Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sequels

The crisis is over, thank God. Mum was not ill again, I got to speak with an on-duty doctor at the clinic on Saturday and we suspended all medication for a few days, except the blood pressure medication. I monitored Mum closely throughout the weekend. She was shaken by the experience, and anxious.
The pharmacist-drugstore owner denied that her pharmacist had made an error when she finally returned my call on Monday evening. I guess she had had time to speak with her lawyer before speaking with me. In the meantime, I had spoken with Mum's doctor earlier during the day, we had established a protocol to reintegrate the medication and he had called a new pharmacy to give them the prescriptions. Everything being set, I was now free to inform the former pharmacy that they would no longer supply medication for my mother.
We have been sleeping a lot yesterday and today, a reaction to the stress we went through. The anxiety, and perhaps the absence of medication, left Mum more disoriented than I've ever seen her, more anxious. She asked for instructions on everything... Can I put the kleenexes in my pocket? Have I eaten enough? Can I go to my room?
My heart was breaking to see her so vulnerable.
I guess we have reached a new stage of the illness, where I will have to do some positive reinforcement so that anxiety is reduced. Her doctor also advised that I should start «hiding» things from her, not to inform her of things that might make her anxious. This is a new element in our relationship. We have always been open one with another.
It's too bad, because Mum is still Mum and she still has her wry sense of humor. When I told her that the owner-pharmacist had said that the pharmacist who had given us the pills is an excellent professional, an expert with the laboratory hood, she asked : What does he do with the hood? Use it to smoke pot?
We laughed.
The weather is not cooperating. It rained all day today. We have had, up to now, only one evening where we could sit comfortably on the veranda at dusk. With all the rain we've had, everything is very green. Hopefully, it'll get warmer and with the grace of God, we can enjoy a lovely summer.



2 comments:

colleenmc said...

I'm glad your mom has kept her sense of humor, mine is like that too. It's so much easier when we can share a laugh. I guess that's true in all relationships. Very interesting blog today.

bleeding-heart said...

Thank you Colleen. Yes it is easier. The forgetfulness, the disorientation that we think robs us of their personalities... when they still have a sense of humor, then we recognize them.