A Challenging Day

I brought a jigsaw puzzle of Petra in Jordan to the residents of the nursing home today. To my surprise, when I visited my mother, she was making a jigsaw puzzle of 60 pieces. She was laboring though and she appeared uncomfortable and tired. I told her that I brought in the puzzle of a country where I lived and and she asked, "You were there? When? Before I was born?" I knew she was having a challenging day.

We talked a little bit and her words were not fitting together well and it frustrated her. She spoke despairing words and fretted about her condition. I decided just to sit with her and to let her talk when she needed and to nap when she needed rest. I sat there most of the time and massaged her legs and held her hands. She appeared to calm down.

I offered her some chocolate drops and she ate two of them. She said that she did not like them because they were two sweet. In fact, she didn't like any of the food that day. I knew she was out of sorts and not having a normal day.

After a hour's visit, I told the nurse I was going to leave, but that my mother was speaking gibberish. She nodded and said, "Wait a minute." She wheeled my mother's air compressor over and plugged it into her air hose because the portable air supply had run out. I hadn't noticed but I made sure my mother kept the oxygen tube in her nostrils. Within seven minutes, my mother became alert and coherent. It was much easier for her to speak with clarity.

I mentioned to the staff that in a week and a half I would lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She said it would probably be best if I did not mention it to my mother. I'll only be gone for eleven days and she might not notice the passage of time.

After a while, we shared communion and she nodded off.

It was time for me to leave so I said goodbye to her. I drove off and immediately received a call from my sister who just arrived with her husband, daughter, and their dog. I turned around to meet them.

My sister told me that my mother received results from a recent test to indicate a slight heart abnormality but that no further treatment would benefit her condition. It explains her weakness, confusion, and increased sleeping patterns. She also suffers from a chest cold.

When I visited my mother again, she was much brighter-eyes and was happy to see me. She liked playing with the dog and was delighted to see the family. It was time for dinner and meals were being brought to everyone. She seemed in a more pleasant mood. We wrapped her warmly in blankets and her supper was brought over to her.

She receives good care from the nursing home, and the staff enjoy her kindness and pleasant ways.