Doing Wheelies and blowing up things…

Yesterday, the last day of “perfect fall weather bliss,” Mom and I trekked the ½ block to visit Aunt Marge, my mom’s sister-in-law.  Margie has been in the rehab area for about a month, and things aren’t progressing as we’d hoped.  Margie’s journey seems to be becoming even more daunting. For the first time, Mom agreed to ride in the wheelchair the short distance.  Initially she'd balked, but then I'd brought her to the small chair sitting in the hall, and actually “introduced” her to it.  (Here is where you sit, your feet go here…) So for the first time since her own rehab recovery, Mom climbed into a wheelchair and I  pushed her--felt as if we were zipping through the parking lot at warp speed to the rehab unit. Oh, the freedom of movement, the energy of speed!...I wanted to do wheelies.

Margie’s rehab room was transformed into a party room.  Not only were cousin Carol and Uncle Bill present, but Carol’s daughter Natalee and friend Sophie were visiting, and eventually good ol’ Kirk showed up as well.  That made eight of us in the tiny room visiting Margie.  And she rose to the occasion.  Mom, in all her frailty, looked robust and invigorated next to Margie.  We laughed that Mom can’t see well, but can hear perfectly, and Margie can’t hear well but can see perfectly--the perfect setup!  It was an especially tender time for the two gals, now 90+, to chat, to reconnect, possibly for the last time.

Back at Mom’s apartment, I was disappointed to see that yes, again, the microwave had been nearly blown apart by flying coffee debris.  We’d asked that the staff bring mom a pot of coffee each morning so she didn’t make her own.  Previously she’d heat water in the microwave and pour that hot water into a mug to which she’d added instant (ugh!) coffee crystals.  She’d been doing this for years--like over 60 years.  But now she must be heating the mug with its water and coffee already added, for the microwave’s interior was again a battlefield to be reckoned with.

I found administrator Kate and actually dragged her into Mom’s apartment to show her the featured mess.  We initially thought about unplugging the microwave, but then realized there would be no method to quickly heat Mom’s evening meal.  We decided to AGAIN ask the staff to bring in a morning pot of coffee and I set out the white thermal pot and attached a note to that end.  So...we’ll see.  I’ve also explained to Mom (to deaf ears or declining memory, to be sure) that she should NOT make herself coffee anymore, but rather use the pot the gals bring in.  Next step is possibly removing all mugs, instant coffee and container for heating coffee water from the counter.  Oh my.  The pain of not being able to make a cup of coffee for oneself.  It’s something I hope never happens to me.  So bummed for Mom.