3/29

It has been quite the week!  First off, thank you so much to everyone local who pitched in. I could not have done it without you! Charmaine had everyone in tears as we rolled her into her new apartment in the assisted living facility on Friday.  She saw all the pictures up on the walls and all her furniture from her old house all around her and she cried.  She cried tears of joy and just kept saying, “I love it.  It’s so beautiful.  I just love it!”  It was very worth all the effort.

Up until then and since then we are all working on making sure that things go as smoothly as possible.  If you’d like to send her mail, please e-mail, message, or text me and I will send along her address.  I know she loved to get mail even before, so it will surely brighten her days.  So far she has enjoyed a drawing class, bingo, and an essential oils demonstration where they made sachets.  The facility is working with us to make sure they provide foods that will work for mom’s diet (no gluten, no dairy) and have been very open with communication about her care team.  OT and PT were meant to already have begun, but her previous facility dropped the ball and so that is being set in motion ASAP.  We are working on getting other appointments set up to be able to continue her care going forward.  

As Charmaine adjusts to her new environment, I am happy to say that there is still improvement in her conditions.  She is able to get around mostly with a walker and wheelchair (depending on the day/time of day).  She eats her meals in the dining room with the other residents and is able to have conversations with her neighbors.  It seems she has been able to answer her phone and text again (I’ve gotten 4 phone calls and multiple texts just today!) so feel free to give her a call.  She is still very easily confused and may not remember if you have previously called or have been by to see her.  She often does not remember what day it is (her days run together) or who has been by.  If you do visit, please avoid evenings and make sure to sign her guest book so she can look back at who was there what day.    

Her long term memory (what happened before the stroke) seems okay.  There are some holes, but mostly she can recall things that happened.  Her short term memory is rocky.  Some days and times of day are worse than others.  When she is tired, it is not uncommon for her to ask the same question multiple times in a span of a few minutes, forgetting the answer each time.  

Her eyesight seems to be also improving.  She doesn’t see double nearly so often anymore.  She broke her bi-focals and I was able to get her new glasses while I was there, but they would not do bifocals without mom in office, so she has two pairs (one for distance and one for reading).  This is difficult for her because she will forget where she put them and also which one she needs for which thing.  I did my best to try to help her remember (the red ones are for reading, R and R and are near her chair where she likes to sit and read) and the big ones are for things far away.  However, this is still a work in progress.  

This move felt like crossing a finish line in that she is now in a permanent environment where she can continue her recovery.  It also is a starting line for a new way of providing care for her.  We still have much to do and she still has a long way to go on the road to recovery.  Please keep the prayers, positive wishes, etc headed our way.  We need them all.

Liz (Annie) Heim

heimmeanshome@gmail.com

847.767.0000