A Day In The Slow Lane

I spent all day yesterday with my Grandmother. After I arrived, I spent my first 20-30 minutes waiting on her to use the bathroom. Every time she finished going, they would dress her back up and bring her into the room with me and then a few minutes later she would say she has to go again. This happened three times in a row! I told her that she better get it all out because there would be no bathroom in my car. Finally, she quit talking about having to go and we walked her out to the car. We spent a couple of hours just riding around my hometown... I ran some errands and she stayed in the car. I took her to visit her house. I helped her out of the car and helped her walk up and down the driveway a few times while she admired the yard and house. We visited our land and admired the horses at the neighboring farm. I got her back to her home just in time for lunch. We then left with the Caregiver to go to her doctors appointment in Lagrange. We made it to the doc's office and let's just say this was one eventful visit. First of all, the doc spotted us parading down the hallway on our way in to see him and he starting saying that we should really have a wheelchair on hand at all times- at home and away (this is based on his just watching us help her along I guess). And after walking thru all the events that have happened to her since our last visit- starting w/ the fall she had on Thanksgiving night, he pretty much stated that she is progressing downward. He is recommending two units of Ensure a day due to her weight loss (she is down to 85 lbs). He wants her to be sleeping in a "posey" (a restraint vest) at night to keep her from unconsiously climbing out of the bed in the middle of the night. After hearing about the details, he agreed with my theory that her "episode" on Saturday was more than likely another brain seizure- he wants to up her dosage of her seizure meds if she another significant one. If she continues to stay angry and combative on a daily basis, then we should be given the prescribed "calmative" med every day. The list goes on and on... and yet, he never came right out and just simply said "she is going downhill".... of course not! That would be WAY too easy! And with every question the Caregiver asked, my Grandmother would get angrier. By the time we left, she was fit to be tied! She did manage to lighten by the time we got to walmart... this trip to wally-world was quite different than any before- she did not recognize the store and she did not ramble on about needing "things" and "stuff"... she did not ask for ANY thing! We were in and out with no hold-ups... very strange... and her walking speed is drastically slower than the usual too. I am amazed at how hard it is to walk as slow as she does... makes my legs more than trying to run fast! We made it back to her home and I left her to head home by 5pm... and she was still happy-sounding when I talked to her this afternoon. Lord, I feel much better!