Mom Weekend Update

We had a good weekend with Mom. She seemed a bit weaker and more frail but no noticeable mental deterioration and in pretty good spirits. She has been asking to be "wheeled" from kitchen to bedroom more often.

Morris came for lunch on Saturday and then again for dinner. Also came over over Sunday morning and Monday afternoon. Two eucharistic ministers came Sunday morning - Jackie Smith and Francis Steele - to bring Mom communion, which she seemed to appreciate. They will be coming every two weeks unless Mom decides she would like to change that schedule and see them more or less often. Jackie and Francis also gave me three contacts from the church who can help us with various things, legal, hospice, etc. They all work in the community as well as give presentations at the church from time to time; also participate in outreach. I will call each of them to find out more about what they might do for us, now or in the future.

We took Mom for her echo cardiogram - a very interesting process, unbelievable what you can see on the screen. Results will be reviewed by Gaucher and then communicated to us; no input from the person doing the procedure. Mom's legs continue to be very swollen, more so as the day progresses. The callus on her foot is also painful. Monday morning Mom developed another bleeding/oozing spot on her right leg while we were at the eye doctor. It was pretty heavy at first but then stopped. When we got home Maggie put a bandage on it and things seemed to be OK when we left later in the afternoon (about 5). She was planning to take off the bandage today to let it form a scab but when I talked to her earlier she said that it continued to drain last night while Mom was asleep, so much so that it bled (a clear pinkish fluid) through the bandage and onto the sheets and pad. Maggie has changed the dressing several times today and will be checking it before she leaves to see if she can leave it off tonight. Mom's new meds are helping her lose weight(now 115) but the legs are still swollen. Last Friday I had called Pugh's office to see if they had communicated anything to Gaucher's office about the increase in her metalactone (?) and they had not. According to Terry, they normally don't communicate things like that. I asked her to do it this time since Gaucher will be reviewing her echo and will hopefully know about the med change. The echo person could not verify if that had been communicated. Don't know if it's time to take her to see Pugh again. Once Gaucher reviews the echo and knows about the meds he might want to see her also.

Mom's eye has not gotten worse but it hasn't gotten much better either. Still very red. Dr. Shelly thought that while the vancomycin was helping it might also be an add'l irritant so he gave us a semi-replacement med - vigamox - to interchange with vancomycin. In other words, still use drops every two hours but alternate between the two. Really need to keep the eye clean also. Maggie put a small chart on the frig for other caregivers. If things don't improve, they'll want to do a culture. Also want to see her in a week or two. I did not schedule an appt since I thought it would be better for whoever would be taking her to do that for their convenience. We could consider having Maggie take her and then call the doctor later.

Bob and I also visited the cemetery again on Monday and talked more specifically about the options. There is availability in a number of areas. In order to narrow choices, we should first decide if anyone in the family has an interest in purchasing a plot alongside Mom now. If not, I would suggest we go ahead and get this decision behind us.

Bob and I liked an area within the cemetery called Garden of Eternity. There is ample room for others. If we decide we only want one plot, then any number of places within the cemetery are available (usually extra plots not used by other family plots).

The costs are as follows:

Single Plot: $2,995 (less $500, if we commit by the end of the month)
Flat, ground-level marker: $2,580 (Bronze, granite, state fee, install)
Open/Close Process: $1,095
Other/Taxes: $218
Total: $6,389

We would make a 10% down payment and pay remaining over 60 months (full balance would be due at Mom's passing if not yet paid in full). We can also make our final plot selection following our commitment as long as we don't wait too long. Jamie Westbrooks is our contact (864-244-4622) and I would recommend any local folks contact him to see exactly where the Garden of Eternity is located within the cemetery and do a walk-through of available plots. If you have another preference after that, just let us know. If you'd rather Bob and I finalize that part without everyone doing the walk-through, we'd be happy to do that. I told Jamie we'd like a tranquil, pretty spot, near a tree and away from any traffic, noise or ugly views. Please let me know your thoughts so we can get this part behind us.

I think that's it for now.