Plan B

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

I got a call at 9:30 that mom would not be going to daycare.
I asked the support worker to tell my mom to put her coat and shoes on.
The support worker was successful in getting mom ready to go and even got her downstairs, but then mom bolted and went back to her room.
When I arrived at her place, mom was lying in bed.  She told me that she was very sick and would probably die.  I said that I would take her to the hospital.  She seemed fine with my response.

It looked like her hair wasn't washed so I washed her hair and gave her a bath.  She is supposed to get a bath on Mondays and Wednesdays, but it doesn't seem to happen often.  At the nursing home she would only be bathed once a week.

I couldn't pack her suitcase in front of her because she would suspect something was up.

When mom's friend arrived at 11:45 to pick me up, I told her there was a change in plans.  Mom hadn't gone to daycare this morning.  I asked her to take my mom to the restaurant and I would meet them in ten minutes.  I needed time to pack her bag.  We had  nice lunch.  After lunch, mom wanted to go to the washroom.  We went back to her suite.  She left to go to the car with her friend and I told them that I would follow after because I had to go to the washroom too.  I asked her friend to leave the trunk open for me so that I could put the suitcase in there when I came down a couple of minutes later.

We got to the nursing home and mom was fine.  No one was at reception and it took a while before we found someone to help us.  Finally we had someone to show us around.  The staff were very friendly and mom seemed at ease.

When mom realized that she would be staying, she freaked out.  All of a sudden she could speak English.  She even referred to me as her daughter. 

She kept asking why she had to stay.
She kept asking to go home.
She felt betrayed.
She said she would rather die.

Everyone tried to reason with her, but to no avail.

The nurse was concerned and asked if mom would harm herself.  The nurse was wondering if she should call the doctor.

I tried to get her to join in on an activity with a little success.  Mom likes physical activity.
I was trying to get paperwork filled out.

Around 5:00 p.m. we looked at her photo album together and she seemed to calm down.
I asked if she was hungry and ready to eat and she was.  We went to find her place in the cafeteria.
She insisted that I share her food with her.  We both enjoyed her meal.  It was fried fish with tartar sauce, rice and carrots.  There was a fruit cake for dessert and an orange.

I had to make a run for it to catch a bus.  Mom wouldn't let me hug her good-bye.