Out and About

Wednesday Evening: Good News
Philip and I were visiting with Fran in her room when in walked the Director of Pleasant Manor with good news. Fran’s latest lab reports regarding infections all came back negative. After 44 days of isolation, Fran is finally out of her room. The social worker, Belyne, stopped by to let Fran know that she come to take her on a ride (wheelchair) the next morning and show her around the center. Fran asked her where she would be able to find her and Belyne told her that she (Belyne) would find HER. We all laughed! The young, handsome CNA that Fran has a little crush on, immediately took down the “isolation” sign outside her room, put away the paper gowns and masks and gave her a wink. I could tell she was enjoying all the attention from everyone.

Thursday: First Day Out
Fran had a very busy day with very little time spent in her room. The PT and OT worked with her in the therapy room. They are encouraging her to help push when they assist her with standing up. They are also trying to help her relearn how to walk using the parallel bars and much assistance.

Following therapy was a wheel around the center and time spent outside on the porch. The temperature in Texas on Thursday was 81 degrees. Then it was chowtime. Following lunch there was a “pretty nails party” in the social hall and the social worker and Fran joined in. She even assisted Belyne in selecting her color, a pretty light pink.

A local singing group performed for 30 minutes, which I was told Fran totally enjoyed. She told me that maybe Phil could play in the hall soon. He already has been playing for the residents a couple times a week but Fran was never able to attend. He can now bring his keyboard home from her room and play for her in the residents' social hall for everyone to enjoy.

When I got off work on Thursday I went straight to the center to be with Fran for dinnertime. I couldn’t find her in her room and was directed to the dining hall. She was sitting with another female resident awaiting dinner. I sat with her through dinner and heard all about her day. Most of her details were pretty accurate with what the social worker had told me, a good sign. Fran told me she was tired and thought she better get to bed early and that I should to go home and make dinner for Phil. I jumped at the chance to get home early because it had been a hectic day at work. Philip was on call so I called him to report in and he was glad to hear about his mom’s day.

Friday: Tired from her Busy Thursday
Friday, late morning, Philip went over to visit Fran. He found her in her room by the door waiting for him. She was having trouble figuring out how to move around in her wheelchair. Phil took her around and even outside for a bit. She was confused more on Friday than when I had visited her on Thursday. I thought maybe it was because of her “big” day on Thursday, although it's is hard to say. Now that Fran’s infections are cleared up we are awaiting a Psych evaluation to measure her memory capacity. Hopefully the doctors can get together and try her on some memory meds.

Saturday: Miss America
I just got in from sharing an evening with Fran and watching the “Miss America Pageant”. She is beginning to enjoy TV again. For the past 44 days or so the TV was on, but Fran never seemed to focus on it. Once again - a little baby step but a positive one.

Next Tuesday Fran will get her hair trimmed and blown dry and seems to be looking forward to it. Phil and I are thinking about surprising her by bringing her home for a part of the day on Sunday. We will see how things go......

Good Week for Mama May

Fran had a productive week. She worked with PT and OT daily without a fuss (most of the time). Her transferring from bed to bedside potty is going smoothly with assistance from her favorite CNA’s Nancy and Mark. Sometimes this duo works together, other times their shifts fall on different evenings. Sometimes Phil helps when one of them is unavailable. Fran thinks Mark (about 22 or so) is cute and should go to medical school. I asked her why medical school and she said, “He knows how to work with old people like me”.

Nancy has been assigned to Fran since Day 1 and the two of them have formed a bond. Nancy brings Fran a candy bar from time to time and has even been known to sit down and eat one along with her. Nancy has much compassion with the elderly. I can’t say enough about the staff at Pleasant Manor Rehab. They have been wonderful with Fran and are always there to tend to her needs and answer any questions we may have.

