Report From Ann Marie

Aunt Lou is eating a small amount, but not cleaning her plate like she used to. She acts and looks worse since last Friday. The facility is on top of things, after Ann Marie stirred them to action. They now have been notifying Dr. Barnes about the changes and he has been giving them new orders for lab, etc. He saw her last night and told her to drink more fluids. He is very proactive. He ordered the nutritional shakes 4 x day. They did more blood work and a chest x-ray (which was clear). He is reviewing all her medications for anything that would make her sleepy and decrease her appetite. He ordered Bactrim for a minor little bug he found. He said she still has a little bronchitis. Jimmy is well informed by the facility and Ann Marie, and is very aware of Aunt Lou's current condition. The facility notifies him of all changes in her condition, medication, etc., and they are keeping Aunt Lou informed as well. If we saw her today we would say she needs to be in the hospital, but Aunt Lou does not want to go to the hospital. The facility is doing lab work around the clock and the lab and x-ray results are getting to the dr. as if she was in ER. If the dr. decides to order an IV, they can give it to her at the facility. She is weak, shaky, and sleepy, but very oriented. When you call Aunt Lou remind her that Dr. Barnes said for her to drink more fluids. Tell her what's going on with your life/family to keep her engaged with the family. She said does not want to die sick. She wants to die like her mother, just go to sleep. Ann Marie and Aunt Lou talk allot about her wishes. As long as she tells Ann Marie to keep it up, she will infuse her with life. But if/when Aunt Lou decides to check out, Ann Marie said she will not be selfish and keep her around, and will honor her wishes. Right now Aunt Lou wants the encouragement/life infusion to get better. She was assisted up this am and assisted to dress. After breakfast, she was tired and went back to bed, but with her clothes on, not back in a gown. She is a little more awake today than yesterday.

Aunt Lou LOVES the visits, calls, and cards. Please continue. When I was down for the 6 weeks after my surgery, I was amazed how I looked forward to a connection with the outside world. I looked forward to the mail everyday like some soldier on foreign soil. Cynthia Waters has repeatedly said how she enjoys the cards. It makes you feel like you are not a forgotten shut-in, and Aunt Lou really needs that right now to get better. Continue the prayers for her and for Ann Marie. It is extremely draining--physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. and challenging to care for someone so close. She has unselfishly shut down many of her own needs/wants right now to spend a lot of time with Aunt Lou to infuse her with life. Ann Marie------we all APPRECIATE YOU for your efforts with Aunt Lou.

Cindy

Going Down the Rollercoaster Again...

Aunt Lou is not feeling well. She has had intermittent nausea since the weekend. She got sick again last night and they gave her medication for nausea, which left her very dopey and with slurred speech today. Her appetite is down and so is her weight. She stayed in bed and slept all weekend. Ann Marie brought her a Braum's shake Monday. She drank all of it. They are giving her a nutritional supplement with an appetite stimulant several times a day. Last night the doc added/changed her stomach medication. (An ulcer was diagnosed in 2/08.) She is still coughing up stuff from her respiratory infection, so she asked for the Mucinex again last night. (They had ordered twice a day for 2 weeks, and then made it as needed. It does help thin the respiratory secretions to bring them up, but it also kills your appetite.) She has finished her antibiotics (Z-Pak), but it continues to work even after you take the pills. It also makes you feel weak.) When Ann Marie arrived at the nursing home before lunch today, she had to work hard to get Aunt Lou awake. She was served one of their best lunches, which she didn't eat. Ann Marie said it looked and smelled wonderful. She only drank her tea, and they brought her some ice cream, which she ate. Aunt Lou said it feels like her food doesn't go down, like it is stuck between her throat and stomach. (Mike said he feels the same way most of the time.) They did blood work this am and her electrolytes are high (which could be dehydration) but they are less high each time they've done the blood work (which shows she is improving). Aunt Lou said the dr. there told her not to drink much fluid because of her congestive heart failure. That was months ago, so Ann Marie has added that concern to her list for the dr. He'll be back today. Aunt Lou won't drink much unless the dr. tells her it's OK. So now, after about 2 hours, Ann Marie got her up and dressed in her wheelchair. She is fixing her hair and watching "Days of our Lives." Aunt Lou is oriented, alert, and her speech is clear. Aunt Lou just got a call from Joyce, a niece on the Ragan side. She is on her way to see Aunt Lou. Ann Marie said now the entire nursing home staff is alerted to watch Aunt Lou and help her, and provide intervention when she is ill. GOLD STAR and many thanks to Ann Marie for the life injection into Aunt Lou!!!!!!

Cindy

What a Difference a Week Makes!

This week has been a little trying for Aunt Lou and, as always, she has taken it all in stride and is improving every day.

Monday evening, the doctor saw her, ordered tests, etc.

Tuesday (in the light blue outfit) she looked like this. I told her I was taking her picture for the blog and to smile pretty. This is the face she came up with. I showed it to her and asked if she wanted another picture. She said, "no, that one looks just like I feel". Okay, so she could have sounded better or felt better on Tuesday. They had loaded her up with drugs, which were starting to work, which made her feel even worse.

Wednesday morning, I brought her hot breakfast: biscuits and sausage gravy from our new Braum's that opened up the day before. She stayed in bed all day on Monday and whined around and wouldn't go to exercise on Tuesday. I told her I brought her a big breakfast so that she would be very happy to go to exercise. She was feeling better than the day before and she went to exercise. See the smile on her face?

