Vacation

Well, tomorrow Jeanne and I get our first vacation together in over 5 years. We're going to New Orleans for a week, where I'll present a paper at a conference, and we'll play the rest of the time. It's so hard to get away, and requires a fair amount of work to prepare. Yesterday we took Mom to the nursing home where she'll be staying for 11 days. We gave ourselves a few days before we leave and after we come back; it's hard enough to get ourselves ready, but getting Mom ready is a project itself. In addition to packing what she'll need, we have to make arrangements with the nursing home, make sure they get new doctor's orders, arrange the van to take her to and from day care, notify my siblings, make sure all paperwork is in order just in case, give instructions to the day care about things they should watch for since they know her better, write out instructions and an inventory for the nursing home, and it goes on.

I'm tired, but looking forward to getting away, sleeping through the night, and seeing New Orleans, where we've never been. We hope to come back rested and rejuvenated, especially since Mom is more work after she's been in respite. We work pretty hard at keeping her awake and alert and moving when she's with us, and that just doesn't get as much attention where they have multiple patients to care for. She regresses in respite, and because we're trying to keep her as present as possible as long as she's here physically, we have to work to bring her back to where she can be.

She is losing weight. When they discharged her from hospice, she was 115 lbs. Then at the doctor's she was 112. Her last respite stay was 110, and yesterday she was 107. We'll see where she's at when we come home. I think the end is coming, faster than it was before, but with the Energizer Bunny, who knows what that really means?

I'll write when we get back, and maybe paste in some pictures of New Orleans revelry!