It has been 2 months since the last post. A lot of drama in the Locklin family. We returned from Virginia expecting to go to Texas the next week. That trip did not happen yet. During the week we were home, mom's blood pressure rose so high that the home health nurse thought she should go back to the hospital. After a week in the hospital she was so weak that she went back to rehab for 21 more days. This is the 3rd time since January. After completing her rehab she came home extremely weak. She could not tend to herself or walk with her walker or even get up out of her chair without assistance. We have sitters 24/7 to help her. We started with 3, but one got sick and missed about a week so the other 2 had to double up. I continue to go over each day, but due to her physical needs I am the wrong sex for that. In a way that is really a relief. The 2 main workers, Dorothy and Shaun, needed some help on the weekends. So, another person was hired for that. To make a long story short mom allowed her to move into her basement temporarily since she lived in a nearby city. This could help her cut down on her driving time. This temporary arrangement is not working out and she will be moving out soon. In the meantime the sitter that was sick is now well enough to work again, but her hours have been reduced. What makes that situation worse is that this person is one of mom's neighbors and our families are real close. Mom wants to keep all the workers, because she likes them all. I depend on Dorothy to make the schedule. Dorothy kind of adopted the Locklin family and sat with both my Dad and my Sister before they passed away. She is very dependable and has mom's best interest at heart.
We had discussed assisted living for mom, but I am not sure she would qualify for that now. She does get a little stronger each day. The improvement started with a knock down drag out screaming match with her home health occupational therapist. The OT was the winner of that round, and it made mom realize that she could do more by herself. The goal is to build her confidence to the point where she was before her fall. Like I said there is a little improvement each day. Mom has decided to publish her family history book that she has worked on for years and write a children's book based on the life of the family pet Daisy. While not physically strong, she is mentally as sharp as ever.
Just a quick update on my brother. He has struggled with pain issues, but now seems to have it under control. He just completed more radiation and has started another round of chemo. Amy and I drove over for a visit with he and his wife last week. He was having a really good day and we enjoyed the time with them. We look forward to their coming to visit us soon.
The past 2 months have seen changes at our house. We were having trouble with our septic tank and field lines, so a new tank was needed and new field lines. Now there is no grass on one side of the house and the front yard. If that wasn't bad enough my dryer went out and my tractor tore up. On the good side, we decided to install a swimming pool so now the back yard is all torn up too. The pool should be completed in the next couple of weeks. I may never get the rocks out of the front yard and have grass again, but the back yard will be mostly concrete. I will post pictures on my next post.
