Sunday, November 27, 2005

"You woke up this morning, the world turned upside down ..."

The 93rd birthday was celebrated in style here on Saturday afternoon. We ate ... and ate. Grandma F seemed fairly comfortable, sitting in her wheelchair at my kitchen table. She opened presents and even blew out some candles on her slice of pound cake.

Very much enjoyed the visit by Michael, Patti, Paul & Hallie. I do wish we lived closer to each other.

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Brandy and Adam came for the birthday party, and stayed to show my mother their honeymoon pictures. We watched the Georgia-Georgia Tech game, and ate leftovers for dinner. Seems like about a month since we spent any time together, so I was a Happy Mom last night.

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Today began with Jimmy FINALLY cleaning out his side of our closet. We filled 5 garbage bags with clothes to give to charity. Then he began packing everything he owns that's warm. He leaves on Tuesday for Minnesota.

He went to the office in the afternoon. I was doing the 3rd of about a dozen loads of laundry. And in between folding, I had settled in for a couple of hours of Tony ...


Ahhh. Tony on TV and me in my Happy Pants. Maybe even a piece of pie in between episodes.

But then the phone rang. It was an aide at Shady Acres. "Your mother has fallen, and she's ok, just a little confused." I wanted to tell the aide SHE was confused ... she's not my mother. But I let it slide, as always. I talked to Grandma and she said "I fell, but I'm in Georgia now and everything is alright." That was when I grabbed the car keys.

Jimmy met me there, and we heard the rest of the story. She had been perusing the leftovers in her refrigerator, and neglected to put the brake on her wheelchair. When she leaned over to see better, the chair rolled out from under her and she went to the floor. She never pushed her alert button she wears around her neck, so they didn't find her until they were passing out afternoon meds. She had crawled about 3 feet from where she fell, and was on the floor next to her bed.

The aide said her pulse was elevated, and we decided to call EMS to have them check her out. The 2 paramedics were so nice, and treated her with warmth and humor. They said her BP was great, and her pulse was fast ... but understandable for a 93-year-old who had gone through an afternoon like that. They had her sit and stand, and watched her for dizziness or pain. They asked her a series of questions to determine her mental state ...

EMT: "What year is it?"
GF: "2005."
EMT: "What month?"
GF: "Huh?"
EMT: "What month is it in 2005?"
GF: "Ohhh ... it's November."
EMT: "What's the holiday that's coming next?"
GF: (thinking hard) ... "Christmas!"
EMT: "Who's this handsome man standing at the foot of your bed?"
GF: "That's my grandson."
EMT: "And what's his name?"
GF: "Jimmy."
EMT: "And who's the young woman next to you?"
GF: "That's my grandson's wife."
EMT: "What's her name?"
~ crickets chirping ~
Finally, GF: "Linda."

Oh well.

She ate dinner on a tray in her room, and I helped her get into her pajamas. The aides said they would look in on her tonight. Enough excitement for one day, I hope.

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My mother-in-law sent me e-mail tonight, telling me to feed my Thanksgiving leftovers to the cat, so I won't become a statistic ... an overweight American.

I'm gonna write her back and say, "Have we met?"

When will my Karmic Debt be paid off?

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Since I know you were wondering ... my back hurts. Still.

Love, Linda

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dang...I sure wish I wore Jimmy's size. I might come out of this one with a couple of new outfits :(
heh