We moved very quickly into Level III of home nursing care for Mother in the past two weeks. Many supplies had to be ordered, just like the pros use to make life more comfortable for their patients, including moisturizers to be very, very gentle with such fragile, dry, elderly skin.
Mother is so grateful that I have totally taken over this fatiguing task of personal care and grooming for her. The time was right. She loves the microwave-heatable complete bathing cloths..."Oh, that feels SO good." We get in and out of the bedtime regimen in record time now...it really does make it easy on all concerned and she does not have to be up on her feet so long, nor is there any more "climbing out of the tub" instead of sliding sideways on the transfer bench.
Tomorrow, a new Home Health Aide begins the "real shower and washing hair" task for me. Once week in the morning for her and all of the other evenings for my sponge baths with the "complete bathing cloths." I was so glad that an experienced aide told me two years ago that "elderly patients do not need water showers or baths every day...too hard on dry skin." Well, it has taken Mother this long to agree with that statement and it has taken me that long to switch her from harsh pharmaceutical drugs that caused intense rashes....which required every night showers...to the kinder substitute natural medicine that is agreeing wonderfully with her system.
So, this past couple of weeks, all of these cases have arrived at our door:
Tubs of disposable, pop-up special cleaning cloths.
Tubs of disposable pop-up cloths just for hands.
Packages of bathing cloths that can be heated in one minute in the microwave oven...nice and WARM!
A new commode that took hours of research to get just the right size, style and price.
Mother is recovering nicely from her fall of three weeks ago; soon it will be time to try "over the head" clothing again. However, Mother keeps forgetting and is pulling the button-front blouses over her head anyway. Sigh.
We had fun watching "The Lou Gehrig Story" with her favorite actor, Gary Cooper, today. Mother remembers the whole Yankee Stadium yelling out, "Lou, Lou, Lou, Lou!!" She saw him and Babe Ruth play.
When I finished getting Mother ready for bed last night, I gave her a kiss and a big hug...we were hindered by the walker in the way, so Mother thought it great fun, saying how clumsy we were but we "got the job done," referring to a real hug. Then I pass her off to her teasing parter, my husband, and off those two go with jabs and insults and Mother merrily laughing at whatever he comes up with...he does catch her by surprise. It reminds me of the banter that went on with "The Three Stooges" or the "Marx Brothers," both favorite comedy teams of these two jokesters that live with me. Then he begins the tedious task of painting each toenail with fungicide after first giving her topical eye meds, eyedrops' eye med, bedtime supplements (down to two so she does not drink so much water and wake up so often!!) and homeopathic pellets which Mother loves. Teeny, tiny things. I think they remind her of candy. They are for strengthening her kidneys and bladder.
Half an hour and I am "on duty" once again.
Copyright by Dorothy Marie Kucera, Omaha, NE 3-9-08. Please do not use without my or my son's written permission.
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