Saturday, September 19, 2015

Changes

There have been some rather dramatic things going on with my parents.  My Dad keeps having episodes with his diabetes.  For some reason he doesn't detect the signs that his blood sugar is getting to low.  Along with the fact he only monitors his blood once a day and doesn't eat enough now to keep up with what his meds are doing.  They had to call the EMT's to deal with the latest.  Wound up staying a couple days in the hospital.  They had such trouble keeping his levels high enough that they decided to remove him from all meds.  

There have been a few other things that have caused my Mom to heavily consider moving into a facility where they can have help on hand, an independent living situation, not a nursing home.  They have been kicking that idea around for several years with various decisions being made and then unmade.  Now with the latest it appears to be imminent.  Even my Dad who has never really bought into that idea now has indicated they should do it soon.  That was a real eye opener.  I thought he would fight Mom to the end about ever moving to a place like that.  The latest incidents, yes more than one, have made him believe it is time.  

I have mixed emotions.  It is hard to accept that my parents, that helped every one else with these issues for more years than I can remember, now have approached that same stage.  The spent many of their retirement years helping my grandparents.  They didn't have the type retirement of travel they had wanted due to that sacrifice.  Consequently Mom said that she would never 'burden' (her words not mine) us that way.  She has had plans to do something like this for as long as I can remember.  On the second hand, this can be a good thing.  My Mom is a worrier, and hopefully this will ease some of that.  The worry has been harder on her than anything else.  I believe it has even clouded some of her thinking.  Seeing how worried and stressed she is had been frustrating for me.  I see what it is doing to her.

They more than likely will leave the area they live in, away from their church and all the friends they have in that area.  So that is another issue along with learning a new area of town that has much more traffic.

They are going to look at another place today and Kim has offered to meet with them.  Hopefully Kim can help by offering a perspective that can help them decide where.  That is all that is left, deciding where and whether it can fit into their budget.  But Mom's worries jeep her from pulling the trigger.  It is better for all that I stay away.

They are pretty healthy so we are thankful for that.  Hopefully this will help relieve the stress they have been experiencing and be able to relax and enjoy life.

Happy Trails

2 comments:

CenTexTim said...

Moving my parents into an independent/assisted living facility was the best thing for them - and us - at that point in their life. They adapted well. Mom is gone now but Dad still lives there.

And yes, it was strange when things changed - my sister and I became the parents, and they became the kids.

Hang in there - it will all be for the best.

Randy said...

Thanks for the encouragement. As this was being posted, Mom has changed her mind, again. She still wants to move but now she is not so sure about the place.