My mom...the Caregiver

I didn't know what to expect seeing my grandma in a nursing home. Nursing homes have always been a little scary to me and the smell ontop of it all makes me want to throw-up. There were old people in wheel chairs lining the hallway. Some were even yelling for help or yelling at me as I walked by. One old guy even asked my mom if he could touch her butt. She said no, and he went on and said "that is what the last person said." as he wheeled away in sadness. Lots of craziness out in the halls.

We fixed the problem in my grandmas room with a glade plug-in and kept the door closed. My mom, Karrie, myself and other family members would sit there with grandma and try to figure out what would make her more comfortable. It had to be hard for my grandma not being able to communicate her needs.

It's a good thing my mom was there. She knew what was needed most of the time and kept those nurses busy. As the days went on, my grandma improved. She was more alert and ate most of her meals. The meals were soft food like pureed peas and some others we couldn't figure out. After 3 days of eating it, my grandma wouldn't even open her mouth. She cringed as the spoon inched towards her mouth. So my mom went down to the kitchen, told them to give her a sandwich or something normal. And you know what? She ate the whole sandwich like it was a chocolate sundae! We even had a secret stash of cookies and chocolate. Like I said, it's a good thing my mom was there.

My mom also went and got a newspaper and would read it to grandma. Grandma would laugh and shake her head at crazy stuff in the world. My grandma LOVES the newspaper. Grandma even said she liked Obama...but I figured she didn't know what she was talking about. No way, could she really like Obama??

One evening, my mom loaded grandma up for a stroll outside. It was a little hard for grandma since she had been in bed for a whole week. She lost alot of muscle in her neck and I think she was in alot of pain. Getting her out of that room to get a little fresh air was nice.

My mom, she is a caregiver. She always will be. She knows what is needed, or wanted, and tries to get the job done...even if it is chocolate and cookies when the doctor says no.