Caregiver at Last

Hello family! Our little blog seems neglected, so I'm here to contribute.

Yesterday we interviewed, and hired, a caregiver for Gram. She seems like a lovely young lady, 32 years old, from Mongolia. Gram has hardly been out of bed in months, so it will be an uphill struggle all the way. They got her dressed at the nursing home, and got her into a wheelchair. Then when I wanted to bring her over to Devonshire, she said she wasn't feeling well enough. I forced the issue and made her come with me. We had 2 girls to interview, and went up to the apartment with the first. Then Gram said she really needed to use the bathroom. This was a monumental task, to get her up out of the wheelchair, out of her pants, etc., and onto the toilet. I was having quite a struggle, and Linda stepped in and took over. Gram didn't get there on time, if you get the drift, but Linda saw it through to the end, helping Gram all the way, cleaning up, and getting her settled back into the wheelchair. I don't think Gram has the strength to make this transition, but she has the determination. We're expecting Linda to start on Tuesday at 11 A.M., if we can get Gram discharged from the Westbury by then. She's having to pay $255 per day since Medicare stopped paying last week. The caregiver will cost $130 per day. She will work 7 days a week, and not really require any days off except perhaps one weekend a month. Both Gram and I liked her a lot, so we shall see....

In other news, Pop has an appointment today at a hearing aid center in Lisle at 10:30. He's been putting this off for years, but I told him that we can use some of the $ from the Nestle life insurance to get his hearing situation addressed.

So the Utah people know, we had a couple of springlike days last Thurs and Fri, but the weekend was very cold. We're trying to get out and walk more often, but it's hard on many days because of work schedules, sore foot issues, etc. Most of the snow is gone except for the mountains of dirty snow in parking lots. I think you folks in Palatine had a lot more snow on the ground than we did.

The wallpaper is finally off the walls in the hall bathroom, and Pop has chisled away a lot of the caulking from around the tub. He purchased a fan/light combo from Ace to put on the ceiling. Now we're considering a new medicine cabinet, since I never really liked those wobbly lights that stick out on either side of the old one. The vanity base cabinet will have to be refinished. Pop is talking about a "Tuscan" look for the room, and he envisions a scene on the long wall, above the towel bar. Initially, the room needs to have the walls smoothed out and painted. Will we be ready for the Chards who are coming in 32 days? They can always use our shower, but Gavin might need to bathe in the pond.

Here's hoping that we get some more blog posts from the rest of you. I'm always interested in what's going on in your lives, even if it's routine and ordinary. I'll continue to bore you with everyday stuff until you get the drift....

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

Love, Mom