Saturday morning I awoke pretty early with Lydia. Lydia woke up before me and certainly before my Mom. She had been pretty fussy lately. I pumped while trying to entertain her. She was 3 months old but breastfeeding was still such a battle. I never had enough for her and still had to pump several times a day.
I worked on my Mom's bills that morning. She had not paid any for August except her September rent and that she paid out of the wrong account so the check bounced. Her apartment fined her $100 and wanted a certified check now. I would have to get that later.
It's likely one of my Mom's church friends came over that morning but I can't remember who. I had such good talks with Andy, Shelli, Sharon, and Diane throughout that week. I grew to love them in such a short amount of time.
I talked to Aunt Pat on the phone several times Friday and Saturday. The initial call on Friday was a hard one. I hadn't talked to her in a couple weeks and I said I wanted to let her know that Mom was declining and I thought she was nearing the end. Aunt Pat began to cry.
Lydia would not stop crying and crying and crying. I called Kristina to come help me, to watch Lydia. Surprisingly there was a lot of stuff I felt that I needed to get done while with my Mom even though she slept most of the time. I needed to figure out her bills, figure out what to do about hospice, field lots of calls, texts, and Facebook messages asking about Mom and I wanted to go through her old pictures to start to put together a video for her funeral. I failed to mention in yesterday's post that I'd also contacted her lawyer Friday morning to find out what to do about Mom signing the power of attorney paperwork. The lawyer had been shocked Mom was deteriorating so quickly. She had seen her a month ago and she looked pretty good. Friday morning I'd worked out with the lawyer that I would bring Mom back to Noblesville and on Monday the lawyer would come to the house and have her sign the papers. That plan was pretty much out the window by Friday evening, but I wouldn't be able to get ahold of the lawyer until Monday.
It was noon and still I had heard nothing from hospice so I decided to call them directly instead of going through her oncologist. I felt bad knowing it was the weekend and staff would be limited and really only available for emergency situations, but I needed to get the ball rolling. I could provide the care but I knew I would especially need the comfort medications like morphine and atropine. I knew what would happen as her body began to deteriorate and I wanted to be ahead of the game. I did not want her to suffer any more than she already was. The woman I spoke with was very kind and she said she would get back with me once she got ahold of a nurse. A nurse called me back soon and told me she would get things going.
Mom awoke in the afternoon after Kristina arrived. Every time she woke up she got sick. She was hungry, but she knew she couldn't eat. I came over and sat by her on the couch and told her I'd worked on her bills that morning. I had her sign the checks one by one so I could mail them. I remember her saying, "This is good, this makes me feel like I'm worthwhile and getting something done." I told her I contacted hospice, that I needed their help to make her more comfortable. She didn't really have anything to say in response. Soon she laid back down.
About 3 PM my phone started ringing and I picked up. It was Dr. Songer. I mentioned him in my Memorial Day post in May that he was a retired oncologist who was now the medical director of IU Ball Memorial Hospice. He was a family friend and he'd called in May to see if he could offer any information or support before Mom began her cancer treatment. He called now to tell me they would get Mom on board with hospice. He said he made sure one of the best nurses was coming out to evaluate Mom and that she would be there tomorrow. I hung up the phone relieved. I greatly appreciated the personal call from him. I had been heard, we were going to get some help.
6 days left
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