Fran had her eyes tested this past Monday and Philip will talk to the doctor this week to see what he found out. Today a test will be done to check the status of the bacterial infection that has been working on her. We hope to have the results by Tuesday or Wednesday. If the results show negative then Fran can be “sprung” from isolation. If still positive, they will start her on a new round of antibiotics. Say a prayer that she gets “sprung” because PT and OT are anxious to get her down to the therapy room and work her hard. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Fran loves mail. Sometimes she likes to read the mail herself. Other times she tells us to “spoil” her and read it to her. She was so pleased to hear about Hunter and Mary Margret’s new granddaughter. She said that she knows they are so proud. Anita sent a card with an update about Duane. Fran was happy to hear that he is adjusting to school this year and was able to go to a friend’s birthday party. Mabel Miller wrote her a long letter with lots of news. Fran wishes she could go with Mabel to the Wellness Center for the warm water aerobics. She said that the warm water will do wonders for Mabel’s back. Aldeen Wenger called her from Virginia on Saturday afternoon and had they had a nice long talk. I was able to hear the conversation and was impressed by how clear Fran was throughout the conversation.

Yesterday I took Fran a power point slide show with music that I played for her on my computer. The show consisted of pictures of the farm, her family, church friends and even some ancestor pictures. It’s a work in progress. Fran watched it through twice the first time, then wanted her CNA, Nancy, to watch it with her. We looked at magazines, talked about weight and fashions, and much more.

Fran asked that I call Phil and see if he could bring her one of his juicy burgers when he comes to visit. He asked her what she wanted on it and she was very clear that she wanted mustard, sweet relish and cheese. When he brought it in, she ate the whole thing and enjoyed every bite of it.

Tomorrow is a school holiday so I plan on going in to watch her therapy. I hope these updates are keeping you “in touch” with Fran’s progress. Until next time…

Love and prayers,
Maribeth
Fran's Favorite Daughter-in-law
(I know, I'm her only daughter-in-law but it sure sounds nice! )

Fran's Humor

Often in life, a sense of humor can help us get through some tough times. Mother seems to be having more lucid periods these days but she still says some very unexpected things and it's amazing how colorful and imaginative they are.

During a phone conversation recently with Mary, she got through the usual social graces with the "how are you's", etc. Out of the blue, she said, "I waited so long for everyone to come that I just got fed up. So I just went up on the roof and slid right off. I didn't even get hurt because I fell into some bushes."

Another day, she went through the usual pleasantries, then popped out with, "Well, I gotta go now. My ball's out in the yard and I've got to go get it."

Maribeth had a nice visit with Fran last evening. She got to the center 30 minutes or so before her dinner tray came. Her appetite is good and she really enjoyed the homemade veggie soup and chicken salad sandwich. She told Maribeth that she had a hard day with her therapy and when she was finished she put her PT (physical therapist), Charlotte, down the incinerator. I asked her how that was possible because Charlotte is a bit on the "fluffy" side and really wouldn't fit. She told me she proved to her how strong her legs are getting and used them to push her in. Where does she come up with these things????? She did seem to realize she was being funny.

Here we are, 43 days with Fran here in Texas with us. We are blessed to have her just 12 minutes from our home door to her door and about 8 minutes from our workplaces. We visit daily at different times. Sometimes one of us can run over and see her in the mornings during her therapy sessions or during lunch hour. We always plan for at least one of us (usually both of us though) to be with her when her evening dinner tray comes. Then, we stay until she gets sleepy.

Levi was able to spend some quality time with his Grandmother during the month he was home from JMU for winter break. Philip and I were able to go out for dinner together a time or two while Levi spent time with Fran during the dinner hour. He would always have a funny story or two to share with us when he got home. He commented several times about how interesting Fran was to listen to when she shared some of her "growing up times" in Dobson, North Carolina. He was also amused with her "silly and funny" comments that she says from time to time.

Fran asked Philip to bring her in a supreme pizza with no pepperoni's. We decided to have a pizza party yesterday during Levi's last visit with her before he left today for JMU for the spring semester. We stopped at Pizza Hut and picked up a pizza for her on our way for the visit. The nurses got us all a big glass of iced tea to go with our dinner. We talked, laughed, and totally enjoyed watching Fran eat 2 big pieces of her special-order pizza.

