Mardi Gras

February 16 was another busy Tuesday for our gal. When I arrived at Heartland around 11 a.m., she was in physical therapy, doing leg lifts and knee raises. After a quick lunch we headed to St. Anne's Meade so they could assess her for assisted living. Even I struggled with some of the questions they asked (counting backwards from 100, by 7, tripped her up, as well as remembering three words). For the most part, she did okay with the mental acuity portion. Her walking is unsteady, although she's determined to ambulate better. The biggest obstacle she has is the wound. As a rule, St. Anne's does not admit people with wounds such as hers to assisted living as it requires regular nursing care. We may be able to hire nurses to change her dressing twice a day or engage hospice services for that purpose, so we're hopeful things will work out.


Immediately after our visit to St. Anne's we headed to her late afternoon appointment at the wound clinic. I've been taking pictures of her wound at each appointment so I can see if there's any progress, and there was a little improvement from two weeks ago. She has new directives for activity, however. She's to sit for only three hours a day and spend the rest of her time either lying on her side, standing up, or walking. Anyone who knows Mom will agree she won't take to lying around all the time very well. But in order to maximize the healing of the wound, she needs to do this. They also emphasized the importance of her getting adequate protein.

Institution food gets tiresome after awhile, so following the wound clinic appointment we got some take-out from Panera Bread for dinner. The dining room at Heartland was decked out from a Mardi Gras party that afternoon, so we were able to enjoy our soups and salad in a festive atmosphere.

Mom is on her third roommate since returning to Heartland after her January hospitalization, and it's likely she'll have yet another as this roommate is scheduled for discharge next week. Mom's occupational therapy ends this week, but physical therapy will continue and because of the wound, Medicare will cover her stay until the eligibility expires (mid-March). There are pros and cons to her staying at Heartland until then. Having medical care available 24/7 is a plus, but getting her settled into her new living situation, with her own things, is important too.