Friday

Reggie gave me a quick update on Mum when I got to The Home this afternoon. The strong hallucinations Mum had been having on Tuesday evening lasted all night and she didn’t go to sleep until just before breakfast on Wednesday. She slept all that day and all day yesterday too. He told me she didn’t start coming round until lunchtime today.

Having been out of it so long she was very stiff and sore but in spite of that she was in unexpectedly good spirits. On Day One of her Sleepy/Active cycle she is normally lucid enough to know how unwell she is. That and the physical discomfort is enough to make her thoroughly miserable. I couldn’t tell why she wasn’t today. Perhaps she was still just too sleepy to be that aware.

I got to feed Mum her supper. She spat the first tiny spoonful of the pasta out. I thought it was pretty good and I finished that. On the positive side she did eat a small pot of yoghurt and drank a full milkshake and half a cup of tea. Even though I did my best not to rush her, all that effort left her totally exhausted. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep.

Having been asleep and unresponsive for two and a half days she was understandably  absolutely gasping. She didn’t say much and the only words I could make out were “Can I have a drop more drink?”

I’m still finding this odd. For months now it has been a struggle to get Mum to drink enough. The countless times I’ve asked “Do you want a drink Mum?” were nearly always answered with a resolute “Nope!”

But recently she has changed. She never refuses a drink when I put her cup to her lips – I don’t ask anymore – and she often asks for another sip if I’m too slow in offering. Perhaps it’s just me but I can’t help seeing marked changes in behaviour as another step in her decline.

Eldest Sister had let me know that she was visiting with her kids this coming Sunday. With Saturday still giving Mum space to go through a Miserable phase if she was going to have one I was able to give her promising forecast for how Mum would be.

That made me feel better. I know that she’s limited to visiting at weekends and I know that she’s prepared to take Mum as she finds her but I always feel bad when she drives for two hours only to find Mum sound asleep.

Author’s Note

My Mum is in a nursing home in a small village in the Thames Valley. The photo is not of the home. I used an AI image generator to give the reader some idea of the home she’s in.

All, some or maybe even none (you’ll never know!) of the names have been changed to protect privacy and hide real identities. If you think you recognise someone then let me know and I’ll edit the post or remove it entirely