Sunday, August 15, 2004
Hydration, as usual, is one of the major issues...
...affecting her. She was on fluid restriction at the hospital because I had accidentally over hydrated her and thrown her into a low sodium level. Now, the SNF, following instructions from the hospital, thus, keeping her on fluid restriction and not worrying about her habit of not drinking fluids and not wanting them, has managed to move her into critical dehydration. I worked on this yesterday with Mom, while I was there, but, of course, I've become used to having to stand over her and practically pour fluids down her throat. I'm not sure that I can expect this from a SNF. I did, however, talk to her day nurse, the one health care provider in all these years who recognized, immediately, that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the condition of my mother's body, medically and personally, about my mother's hydration profile, and enlisted her help in rallying the staff to remind my mother, ad infinitum, to drink water. I called my mother, immediately, as I told the nurse I would, after talking to the nurse and, sure enough, the nurse was in there "threatening" her in much the same way I do, so I am relieved, somewhat. I'll be all over my mother tomorrow, as I always tell her, "like a bad suit", getting her to drink but, today, I need to enlist the help of staff and visitors.
I'm in the process of beginning yet another journaled section to this effort. It will be an informal essay area where I will be addressing issues that I normally address here but that get lost in the morass of everything else I am addressing. Setting the essay area up as a journal will also make it easier for me to write my informal essays on caregiving topics. Up to now I've felt as though I had to format separate pages for them. Now I don't have to. That should work, better, and the separation of material, with what I hope to be an index, should help make some critical material more accessible to those who visit with particular aspects of caregiving for Ancient Ones in mind.
I've got a call to make, and then another, and then, I suppose, it might be a good idea if I finally eat breakfast.
Later.
I'm in the process of beginning yet another journaled section to this effort. It will be an informal essay area where I will be addressing issues that I normally address here but that get lost in the morass of everything else I am addressing. Setting the essay area up as a journal will also make it easier for me to write my informal essays on caregiving topics. Up to now I've felt as though I had to format separate pages for them. Now I don't have to. That should work, better, and the separation of material, with what I hope to be an index, should help make some critical material more accessible to those who visit with particular aspects of caregiving for Ancient Ones in mind.
I've got a call to make, and then another, and then, I suppose, it might be a good idea if I finally eat breakfast.
Later.
