7 September
It’s been ten days now since I reported on Sela’s
progress. I think another one is due.
So, let’s start with her thigh. Slowly but surely, the spot is healing. It does not give her much pain, unless she
touches it getting dressed or so. The
foot where the implant was placed looks a lot better. The ‘new’ skin is pink and settled nicely on
the spot. The edges are a bit angry
still and she has a ‘6’ pain on the arc of the foot. The nurse ‘Crystal’ continues to monitor this
and ‘Pam’ comes twice a week to give her a bed bath. Sela enjoys the baths and how Pam sings to
her and gives her a nice back massage. I
hear them over the intercom exchanging jokes and laughing the pain and dirt away. Last time Pam was here, and had turned Sela
back and forth for her bath. She did not
seem to like it much and told her, pointing her index finger at her: Do you know where you’re going when you
die? You’re going to HELL! It’s a good thing Pam thought it was
hilarious. I was just beside myself with
worry when Pam told me. I begged her to
consider Sela’s age and state of mind, but Pam refused to be offended and just
laughed. Today, Pam is back smiling
again, thank God. Over the intercom I
heard the laughter, the lovely deep voice singing little tunes. When Pam was finished with her and she was
snug and squeaky clean, Sela said to her:
Now I’m ready to die! Good, no
hell this time!
Social Services start next week, three hours, twice a
week. Hope the worker likes dogs. So far, all ‘visitors’ have not minded Otto even
though he barks as he escorts them in and out.
We shall see.
So, there was an event last week that nearly sent me the
edge. This is her account of the
incident: It was around 2, 3 or 4 in the morning, and after using the toilet
she scooted over to the sink to wash her hands. Apparently, she did not sit
well on it, and lost her balance and started to fall. She says that she was caught between the
bathroom cabinet and the scooter, so she did not fall flat, but gradually. So, she decided not to call me. (You see, all
she needs to do is holler, for I have a baby monitor in her room and mine.) She took it upon herself to crawl to her
bedroom, take the seat of an easy chair by her window, and lean against it for
support. She tried to get up, she says,
but to no avail. She pulled off a blanket
from the bed and decided to spend the rest of the night there. She says she slept on and off until I found
her next morning at 8:30 am. She pleaded
with me not to call the paramedics. It
was obvious she was all right, so I grabbed the phone for help.
Florence, who lives so close and was fortunately still at
home, came to the rescue and we carefully lifted her onto the chair, then to
her Scooter and then to bed. The nurse
checked her over later that morning to confirm that there was nothing hurting
her and that her vitals were all right.
I let her sleep all day, well into the evening. When she woke up, thinking it was morning, she
demanded breakfast. Out came the waffles,
the orange juice and some coffee. Later
on she accepted the night and we watched some television until bed time.
Now, I’m happy to say that she’s dropped the Scooter,
which sits neglected in a corner of her room.
I’ve noticed how her left foot angles inward and how her right foot
trips on it. I pointed this out to her
in front of the bathroom mirror and she now makes an effort to step out with
that foot and walk slowly. Her knees are
so inflamed that they’ve got her legs all out of whack. So here’s September and we’re on the way to
fall. On Monday the 17th we return to
Wake Forest. Roberto says he will drive
us then. We shall see how many times we
get lost, for he was born without a compass… His north is south, his east is
west… Until the next one, good bye and
again thank you for caring for my mom and being concerned about her. (Continues on blog: Last visit to Wake Forest)
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