Roses for Mom

Saturday, July 31st~

We brought Mom some ROSES today :) William, Skylar and I went over to visit for a little bit and also brought Dad and Mom Taco Del Mar Enchilada plates :) Mom ate part of it....of course it was too spicy and not heated up hot enough, lol...I took off the salsa and heated it up in the microwave :) Mom is sleeping so much still (pain pills will do that to you...) and she hasn't gotten up out of bed yet either...

Dad went to the Smokey Point Swap Meet today to sell some of his 'junk' and DVDs, he did pretty good!! Skylar got football and baseball cards from G-pa Steve, he was pretty excited :)

Tuesday, August 3rd~
Mom hasn't been doing so good the past few days, but she is hanging in there. She was talking alot of slurry nonsense (hallucinating) on Sunday and Monday; we couldn't understand her very well, so Dad changed out her nasal cannula (thing that goes in her nose to give her oxygen) and it seemed to help out. I was on the phone w/her and just kept telling her to practice breathing through her nose and out her mouth to get some good oxygen. These are the days I know it's okay to stay home. Sometimes my Dad and I have to 'troubleshoot' what a problem could be....worry, worry times! My dad said her oxygen level was on the low side - 85 and last I heard it was 91, so better and she was definitely more coherent today/Tuesday :) Today Dad is a little overwhelmed, but managing with the help of Mom's Caregiver, Jill.

The Nurse talked to Dad today about how "tired and worn out" he looked and also talked about alternatives (like a nursing home) if it gets to be too overwhelming; nurse worried Dad not taking care of himself and he could end up sick. Dad called me last night to talk about things. We are going to try to keep her home for now :)

**Mom's says her current goal is to stick around until Dad's Birthday~October 23

How's Mom and Dad?

Visited Mom (and Dad too) on Saturday and yesterday, Monday. I've been going over every other day it seems.

Mom has not been able to get up from her bed yet, she is still getting stomach cramps that really seem to hurt her alot, but she is getting her bowels moving better. I feel really sad for her and try to encourage her to "eat and drink" something! She is calling me "Dr. Stephanie" now....lol! I keep looking up "end of life" signs and getting upset, it sucks!

Dad had requested a visit w/a Hospice Chaplain and said it really helped him to feel a little more rejuvinated about the situation. He plans to set up another visit! They said a little (BIG) prayer for Mom :) Dad has been so Awesome :)

Have a nice day and send some happy thoughts to Mom while you are it!

Surprise Visitors for Mom today!

s

Thursday, July 22, 2010:
Fourth Day Home and Dad made it through another night w/helping Mom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SURPRISE visitors today!
Christine and her boyfriend, Dan came over from Wenatchee to see Mom and give her some hugs :) Christine cleaned moms nails up and lotioned her arms too :) We reminisced on how we were "funny teenage girls" and the tricks we used to play on Mom.

We really enjoyed their time over here :) Thanks, guys!! That was nice :)

Broken Hip & Wrist!

Mom was doing so good, this all took us by surprise...

Thursday, July 1st:
Mom actually had a visitor, her grandson (that she had not seen in years) was staying for 4 days with them! Mom got up from her bed and then just fell down. Dad called me on the phone and I told him to call 911, as I could hear her in the background yelling. He called Hospice and then 911.

I met them at the Hospital in Arlington at about 7pm. and after awhile we were told she definitely broke her hip and her wrist and would need surgery for the hip. She was in so much pain, but did not get anything for the pain until after they did x-rays and all! The odds were against her (with her current condition) that she would even survive a surgery w/anethesia, but Mom wanted the surgery, so we scheduled it. We left the hospital at about 11pm (I took the grandson home w/me and Will got him back to his mom the next day). The surgery was the following day and it went well, Mom did not have to be intubated for breathing!!! My Dad and I both thought for sure the Dr. was going to give us bad news...but he didn't :) What a fighter!

Mom was in the hospital for only about a day or two after the surgery before they decided to transfer her to a Nursing Home (Skilled Nursing that is...hahaha!). I didn't think she was near ready to leave, but what do I know?!

Mom went to a Nursing Home in Arlington and has been going down hill ever since! My dad and I are all brand new to this stuff, so we feel somewhat blind...

Mom was in Nursing Home for about 2 weeks and we brought her home on Monday back to Home Hospice Care by our choice. Mom was incredibly sad and depressed there. She said she felt like a piece of meat and they only cared about getting money for her. She was having issues not eating and not going to the bathroom.

Saturday, July 17th - Dad moved his bed out to the living room to be near Mom now. Hospice delivered her bed and stuff today, all ready for Mom to come home on Monday.

