My mother recently underwent heart bypass surgery. Luckily, she only suffered a very minor heart attack, and they caught two blockages in her heart before there could be damage. Her timing was a bit unfortunate as my younger brother starts teaching school this week. In fact last week and this week are the two weeks that most of my family is either getting ready to teach school or go back to school. So everyone is taking last minute vacations or preparing for the onslaught in the "hallowed halls of education." School this year starts after Labor Day for Clara and since Labor Day weekend is rather late, we were able to take the week off. Which means I am taking care of both my mother and daughter at the same time.
Clara is now old enough to entertain herself and Mom's is not a bad place to be entertained. The only thing missing is the dog, Pickles, who is a bit too jumpy. Since my mother is recovering from surgery she really doesn't need 40lbs of dog trying to cuddle with her. The 10lbs of cat is walking over her before sleeping is bad enough.
My mother did make an attempt at trying to recover in a nursing home facility. But knowing my Mom, I would have put money down that she wouldn't be able to take more than 24 hours in the place. I would have won that bet because my mother is just not the nursing home type. There has to be some ability to surrender to your illness and limitations in order to make some adjustment. However, staying in a place where there are "old and sick people" has not, and will not ever be my mother's style. Perhaps it stems from being left on her own as a child, or maybe being a parent of six early in life, or maybe because she saw her own capable, grandmother put in a nursing home when she was 88 (after breaking a hip) and is convinced it contributed to her deterioration and demise three years later.
Well, there's one decision we will never have to make - whether or not to put Mom in a nursing home. Because unless she's in a coma, she won't go.
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