Tedium, and, doctor visits

Life with/near my mother is either crushingly exhausting or simply boring, tedious.

We had a little burst of doctor's appointments last week - eye doctor and her primary care doc.  Her legs were terribly swollen (congestive heart failure, CHF), and couldn't pee, and trouble hearing.  Doc suggested going to cardiologist for her heart, but I reminded him we're on hospice and... if there's nothing to really create a real fix, and no pain to fix, then why go? So, we won't go.

Mostly now, it's tedious punctuated by bursts of drama.  Ho hum then some urgent care for congestive heart failure, then back to tedium.

We have little to say, but just sit together.  I try to come up with something interesting, but even that is unnecessary... she just wants human presence.

Another fall

She has fallen again, on Dec 31 in the evening. This time she was in front of her closet trying to rearrange some clothes.  She fell backward and hit her head.

Last time this happened, CLV called the paramedics and after they assessed her, she refused to go to the hospital.  I spoke to her, and she was coherent and seemed OK.  So, this time CLV didn't call paramedics (per mom's instructions). They called me and called Hospice. Hospice folks came out and assessed her and she was OK.

Over the last few days she has said she felt really really weak.  One day she said she had chest pains.  Yesterday I went to see her and she had been lying on her bed trying to get her pants on (she couldn't pull them up when she was standing); she got one leg in then couldn't manage the other.  She rang her button but no one came for 20 minutes as she lay there cold and frustrated.  She is just weak.

I still visit almost every day. We have little to say but it comforts her.