I had a serious case of the aching arms yesterday. Sounds more like a country western song than an arthritis ailment, doesn't it? I even took a pain pill during the day to take some of the edge off. I didn't have too much trouble handling it OK when it was just my left elbow giving me fits, but when both of them started it was highly distracting. It was very hard to concentrate, but I did at least get started on the sermon. And I took my weekly trip through two sets of financial books to keep them reconciled. I got the ceremony written for the wedding I have this weekend. And I began getting together a youth camp file to help out the volunteers in planning for the summer. Sounds like a lot, and I guess it was, but it sure felt like all I could think about was the ache in my elbows. Man, I felt old.
We were very encouraged about Mom, though. She actually got up around 9:00 and even made it to Libbie's Place, not without some complaints. Chris explained to the director about how she was responding better to firm directive comments rather than options. Chris picked her up early because she had a routine appointment with the ophthalmologist. The Libbie's Place staff said she did very well and participated in just about everything they did. As they walked out the door, however, one of them called out, "Have a good visit at the eye doctor." Uh-oh. There was that "D" word.
Sure enough, when Chris got her all strapped in and they were heading away in the car, Mom said, "Where are we going?"
Chris told her, and suddenly she was stricken with "the worst pain ever" in her mouth. Chris explained that they were not going to the dentist.
That brought a brief look of confusion, then a shift in focus. "Oh, it's the worst pain ever," she continued.
Chris asked where the pain was now. "Where?" she replied, "You know where."
"No, I don't," was Chris' rebuttal.
And Mom's answer? "It's my nose."
OK. I know that's not funny, but I confess I did chuckle when Chris told me about it. That one came out of nowhere. They did make it to the "EYE" doctor appointment with no further ado. Once here, however, the struggle began anew. Mom made it up the ramp and into the building and plopped down hard into a chair. And then the groaning began. Chris said quite a few eyes were upon them by the time they were called back. The exam proved a bit of a chore convincing Mom that she had to keep her eyes open, but she finally made it through, and they headed for the lobby. Before they got to the door, though, Mom slumped into a near-squat, like she does off and on here at home to show us she is tired or doesn't want to do something. She ran into a problem, though. She somehow got one leg twisted behind the other and couldn't get them righted again, so she ended up sitting on the floor. Of course that brought staffers and doctors alike running to offer assistance. Chris assured them that we had been to the doctor just recently and they had given her a clean bill of physical health. She explained that their bottom line assessment was that Mom was periodically having some kind of cognitive disconnect that was causing her to forget how to do the simplest of actions. In most cases after waiting a period of time she does fine. It is incredibly frustrating for us, so I'm sure it is beyond annoying for her.
They made it home and all seemed to level out for the evening. She watched the Astros game with me and even commented on how poorly they were doing. She does know some baseball. Around ten thirty she bade us good night and we all went to bed. And then around 1 a.m. we heard her cry out. She was calling for Chris, but the sound was coming from her bathroom. We jumped up to check on her, and sure enough, she was sitting on the floor. Apparently she had lost her balance. We helped her up and back into bed, but she was on a roll then. She was very confused about what was happening to her and what she should do about it. We both talked to her until she calmed down, assuring her that the thing she needed to do next was get some sleep. We finally headed back to bed, but Chris had to return at least once to reassure her. Can you say, "Long night"?
1 Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
Father, sorry for the broken record prayers, but Mom sure needs your comfort. I guess Chris and I do, too. Amen.
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