Philip played his keyboard (we keep the keyboard in her room for our visits) for about twenty minutes or so. Fran made song requests and sang along some. She amused us by asking Phil to play the bird song. When asked what the song was that she meant, she replied, "My favorite song, the bird song". After more questions and much scratching of our heads, we finally realized she wanted Phil to play "On Eagles' Wings".

Therapy Update:
Small milestones are being met with Physical Therapy. Fran works well with her therapist, Charlotte. Her attitude is progressively better and she cooperates. She does most of her PT in bed. She is still fighting a bacterial infection, so the therapy professionals come to her room.

Momma May is working better with Occupational Therapy as far as turning back and forth in bed and pulling herself up, but she still needs assistance. Transferring from her bedside to her wheelchair is going better, but she still needs a belt and assistance from her OT specialist. She is now asking for the bedside potty chair, sometimes 2 to 3 times a day, on a good day.

Mental State:
Fran has many strong lucid times when we are with her. She also has times that we have to re-orient her to where she is, what day it is, and what time it is. She asks about Mary and Ed, Anita and Paul and all of her grandkids. She talked the other day about all the nice Christmas gatherings the May's use to have either at the farm or at Uncle Bob and Aunt Ginny's home.

She speaks fondly of Aunt Mary Freeman and all their travels together. I laughed the other day when we were talking about the "travel trees" she and Aunt Mary would put up for many Christmas's. (On each trip, they bought an ornament representing the place they had visited.) They didn't have enough room for all the keepsake ornaments.

Of course with her warm and fond memories, she still has some "make no sense" thoughts and comments. We laugh a lot and often and continue to reassure her that she is safe and under excellent care at Pleasent Manor Rehab.

We are blessed to have Fran here with us and just never know what each new day may bring. Continue to keep those cards and letters coming. We read them all to her and many times she likes to reread them herself. She really enjoys them.

Until the next update...
Love and prayers,
MB

From Mary, the Firstborn:
Anita and I are both blessed and thankful for Phil and Maribeth's dedication in caring for our mother. The timing is good because their "baby boy", Levi, went off to college this year, which leaves them in need of a project to fight off the empty-nest syndrome blues. It also allows me to be with Ed through his chemo treatments and to enjoy our RV here in Florida for the winter. Anita is very involved helping her family, taking care of her grandson, and working in Ohio.

I shall close with 2 phrases that we heard from Mother daily as we were growing up. To start our day, it was, "Rise and shine!!!" and as she tucked us in it was, "Nighty, night, don't let the bugs bite!"

From Maribeth May in Texas

We have enjoyed having Fran here for the last month. She had a few hard days getting adjusted but has shown some improvement. The doctor is still adjusting her medications. Her memory is very interesting. She can remember things that have happened in her past. Day-to-day memory is beginning to clear up a bit. She remembers somethings from the previous day, a little more each day.

I was asked to bring in some of her pretty nightgowns. I went in to see her for 3 hours today and found her in the wheelchair, dressed, hair combed and a smile on her face. Her physical therapist stopped in to give me a report. Fran is helping a little more when transferring from bed to chair. She wheels herself back and forth in her room and assists the PT's with leg lifts.

Funny things still come out her mouth throughout the day. Philip brought his portable piano into her room and played for us. Fran and I really enjoyed it and talked Phil into leaving it in her room so he can play each time he comes in. Fran is not paranoid any longer but still sees babies and animals in her room from time to time.

The care she is receiving is very good. Our family knows all the nurses and CNA's by name and they never know when to expect us. Yesterday our Pastor, Father Michael Guadagnoli stopped by to see her. She told him that she wants to be ready with a "joyful soul". She sang a Christmas song for him and told him she wanted to have a cup of coffee with him. Philip went to get the two of them coffee. Father gave her a blessing before he left and she asked him if he would come back and see her again.

On a lighter note... the other day after lunch she told me that she ate so much she was about to pop... but left a little room for a buckeye (the homemade candy Anita sends us from Ohio each Christmas). Fran loves her sweets. I hope this brings you all up to date and even puts a smile on your face. I'm beginning see that there is hope for Fran's continuing improvement.