Awake

Today was Mom's "clear liquids" day in preparation for surgery. She had some coffee this morning with artificial sweetener, then only juice, jello, and some of the clear veggie broth that I made for her. She liked the orange jello that I made for her, but threw up not long after eating the peach jello. Dad and I both thought she would like the peach flavor, but she said it did not taste very good. Why did she eat it, then...?!?!?!?  There was more orange jello as well as lime, plus oodles of veggie broth, so it wasn't like she didn't have a choice. Sheesh...

I made sure she took her pre-surgery antibiotics on time (Erythromyacin and Neomyacin tablets), and made sure that she was on-schedule with the Dulcolax and lemon-lime Gatorade laced with Miralax.  She complained the whole time she was drinking the Gatorade because she did not like the lemon-lime flavor, but she could not have anything colored red or blue, so the lemon-lime was the only flavor the store had which she could drink.  I can't believe how picky she has gotten in recent years, and Dad is just about as picky with his eating habits as she is. Gawd.

The Miralax was effective, thank goodness, so there should not be any delays with her surgery tomorrow. I could not help but remember how slow she was to react to the laxatives the hospital gave her recently when she had her colonoscopy and was relieved that didn't happen again.

Because my mother is so anemic, she fell again today and it took my father and me, both working together, to wrestle her over to a chair.  She almost fell another time, but we managed to keep her upright until she could move again.

It is now after 1:00 am and I am wide-awake instead of asleep as I should be.  I am more than a little worried about Mom's surgery tomorrow.  I honestly don't know if she has the strength and optimism to make it through this. And if something were to happen to my mother, I don't know if my father would last long. There is something to be said about the powerful connectedness that is formed during 54 years of marriage to another person.

Also the house is too hot for sleep, even with my wearing one of my thinnest, most lightweight nightgowns.  My father keeps the thermostat set so high that it is actually cooler outside right now than it is inside, which is sooooo very wrong for a house with air conditioning on a summer's night.  He grudgingly lets me keep a small 9" - 10" fan going beside the sofa in the living room where I sleep, but even a ceiling fan turned on "low" anywhere in the house sends him running for a sweater — no joke. I seriously considered sleeping in my car in my parents' driveway since it is cooler outside. However, if Mom were to head to the bathroom and fall again, my father would need me to be readily available to help lift her off the floor.

It will be a very early day tomorrow, too... Although we don't have to leave for the hospital until 11:00 am or so, I have my alarm set for 6:00 am because it is such a damned chore to get ready to go anywhere with my Mom and Dad both under the same roof, three of us using the same bathroom, and both of them needing so much assistance.



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