The Bloods, Part I
The care & feeding that makes Mommys live forever
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Mom’s blood test results came back.
Matthew, the pony-tailed, wide-eyed twelve-year-old nurse practitioner she has now came for her monthly check up and shared the results.
I thought his wide-eyes would fall right out of his pretty boy face.
She got straight As.
She was 💯
Ten for ten
Top of her class
Exceptional
A high achiever
If this was school, rather than palliative care, she’d be valedictorian
Best of breed
Cream of the crop
Pick of the bunch
World. Freaking. Class.
One hundo.
“There’s nothing wrong with her…”
Except the dementia…
“Yes, well, except the dementia.”
She’s going to be 95 in February and there is absolutely nothing wrong with her. She is not only 100% healthy, she is also 100% bonkers. But, mostly happy bonkers.
He couldn’t understand how she’s not malnourished, or dehydrated, has no bedsores.
I can’t explain it either.
Most days all she gets is 2 cups of soup & 2 cups of pureed fruit or sweet potato, two or three bottles of Boost plus and a small juice glass of Pedialyte.
Poor Sad Kevin Eileen eats more than she does.
What am I doing right? No idea, but I’ll share our recipes (and welcome any from you)—she’s on pureed foods—and soundtrack 🎶 our lives (because music is a mood changer for all of us). Outside of that, I’ve got nothing.
No idea.
Maybe she also has good genes, who knows.
Her mother, all the aunts and uncles were dead in their mid-60s from cancer; she’s had cancer six times—it hasn’t slowed her down. We don’t know anything about her father, so maybe he had the aging well like a vintage wine gene. Enter, my favorite emoji —
🤷♀️
🩵 Show up.
🩵 Guess with your heart.
🩵 Lead with love and patience.
🩵 When you can’t lead with love & patience, let someone else step in.
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🩵 Buy me a hot cuppa now and then…
I was my mom's caregiver until she passed almost two years ago. Oh I remember the Boost! It's kind of triggering when I see it in the store. Thanks for sharing - and for tackling this life shit storm with humor and grace - and music!
So glad I’ve connected with you here. My partner/wife is 77 & has Alzheimer’s. I am noticing a gradual decline. She has good meds but they can only do so much. For my sanity, I continue with a Zoom writing group and take a weekly Yoga class. And have a therapist. What all helps you?