"Mother lived in an apartment by herself since my father passed away five years ago. She did fine for a while but then little things would happen: she would take a walk and fall, or babysit my brother's dog and walk it in the middle of the night. Other things, like catching a kitchen towel on fire, burning her food, and not taking her medicine correctly, made us realize we needed to consider moving her.
"I started to keep a closer eye on how she took her medicine, and talked to the doctor about how sometimes she would take too much or not enough. He wasn't too concerned, so neither was I, at that point. One Saturday, however, I took her laundry to my house, and when I returned, I found her on the floor. She said she had gone to get the mail but could hardly make it upstairs; she just dropped to the floor and crawled into her apartment, dizzy.
"Again, her doctor wasn't concerned--if it weren't for my mom's loyalty to this guy, I'd have taken her to another doctor long ago. Her doctor said her medicine could cause these reactions. When we went to pick her up for church the next day, she was so lethargic I couldn't even get her to put in her dentures. I called 911.
"Tests revealed a high dilantin level--too much medication. She could not return to her apartment alone, so we placed her in an intermediate-care home, where she gets all her meals and medicines.
"It has been an adjustment. Mom used to be active, outgoing. She used to sew, crochet, knit, play pinochle. Now, she does none of it. She knows she can't remember, and that is frustrating for both of us. She isn't much for mingling with people, maybe because she can't carry on a decent conversation. I try not to fill in the blanks for her to see if she'll be able to come up with what she wants to say. We can laugh about it.
"My biggest concern is: When she can't tell me something, do I finish the sentence for her? Or, do I make light of it like I have been doing? Next: Adjusting to a New Situation >
