Day 51: Before my MIL moved in the same town as we are, we were not aware of her living/eating habits. As her condition worsened she began to get confused about taking meds and would not remember to eat. This would always mean that we would get a call that she was in the hospital.
For the last 51 days I have not worried about whether or not she is eating. She is about to eat us out of house and home! Her appetite is very healthy and the better part of this is that she is eating much healthier because we are preparing her meals.
Hydration: This has been a very big deal. Several times when she got ill before and went to the doctor she was dehydrated. For the past 2 1/2 years while living in an assisted living facility, she has been dehydrated on more than one occasion. When you ask her if she is drinking water, she says I drink it everyday. When in fact she probably hasn't drank any water for a long period of time.
Headaches: As a result of intentionally getting her to drink water she has not complained of headaches nearly as much. As long as I have been in the family she has complained of headaches and I am convinced it was because she was dehydrated.
Milk: Another condition she suffers from is Osteoporosis. So, she thinks she should drink milk at every moment. I am the only one in my family who really drinks milk and that is usually for breakfast only. My husband and oldest daughter do not drink it at all and my youngest daughter is lactose intolerant. My MIL is drinking about two gallons of milk a week by HERSELF! Unbelievable!
We thought she was just drinking it but after a couple of days at home we watched her eat about 5 bowls of cereal a day. We couldn't figure out why we were running out of cereal so fast until we were sitting in the kitchen working on something and noticed that she was eating one bowl of cereal, left the room, and returned an hour later to fix another bowl. This went on several times----and she ate the whole bowl. Now, we know why we were going through two gallons of milk a week and several boxes of cereal a week!
Backache: This has been a very interesting observation. For several years when she lived alone she spent thousands of dollars on treatment for her back---from injections to "as seen on TV" gimmicks that were sure to heal her back. She saw several different doctors, had back surgery, and wanted another surgery for her back but the doctors refused to do it because "she was not a candidate for surgery". When she came to live at the assisted living facility, the back was always the source of "I can't do this or that because of my back" or numerous calls were made to my husband "needing something for her back". But, since she has been living with us she has not complained once about her back hurting. Occasionally she will say she is tired and want to lay down but she has been more active--getting out, walking, and moving around more than she was before.
Overall, her health seems to be improving and her outlook on life has definitely been more positive and much more like her old self.
No comments:
Post a Comment