Over the next few days Mom was very confused off and on.\u00a0 The St B hospital is a catholic hospital so every room has a crucifix.\u00a0 One day when Mom was confused she pointed at the crucifix and told us that as long as she saw the crucifix she knew where she was.\u00a0 I was glad that she had found a point of reference but it was sad to know that she had to.\u00a0 And after that I would catch her looking up at the crucifix every so often.\u00a0 A day or two after she arrived at St B the same nurse that had been there the night Mom was admitted came in to see her.\u00a0 She was so relieved to see that Mom was improving.\u00a0 The nurse said that when she heard that Carole Pearce was coming up to be admitted she had said, \u201cOh no, not Carole.\u201d\u00a0 She had been so upset that Mom was back and then when she saw her that night she hadn\u2019t thought Mom was going to make it.\u00a0 She had been so worried.\u00a0 It was comforting to have these incredible nurses that truly cared for Mom.<\/p>\n
Mom had some more ups and downs over the next couple of weeks.\u00a0 Her hemoglobin dropped enough to have a blood transfusion and after having continued issues with food and keeping it down she ended up on what we affectionately called \u201cpudding\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPudding\u201d is a bag full of milky liquid IV nutrient that I nicknamed pudding when I saw that Mom was down one day.\u00a0 There were days where we got so desperate to raise her spirits we tried anything.\u00a0 So I asked her if she like the pudding or if we should request to have chocolate or strawberry flavoring added.\u00a0 It was a cheap try but I could usually get a small smile out of her as I changed the idea of the pudding.\u00a0 There were a lot of dark days during those weeks.\u00a0 There were days where I would talk to my Aunt or I would go into Mom\u2019s room and I would know who she needed to visit.\u00a0 I would call in \u201cthe troops\u201d or the \u201cheavy hitters\u201d.\u00a0 We just weren\u2019t enough some days.\u00a0 She needed pastors, mentors, family, old friends, funny friends and serious friends.<\/p>\n
I also got Mom a little upset by asking to speak with the hospital social worker.\u00a0 Okay so Mom was a little more than upset.\u00a0 She was mad.\u00a0 I had requested that my asking about physical and occupational therapies be kept private but they had to make her aware and I get it.\u00a0 But boy was she mad.\u00a0 She just couldn\u2019t understand why I was concerned.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t want her going home and not being strong enough.\u00a0 I wanted to know if there was more we could do for her at her apartment to make her life easier.\u00a0 But she was absolutely determined that she could do anything if she was in her own apartment.\u00a0 But I still requested that there be full assessments completed before she was released to the Steinbach hospital again.\u00a0 And I requested that one of the Oncologists meet with us in her room to be sure of where everything stood.\u00a0 I made sure I was at the hospital for the assessments and Mom glared at me, made snide comments, and was very nearly rude to the therapists.\u00a0 She just didn\u2019t see the problem; or did see the problem and didn\u2019t want to face it.\u00a0 I wanted to know that she could get up the steps into her apartment.\u00a0 She thought that saying that she could should have been enough.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t buy it that time.\u00a0 She was so much weaker; so much more vulnerable.\u00a0 I just hoped that at some point she would understand why I had done it.\u00a0 The months from January to May of 2010 were incredibly difficult;\u00a0 one rollercoaster after another one.\u00a0 And even after she was released from the Winnipeg hospital and then the Steinbach hospital it wasn\u2019t over.\u00a0 Her next chemo was a week away on March 17th.\u00a0 And we were all scared.\u00a0 The game had permanently changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the next few days Mom was very confused off and on.\u00a0 The St B hospital is a catholic hospital so every room has a crucifix.\u00a0 One day when Mom was confused she pointed at the crucifix and told us … Continue reading