New Year's Eve Party Time.....

We went over to bring her some treats for her to enjoy for the evening. Tom realized that they were having a party downstairs in the main dinning room. Yes.. It was a New Year's Eve party in the afternoon. Mom had been dressed in the early afternoon, and when we got to her room she had her pj's on and it was two o'clock in the afternoon. Tom went down to give them all Mom's medicines for the month and realized the party was going on. He quickly came up to tell us, so I got Mom dressed to go do some partying. She was  excited about partying and expressed how much she loved to party. When we got downstairs the small band had just played their last song, and everyone was getting ready to leave. Mom saw Jim and explained how she loves to dance. He said it was not too late to dance. No music on, the two of them started dancing. Mom told me while she danced that she did not have to have any music.. her feet knows what to do. Mom saw how many had hats on and of course Mom wanted the Princess crown one. 

 Jim.... Mom's younger friend who always makes sure Mom is Okay.

 Melba... who is such a funny lady....who makes everyone laugh... Who loves to talk about sex..

 Mom and Jim dancing without music...and the party was over..

 I told Mom the party was over...the sad  part was we just got there when the party was ending. She was so surprised to hear  the party was over.

 Chris.. who smiled when I told her she made a beautiful Princess.

 Dancing without music.. Mom explained her feet knows what to do.

 The  two lovely ladies of New Year's Eve 2013..

2013 Princess sitting on her throne.

She  was so happy even though the party was over, her party was beginning. Happy New Year Mom!

Another Trip to Emergency!

We went today to see Mom, and brought her clean clothes , new shoes, meds, and snacks. She loves her fried chicken from Lee's, Mom ate like Miss Piggy today. Hoping we can get her to put some fat on her little body.  When we got there we finally met her Occupational Therapist. She was so great with Mom, and had such patience with her. I took a couple of photos of Mom exercising with her.

We found out that Mom's ankle and knee was bothering, from the aides telling me. Not once did they check to see why it was bothering her and the last time she had her Tylenol was several days ago.Tom and I looked at her ankle and knee... and for sure we thought she broke it.  There have been many issues with American House not having the people be accountable for their work we are paying them to do; which is to keep Mom safe, clean, and happy.

We had to take Mom to emergency and after many long hours there we found out she had just bruised and sprained her leg and ankle. We think she had twisted her foot from walking in the poop that was all over her apartment. The people we have hired are suppose to put her on the toilet and make sure she is cleaned up, because she is having difficulty wiping herself, and going to the bathroom by herself, since she has broken her shoulder.

After expressing our concerns again to American House staff, Pat the head nurse called today and agreed on having a family meeting this coming Wednesday to make sure we are all on the same page with Mom's care. I feel some people think they are on the same page, some people don't want to be on the same page, and a few people are on the same page.

She has fallen three times that we are aware of. Her broken shoulder, her huge rug burn on her forehead, and now a terrible sprain. We can't wait to meet with them, and if they are not going to take the responsibility to take good care of Mom, we will be finding a place that will.

During the meeting with Pat, and the American House staff, it was agreed to develop a log book to keep track of what care Mom is getting and to set regular times to check on her and help her with the bathroom.  Also, it was agreed to give Mom a shower every morning.

Since Mom has been on the Namenda she seems like a new person. Happy, loving, caring, remembering some things, and some moments of boo hooing. She loves everyone , and everything now. Her bottom is not raw like it was, even though she will be seeing the doctor on Wednesday just to make sure she is okay down there. Yes... they were not wiping her or cleaning her up down their, and she got severe sores from not getting the care she needed.

Exercising with the Occupational Therapist because of her broken shoulder. She was crying because the aides had not given her any Tylenol for the pain for several days. They told me if she does not ask they will not give it to her. The doctor had said, and the staff knew that they were to ask her if she was in pain, and every four to six hours Mom should be getting the Tylenol.

So many of us love her so much..... and she loves to give us all her warm kisses. We are so blessed to have another Christmas with her.... God bless her..

Mom Loves Her Fancy Pants......

Mom is now wearing diapers. I bought her about four dozen undies, and hid them in different draws. Now we can't find one. Either she has thrown them away, flushed them, given  them away..... or they had a pantie raid at American House. I know she could of ended up throwing them in the toilet because many times we had dig them out.

