This month hasn't been the easiest for me. Grandma's at a point at which she needs to have financial assistance from Medicaid, so Jean and I applied for it last week. I'm upset because it means that we have to put the house up for sale. I'd really like to be able to keep it in the family, but it doesn't look like we're going to be able to do that under the current circumstances. Because Medicaid is a bureaucracy, it seems as if a million things can go wrong with the application process, and it is very involved.
I went to see Grandma at Evergreen on Valentine's Day. The event was supposed to be at 3:00 p.m., but she wasn't ready for the party and was actually still in bed. It was 3:30 before she was able to go out to the cafeteria with me. I was angry at Evergreen since Grandma has to pay almost $74,000 a year (that's about $200 a day), and Evergreen just like most nursing homes in this area, are understaffed to the point that they can't get people ready for a known event on time.
This month Grandma got pink eye at the nursing home. What's interesting is that she was the only resident there who contracted it. That's pretty unusual considering how easily conjunctivitis spreads from person to person. Since she got over it, she's mostly kept her eyes closed, even when she is awake. That was the case when I went to visit her on Valentine's Day. I really had to work at keeping her eyes open during our visit. I think part of the problem is that her eyes get dry and/or goopy. One of her eyes had some junk in it, and removing it irritated her eye a bit. When I saw her Feb. 22 at Betty's Care Conference, she couldn't open her eyes without help even though they were clear of rheum (AKA eye boogers). I'm a bit concerned about how she isn't opening her eyes, and I've talked with the nursing home about it.
Betty's Care Conference went as expected. In her advanced stage of Alzheimer's Disease (which we're assuming she has since it can only be diagnosed after death) she is more vegetable than person. I'm not sure that she comprehends English anymore. She likes to watch people, but she recognizes no one. Betty's been a bit more anxious, even in her sleep, possibly because of the confusion from not understanding what's going on around her. She's receiving light medication for it. Betty's frequent falling has come to a screeching halt, thank goodness! Betty's eating habits seem to be okay for the moment, but that can quickly change. She still has what appears to be a cancerous sore on her right eye lid. We're not diagnosing it or doing anything other than light topical treatment for her since major action will not improve her quality of life. Why Betty lingers as long as she does is beyond me, and I know she wouldn't be happy living in the state she's in if she were aware. I hope no one thinks me heartless for hoping that it would end soon for her.
In all, it's been a hard month for me, and I'm scrambling to get things accomplished.
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps" (Pro. 16:9, NIV).
