled in to her new home but eventually she settled into a routine of some sort and the aide who cares for her most became used to her habits and idiosyncrasies.

That’s not to say that every day is peachy keen.  This last full moon was a doozy as far as the effect on all of the residents.  The confusion and behavior became quite comical at times – it’s best to laugh rather than dwell on the fact that their once wonderful minds are slowly leaving them.

The week leading up to the full moon found Mom alternating between grumpy and downright crabby.  Each time I walked in and asked how things were going I learned that Mom had been a handful.  Tina lays out Mom’s clothes each day but Mom is still able to dress herself – for the most part.  There was a day that Tina had to send her back in three times to get it right and Tina finally went in with her to help.  Ten minutes after getting the clothes on correctly, Mom went back in her room and changed the clothes all around again.  J

The day of the full moon was a treat too!  I didn’t visit that day but my sister and my niece did.  Mom refused to put her teeth in and kept insisting that they weren’t her teeth.  Tina was not working that day so I promised to take a look at it the next morning.  It was doubtful that they weren’t her teeth but given the full moon, you never know.  I’ve watched the aides pull all sorts of personal items out from under the couches and chairs and I’ve watched them searching all the rooms trying to find a resident’s glasses or some other item.  In fact, Mom’s is one of the rooms they always have to search!

I walked in the day after the full moon and Mom was practically wiggling from head to toe, she was so happy to see me.  It was easy to see that she had her teeth in and yes, they were hers.  So at that point I just chalked up the teeth issue to the full moon.

During my visit, I happened to get a side view of her face and noticed that all around her right eye was puffy and red. She wasn’t complaining or rubbing it and it wasn’t noticeable when you looked at her because of her glasses. I also noticed Mom was coughing a bit. I thought nothing of it at the time but later in the day it dawned on me. Mom had complained about her teeth because she was having a sinus problem with the weather change and it made the bones in her jaw hurt.

If you look real close you can see the redness around Mom's right eye.

I alerted the home to the possibility and the nurse checked Mom out.  It was just a little pink at that point so the nurse gave Mom some Claritin and said she would keep an eye on her.

So, yes, there are blips, but all in all, it’s all good.