 We all put our heads together and the best thing right now is having her in the pull-up diapers. They look like undies, and when she has any accidents they can easily be thrown away. I never thought I would see Mom in diapers, and I never thought she would wear them. Yesterday, when Tom and I went over to see her and bring some goodies and groceries that she needed she was not in her apartment. The aid came and asked us where she was and we got a little alarmed knowing they could not find her. The aid had helped her to get dressed and the last time she saw her was when she was in her apartment this morning changed back into her night gown. Someone came up with her  soon and there was Mom strolling down the hallway laughing and excited to see us in her night gown. Thank goodness she had jogging pants on. I changed her into the outfit you are seeing her in the photo on this entry. I helped put her diapers on and she told me she loved her new undies. She explained how they looked very fancy that it looked like there was lace on them. I replied to her that she has fancy pants on. She got very excited and told me she was going to tell the girls to get me a pair. I had to hold down my laughter. Here I thought she would never be caught wearing them , and now she thinks they are so cool to wear. 

Mom is on a new medication called Namenda, and it seems to be making her happy, and much more alert then she has been. Yes.. not seeing any anger issues. The only thing we do notice is that she has some boo- hoo moments... and we need to put some fat on her bones. We are so blessed to have another Christmas with her and we love her so much. 

Mom loves her photos taken. She must think she is a movie star or a Princess. She will always look at the camera and give such a sweet smile .

This is Carl. He and Mom have a very sweet bond. He was Mom's hero and found her hurt in front of her apartment. She ended up with a broken shoulder. Carl went quickly downstairs riding his wheel chair but when he got to the main office for help, he forgot Mom's room number. Poor man, we treated him with a hero dinner and thanked him a million times for finding Mom like he did.

Gloomy Day... But Happy One!

Today was such a rainy, and gloomy day in Plymouth, Michigan. When Tom and I got to see Mom she was taking a nap but in a great mood. She is still concerned about her huge rug burn on her forehead. She has her story on how she got it, but we know she fell at American House once again on a Sunday. Thank goodness she did not break any more bones... but the staff on weekends need to give  much better care for the Oldies and Goodies there.... especially to our MOM.

We brought down Mom from her apartment after we tried to get her to eat there. She was so happy to see her friends.... and in such a kissy mood. It is so nice to see more smiles on her face instead of the angry ones. We think the new meds are helping even thought they are experimental, they seem to make her have happier times.

 Carmella and Mom are best friends again .They did have a little problem.. but they don't remember.

 Here is Carl... he loved living here because there are more women for him.

 Chris said she does not like men without teeth... She wants a man that can smile and you can see his teeth.

 Mom loves to give big hugs... and Emily is getting her's.

The ladies waiting for dinner, and checking out who is visiting the house.

Mom Goes Back to American House.....

It was so great to get her out of the nursing home on Friday. Many people came to say goodbye there, and she left sad because of all the friends she had made. I just pray that she will not have to go back there and is able to settle back to her assistant living arrangement without any more broken bones. Her shoulder is still broken, but she was so excited to leave the nursing home which we called the Hospital. She had no idea where  we were taking her but she did not care.

The first thing we did when we got to American House was to get her hair washed and curled. She was very upset on how her hair looked and felt with all that hairspray. When we got there she kept telling me she did not want me to leave her and I had  to promise that I would not until she said it was okay. Once she got her hair done, she started feeling better and started remembering where she was. Tom, Kris and I stayed most of the day with her, and she said it was okay to go home.   The visiting nurse came to meet her on Saturday, and told us she needed more meds and meds for her to go to the bathroom better without all the cramping. Sunday we had breakfast and went off to sto ee Mom and to take her meds with us. She was in bed with the same clothes she had the day before, and her toilet was all plugged up. We also saw that her forehead had a large scrape on it. I was not too happy when I saw her complaining of the pain in her shoulder and her head.We did not get any phone call regarding her fall, and tears were falling from me while I complained to everyone what is going on , especially when we are paying for the extra services. We will get most of our answers tomorrow and I pray that Mom will not fall any more, and that they will keep her clean, safe, and happy.

 We decorated her door for Christmas and she loved it.

 She is so happy to be home....

 Her Christmas Tree all decorated and it sparkles for her at night.

 Mom can't believe she is home....

 I feel we are doing the best we can, but I still think she needs more care and the right placement ... but where is the right placement?.