Learning the ropes again

After four days on the job, I'm still finding my routine and fine-tuning the workflow; I don't know, for example, what days the trash is picked up!

It looks like the best time for me to go online is late evening, after mother goes to bed. The computer hookup is in a place where I can't see what mother is doing. Although she's supposed to be supervised when moving around, she managed to get to the bathroom, change out of her nightgown and get dressed before I even knew she was up! This shocked the occupational therapist this afternoon, so I guess I'd better not take any more chances.

But lest you think she's back to normal, she still has trouble with aphasia - some days more than others - and she spends a lot of the day sleeping in her chair on the patio. It's a struggle to get her to stand up and walk, with her walker, anywhere, including the bathroom. She just doesn't seem to realize how long it is taking her to perform even one simple task like walking 20 feet to the bathroom. I've discovered that I need to roust her every two hours on some pretext or other that can only be addressed after she visits the restroom.

Today the occupational therapist, Clyde, came to make an evaluative visit. He thinks she has very good use of the hand affected by the stroke, and he said he will recommend that his partner, Renee, come to help mom learn techniques to help her with personal hygiene, like bathing, grooming, and toileting. He approved of the minor - well, really major - remodeling of the old bathroom, and made one small recommendation for the placement of a towel/grab bar closer to the bathroom sink.

Tomorrow, the physical therapist, Laurie, will come. There's going to be a parade of therapists in and out of here for the next six weeks - nothing like keeping busy!