Mom is Sick

Wow, is she ever. Her voice is gone. She can manage a squeak, clear her throat and sort of squawk-rattle out something. For the most part though, nothing. We have had this illness in our house for over a month, just working its way through everyone again and again. Nasty stuff.

The big problem is that our local clinic is closing down. This may not sound like much, but for my mother, change is never good. She was just getting used to(i.e. trusting) the local nurse practitioner, when she left. Now that she is gone, the other shoe to fall is that the hospital is pulling out sponsorship of the clinic and our small town has to find alternative healthcare. What a mess.

If it was up to me, she would be at a doctor, to listen to her lungs. I would want her to have her blood pressure checked and baseline for her weight. She doesn’t eat enough on a good day. Right now, she is having a hard time eating anything.

It is not up to me. We are in that mysterious place call Middle Reality. She does not need full time medical supervision, but does need some prodding to keep up with things. I can suggest and gently convince, but not *make* her do anything.

I think that caring for my mother is harder than caring for all four of my children. I manage to keep my cool with my children because I know they are children. My mom though, it is hard to have to change the relationship around sometimes.

So for now, we will nurse mom along, hoping she gets better in a few days. I will let her be in charge unless she gets any worse.

Your question of the day: What ways do you keep your parents healthy, without seeming to parent them?