She didn’t answer when I called her.
Twice.
Before 9 am.
After having low blood pressure and pulse yesterday. I’m no doctor, but that doesn’t sound good to me.
I had the kids call before Big Sis got on the bus. I called again afterwards. Nothing.
I called my sister, to see if she had talked with Mom yet. No answer.
So…I could be REASONABLE and assume that Mom was fine. But we all know where THAT got me a couple of weeks ago.
So I packed up Little Sis and off we went.
The whole 7 minute drive I pored over all the possibilities: She’d died in her sleep. She’d fallen on the way to the bathroom. She’d had a heart attack or stroke. We’d find her dead. We’d find her injured. We’d find her alive and well, and laughing at us because we’d dropped everything and burst through her door.
It was the last one. She was fine. She’d “slept through” my calls.
She never does that. Grrrrr.
So I stayed. I was just getting her up and into the shower when there was a knock at the door. It was one of the nurses’ aides who helps Mom every morning. She was surprised to see me, and I explained why I was there. She scolded Mom too, and we divvyed up duties. She got Mom showered and did her laundry while I fixed breakfast.
After a nice breakfast (scrambled eggs and a lovely fresh fruit salad of mango, blueberries and strawberries), I set up her Philips Lifeline. It was very easy, although I did have to rearrange her living room a bit. We needed to set up the unit somewhere in the room where she spends the most time (living room) on a hard surface away from noisy appliances like televisions and air conditioners. I plugged the unit in, turned it on, and audio directions guided us through the set-up. Mom tested her help button from various locations in the apartment, and it worked fine. Finally, Mom pressed the help button to call into the Lifeline center to confirm that she was good to go. The attendant was very friendly, and we were done in a flash.
Three hours later, I was home again. Never made it to the grocery store. Didn’t work out. Hadn’t showered yet.
I started cleaning here so that Little Sis could have a 1:00 pm playdate. The playdate goes until 3:00 pm. Big Sis get off the bus at 3:45 pm, and we have a doctor’s appointment to go to immediately afterward.
Dinner? Who has time? Who has ingredients?
I wonder what Mom will come up with tomorrow?
2 responses so far ↓
Joe // June 2, 2009 at 1:08 pm |
Do you feel like a babysitter at times?
Maura/MoBurns67 // June 2, 2009 at 1:17 pm |
I get the same way when my mom doesn’t answer her phone, though it’s not in the mornings, since I’m right there. I do, however, look in each morning and hold *my* breath until I see for sure that *she* is breathing.
I have been way from home more than usual lately, so I am thinking of looking into something like Lifeline system. I hope you’ll let us know how it works out for her…and for you!