Thursday was bingo day so she got herself together and played, although she coughed her head off the whole time.

Friday was beauty shop day and here's a picture of her new do. We've been going through hair chicks like kleenex lately but this one may be a winner. We'll see how it goes.

I spoke to her this morning while I was waiting for Blaine to come down to the dock and clean a catfish. She was in a decent humor and sounding even better still. It sucks to get old. It sucks even worse to be sick when you're already sick because they cut your toe off AND you're 86 years old. She has been through so much and she just keeps on truckin'. Wanna know how she does it? We've discussed it and she said that she didn't want to die "like this" as she waved her arms around, tangling herself in her oxygen mask tubes (relax, she's still only sleeping with it). She says that she gets through all the stuff she has to do because she wants to die when it's "her time", which will be when God snatches her away, hopefully in the fashion of her mother's passing. Amazing! We could all be so lucky!

Keep your emails and cards coming to Aunt Lou!

Ann

The Crud

Don't panic but Aunt Lou is sick.

We've been watching a little cough she's had for a week or two. It started just like everyone else's is starting about this time of year, just a little hack here and there. Y'all saw her on Sunday so you heard her cough. When we got home, we put a call in to her doctor for Monday so he could give her something to break up the crud she has.

She's had a chest X-Ray, a CBC and a blood test to see if she has pneumonia. She's on a Z-pack and Mucinex twice a day. They gave her a shot of steroids, one that I get a lot and it works really well. She doesn't have fever but she sounds terrible. Yesterday (Monday), she sounded nasty and stayed in bed all day. It's just her medicine breaking up the crud that she couldn't cough up; she's coughing it up now for sure!

The doc said that if she had something worse, he would change her medicine or whatever. It was awfully nice to have things done so quickly for her. He saw her on Monday evening and before the night was out, they had already brought in a portable chest x-ray and had her blood drawn. We like that!

I'll keep you posted. I'm teaching a flower arranging class today at the ol' jail so I'll see her then and let you know if there's anything new to report.

Happy Birthday Aunt Lou!!!

The whole family helped celebrate Aunt Lou's birthday last Sunday at Ann & Blake's. It was a great day filled with family and food. The weather was great for an outside BBQ minus the crazy wind! There are a bazzillion pictures so they can tell the tale.

The birthday girl!

The theme for the day was butterflies...Aunt Lou's favorite!

This was one of many great flower arrangements done by Ann & Blake.

It was the debut Blake's new GORGEOUS outdoor kitchen! Perfect for the occassion.

Madilyn, Shawna, and Joy enjoying some yummy BBQ and all the fixin's.

Mondo and Blake having a serious discussion...probably about food or vacationing.

John, Jeremy, Dale, and Mondo having some guy talk.

Sonja and Zane.

Hilari, Blakeley, and Ann sharing some girl talk.

I think Aunt Lou was the first one to eat and the last one to finish...I'm sure she enjoyed every bite...we all did!

Blakeley brought part of her new family with her...this baby sheep. So cute!!

Aunt Lou had some play time with the animals...who knew she'd have a petting zoo at her birthday party?!

Don't forget the chickens!

Some of the kiddos enjoyed the icy "warm" pool.

Chillin' with the Beans.

The party table. Those cakes were so yummy! I can't decide which one was better.

Strawberries and whip cream.

Chocolate mousse.

Happy Birthday to You!

The kids couldn't wait to dig in!

Aunt Lou needed a piece of each...so did most of the rest of us!

Grant, Sam, Ethan, Asa, and Caleb all enjoyed their cake and ice cream.

Nothing like a little sugar to give a big cheesy grin.

One of Aunt Lou's presents: a butterfly pin. Perfect for her!

Butterfly paper. Priceless.

Hilari gets the biggest gold star for the day. She made a photo book of Aunt Lou's life. She worked really hard to scan and download tons of pics, old and new to put this thing together. It was amazing. I'm sure Aunt Lou can't look at this enough. It was awesome!

Aunt Lou's family: Jeremy, Maria, and Jimmy.

Caleb and Zane giving sugars.

Nita, Melinda, Cindy, Jimmy, and Aunt Lou.

Wendy and Aunt Lou.

A special thanks goes to Blake, Ann, and Blaine for opening their home to us. It was the perfect setting for our celebration. And also thanks to all who provided yummy home cooked food. It really hit the spot...especially for Aunt Lou!

-Wendy

So Long Wound Vac, Hello BBQ!

From Nita:
Doctor removed the "wound vac" today off of her foot. She can bear some weight & wear a sock, but no shoes yet. She goes back on March 23 to the doctor. She also told me that she had her toes sticking out of the bandage, which is less bandage than she had. The doctor trimmed some of the dead skin around the wound, but she said it didn't hurt. Doctor was very pleased with the healing & said the area would completely close.

From Cindy per Ann Marie:
Aunt Lou said that when she was leaving the Dr. today, she finally got a good word from him. He said, "I'm proud of you girl !" That made her feel good.

She is really looking forward to the chaos of being together for her birthday lunch at Ann Marie's. Ann Marie asked her if there was anything special she wanted to ensure she had for her lunch. She said she wanted BBQ ribs, Papa's BBQ sauce, white bread, and a straw for the sauce. (She said she was kidding about the straw.)

Ann Marie said their outdoor kitchen has been completed and Blaine polyurethane the bar stools and they are now out there. Blaine did an outstanding job painting them. She said they look great. Their new bar stools for inside will be in about 4-6 weeks.

Finally...the Pig-Bunny Video!