I'm better...but Mom..not so sure...

After two days of rest, working in PJ's and laying low, I was finally up and out today.  I don't feel 100%, but I do feel as though the worst of this cold is behind me.   Been stuffed up tonight, but I think that was the Mexican dinner and Margarita!   I got up and taught Body Pump this morning- this was HARD!  I really pushed through and it was great to see my regulars and one new person, all in all a great class and I truly LOVE my Saturday peeps!   It is just a more relaxed class on Saturdays- nobody is in a rush to get out of there, or a rush to set up (we have a 15 minute window between classes)- so it's just very relaxed.  Love it!

After lunch, a mani/pedi, Bill & I headed up to SF to go visit mom in her new temporary home "CPMC- Davies".  Well, we got there easily, we found parking very easily- but walking into the hospital based on first impressions- was not very impressed.  It is an older facility and just doesn't seem to be kept up like the Pacific Campus.  Found mom's room, she as a bit uptight- my bad, I should have called her and given her an ETA- she knew we were coming to visit today, but not sure of the time.  She was happy to see us, but still very uptight about being there.  She keeps thinking that things are "shady" there, that she is "being kept in the dark", that she is "all alone" and things like that.  Now when she was telling me these things over the phone the last two days- I thought she might be losing it.  However, after visiting, I can see how she might feel this way.   Not being familiar with "Skilled Nursing", I don't know if this is normal or what.  She is really only visited once per hour by the nurses to take vitals and see if she needs anything, she does have a call button, but overall it just doesn't appear to be a very "caregiving" place.   Don't get me wrong, the nurses when they are taking vitals and such seem to be very nice and caregiving- but I guess it just seems like a very understaffed place.  Maybe it's just normal for the weekend, but overall just felt very desolate of a place.  I did not get a warm & fuzzy feeling.  Then tonight I get a call from the nurse from my mom's room asking when I would be coming by again and if I could bring mom's Lumigen (eye drops)- they seemed to have misplaced them.   I could tell that my mother was upset by this as she asked to speak to me and I think I will need to go up there tomorrow to bring more eye drops, which means another stop by mom's house to get them- but this sort of thing should not happen.  

The other fiasco that is very upsetting is that mom kept trying to call me from her room and was not having luck, she would ask the nurses for help and still couldn't get in contact with me.  Fortunately, I call often and she was happy to hear from me, but she was feeling trapped and somewhat imprisoned and I made some calls to find out that anything considered long distance or a toll call is blocked, but nobody explained this to her.  So she spent two days very frustrated and trapped that she couldn't get in touch with her kids.  I felt horrible because I wish I had been with her for the move to the new facility, but of course we didn't have any notice of the move until literally a few hours prior.  Then the next day I was sick.  I just can't imagine how horrible it must have been for mom to be in a new surrounding with nothing familiar and then have to wait 3 days for a familiar visitor.   Of course, today she had myself, Bill, my brother and two nephews visit.    Just seems like this facility makes a lot of assumptions.

Additionally, mom is complaining about the food.  It seems that she is now on a low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol menu and the food tastes like crap.  This is another issue of concern because unless there are kidney function reasons for restricting her diet, she is not and never has been a candidate for any of these diet restrictions- which of course now makes me question the competence and is she getting the correct diet?

Ultimately, I am very concerned and feel a bit helpless right now because since the move, I really don't have anyone to contact except for the surgeon who supposedly makes calls at this skilled nursing facility and that is why she is there.  I need to call his office Monday morning so that I can try to get some answers and make sure that she is getting everything she should be getting.  She is going to be there too long to be this freaked out.  She was saying that she is getting so uptight about being there that she was afraid she was going to have a heart attack.  That is not a good feeling to have.

So, ready to hit the hay here shortly- Bill is already shut-eye on the couch - go figure!   Tomorrow, well seems like I may be going up to SF to visit and bring eyedrops to mom.  I need to feel better tomorrow and ready to start off a new week and get back into my routine!   Need to find a new balance in my life to get through this mom ordeal.