Monday, July 19th:
Mom was brought home today by ambulance. Thank goodness our Caregiver, Jill was there with my Dad when Mom arrived. Mom in alot of pain, but very happy to get out of the "Skilled Nursing" Home.

Bedtime: Poor Dad and Mom!! Dad said it was about a 'disaster' trying to help mom get on comode (potty chair), pee everywhere....lol. He said they were up about 4 times...hopefully last night was better!!

Tuesday, July 20th:
Caregiver, Jill was here from 8-4, yay!! Mom's Hospice Nurse was by today, very helpful in getting our heads straightened out and helping mom feel better!! The Nursing Home sent us home w/all these pain pills, Morphine, Percoset, Oxycodin, Xanax...WTF!? Mom has been in alot of pain and unable to have a bowel movement (sorry, but a fact of life) - so our main concern is getting her digestive tract back in order, so she can function and not feel so darn sick and in pain. Poor Mom :( Hospice Nurse helped her out some yesterday and is on top of getting her bowels better.

ON A SIDE NOTE: If you want to mail anything to her the address is:
16600 25th Ave. N.E.
Marysville, WA 98271

First Blog Post

I thought I would start a Blog for my Mom to help others can understand my Mom's condition and stay somewhat connected. I hope it works out. I will try to update it often.

February 2010 - Mom had an episode/exacerbation with her COPD.

Info on what that is: http://copd.about.com/od/copd/a/copdexac.htm

Dad found her almost unconscious and white stuff in her mouth :( Dad panicked and called me. I got in my daughter's car (Will's truck was in shop, so he had my van) and I then ran out of gas on Hwy. 9! Unfortunately, we were in a panic and Dad left Mom to come and get me about 7-8 min away. When we arrived back at their home and I saw Mom, I FREAKED OUT and yelled, "call 911" and then yelled over and over "Mom, Mommy, Mama." Finally the ambulance showed up and took her to Everett Providence Hospital.

We were very happy mom was able to return home after this episode, as I thought she was dead when they took her away in the ambulance. Mom was 'tubed' to breathe and put into Critical Care. She was in the hospital for 6 days. During the after care of this episode, Mom decided she did not want any further treatment and entered the Hospice Program in March 2010.

Lauralei and Juanita (my half sisters) both came from out of state to see Mom, love her and help with her after care, what a blessing! Douglas (my half brother in Seattle) visited her at the hospital and she received many well wishes and calls. THANK YOU!!

********************************************************************************
Letter to Fire Dept and Marysville Globe posted it in paper:
Dear Greg Corn, Fire Chief/Marysville Fire District,

First off, thanks goes out to your team for the excellent work they did when they arrived at my mom's house last Friday, February 19, 2010 from a 911 call to her home in Smokey Point at the Crystal Tree Village Mobile Home Park.

I really wanted to let you know how impressed I was on the Marysville EMT's/Fire Department staff, they were so efficient, professional and caring. The team that responded to my mom's emergency took total control of the scene and went straight to help my mom. (I was in the driving crying my eyes out and they just ran past me and straight into the mobile home where my mom was), thank you so much!!

I read your Mission Statement:
"Marysville Fire District is dedicated to providing quality emergency response and prevention services to the community with integrity, pride, and professionalism."

Please let your team know how much my dad and I appreciate their actions; your team of professionals truly held up their end of the Mission Statement last Friday.

Sincerely,
Stephanie Seeds
**********************************************************************************
Letter to Everett Providence:
This was not in the paper, but a letter to the Evt Prov Hospital Colby Campus

To Whom It May Concern,

February 25, 2010

I am writing to you in regards to my mom's unexpected hospital stay at the Everett Providence Hospital/Colby Campus. Overall, my mom received some of the best care we have experienced w/her condition; thank you to your ER staff for their initial care. My mom arrived on Friday, February 19, 2010 by ambulance from the Marysville, WA Fire Department.

My mom was transferred to the CCU from the ER department and I want to let you know my family was impressed w/the professionalism, knowledge and empathic abilities in the CCU department.

My concern was w/the Physical Therapist visit on February 24, 2010, her discharge day. I was appalled to watch and witness the PT have my mom get out of her bed and sit in an office chair and roll her down the hallway while she was holding onto both sides of the bottom of the office chair seat. I verbally expressed my concern out loud in the room and the hallway; a hospital employee heard me and immediately addressed my concerns by advising a nurse assigned to my mom who, shortly after, came to assure that there were plenty of people around her and she wasn't concerned; the people around her were the PT, my dad and two half sisters from out of state, give me a break! This was my mom's first day of walking in 6 days and she could hardly sit up or move out of bed without being dizzy and periodically getting fleeting blackouts. I feel my mom should have been gotten a wheelchair, not an office chair!!

Stephanie Seeds
*********************************************************************************