Monday, July 14, 2014 

As it turns out, mom did not go to the birthday party yesterday. She was still suffering from GI problems. I was changing her each time and showering her every other visit to the bathroom. My guess is that the pneumonia shot she received on Thursday had a devastating effect on her GI tract. At 2:00 am, we gave her Imodium and coconut water, which is high in potassium. Rob had run to Wal-Mart to buy it, and it seemed to do the trick. Mom kept complaining. I have to go, but I just can’t. She applied the Valsalva maneuver so often that I feared for her heart. I tried explaining that she had been “going,” that she had diarrhea, but there was little understanding, too much discomfort, too little rest, some frustration, and plenty of anxiety. By this time, I was thoroughly exhausted myself, having been awakened three times for mom’s bathroom runs—literally.

This morning, I had two jobs to edit. But I first visited with Barbara, who gave me some Gatorade for mom. Rob and I think, however, that the coconut water is the better bet—much higher in potassium and no sugars. Fortunately, I have two cases of it, one of which has lemon, making a very refreshing drink.

Spoke with Kathy at Rittenhouse. She was very reassuring and we made plans for me to visit tomorrow to sign the papers. Mom will be there from Wednesday through Sunday, giving Rob respite while I traipse hither and yon.

We are having a very wet season. Driving down my drive is such a pleasure. Everything is so lush and the lawn is lovely. Plants are thriving, even the hydrangeas, which had to be cut down to the ground because of the frigid winter temperatures. I do have one or two hydrangea flowers on the Endless Summers and Pias, but will have to wait for next year for the show—a minor disappointment, considering how beautifully they are now shaped. My Quickfires are absolutely gorgeous and were among the few that bloomed and prolifically so. My Limelight and my Strawberry Vanilla hydrangeas are also abloom. Mom enjoys seeing them, too. But she mostly worries about the cat on the porch ceiling fan. How can he stay out there in the rain? I assured her the cat that lives in the fan is on an enclosed porch and quite safe. I wonder how she determined the cat was a male! Oh well. Ours not to reason how.

Mom asked if I were hungry. This means she is hungry. If I ask her directly whether she is hungry, she will say No, I was just wondering if you were. So I fixed her some grilled hamburger from Saturday and freshly steamed green beans topped with coconut oil. She loved it, particularly the green beans. Mom despised the canned green beans she got up in NJ from Meals On Wheels. That was truly nutritionally poor food. Glad to have her here, where I can make decent meals for her.

I was quite worried about mom last night, especially when I figured that the problem was the pneumonia shot. I checked possible side effects online. And sure enough, diarrhea was one of the “nonreportable effects.” But I was the one who agreed that she could have the shot, even though I am generally against vaccinations, especially in someone her age. Still, if she came down with pneumonia, I would feel even worse. Therein lies the dilemma.

Mom is in the kitchen, back at her word puzzles and asking Rob endless questions about everything and nothing in general. All’s well that ends well.