Monday, 11/3 - Have Mercy On Us!

Mercy, our new live-in caregiver, arrived around 10am this morning. So far so good. She's from Ghana where she has 3 daughters attending university. She works here so she can send her money home for them, and she goes home to visit every 2 years for 1 month. She has a big, bright, wide-open face and she, so far, seems very warm and very, very compassionate. She's actually been overwhelmed with emotion a couple times over Mom and her difficulty communicating. I have great hope that she will be a good person to help us care for Mom. Mom seems to really like her, makes good eye contact with her and has not had any problem with any of her care so far. Aside from having the help caring for Mom, one of the best things about her being here is that I can step away for a while and come back in with a fresh face and smile for Mom rather than just being all work and tasks for her.

Annie left a little after 1pm today and was planning on driving straight through, 13 hours, back to South Carolina. My thoughts are with you, My Sister, as you return home to this emptiness. Looking forward to your next visit over Thanksgiving. Before Annie left today, Mom was trying to write something over and over again on her whiteboard. We could tell that it was something that Mom desperately wanted Annie to bring back with her next time she comes up from SC. We finally identified that Mom was asking Annie to bring her walker with her. It's been several months since Mom has been able to walk with her walker. I hope that it's an indication that she's feeling hopeful and optimistic and well. There's really no point in her feeling any other way. I asked her if she was visualizing that she would be able to walk with it once Annie brings it back up and she said "yes". Annie and I both just said "OK, let's bring it!" What we wouldn't give to help Mom have her legs and her strength again. She loved to walk barefoot in the sand after a long jog or walk on the boardwalk in the summertime.

Took Daisy to the vet for her bite wound. She's on 10 days of antibiotics and some doggie pain-killers! She's definitely not herself today, and it's obvious she can't quite figure out why her nice little world has turned so completely upsidedown... but HEY, join the club!!! I think she'll stay home with us until she's over the injury then will go stay with our friends for as long as Mom's dogs are here. Not much else to report today. Mom had some Ativan again tonight to help quell the 8pm "witching hour"... seems to be a tough time of night for her, tough to quiet her mind and relax for the night's sleep. My Dad and Mary are coming to visit this weekend along with Adam and his ladylove, Sidra. Good Night, All.