When Mom was on the appetite stimulant was she more alert and with it than she is now without being on it? It just seems like she was having more "good" days when she was on the stimulant than she is now...or am I totally wrong in my remembering? Poor Daddy...I hate when he does that mumbling thing and sounds so garbled..like he needs to spit really bad or clear his throat. I'm sure when he's tired, it's worse, that makes sense, but when he starts talking weird stuff, being tired doesn't seem to be a good explanation for that...but that's just me! Jeanie I'm glad to hear Annie came through her surgery fine..that's so scary...for both of you!! Schnauzers tend to have kidney/bladder/sugar issues..Baron did as well when he got a little older. How old is Annie now? Judy sorry to hear Ona is struggling with things...I can only imagine how she must feel...and yes, I figure Mondays must be tough for her...Is there something else we could send her or get for her that might help? When did we do the gift card? And did I pay for my part of it? I swear, sometimes I scare me!! Keep those posts a comin'!! Love you all, Jamie

Ok, today is Tues and I went to see Mom and Dad today. They were in the dining room waiting for lunch. They had coffee to drink and were calm. In fact Mom was asleep as were 90% of the people in that room! How weird is that!?! Anyway, Dad was trying to get Mom to sit up/wake up. He was talking with that slurry not making good sense voice! It took me a while before I could decipher what he was saying. He was looking for Jamie and Brittney! He kept saying where are they and they should be here by now, etc. I told him all the kids were grown and married and at work or school! LOL! Anyway, one of the aids told me that he probably would not be hungry. She'd fed him chips and salsa all morning. It was so sweet. She said everytime she ordered Mexican food she'd gotten to where she ordered Dad a bag of chips by himself. She said he'd sit around with them and eat. It was really cute. She said sometimes they make tuna sandwiches and fix it like a little picnic for just the two of them. I think they really do try. Anyway, Dad didn't eat everything on his plate---probably about 1/2. He did eat all his cake and some of Mom's cookies! LOL! My kind of eating---save room for that dessert! Mom, on the other hand, never really knew I was there. I fed her nearly everything she had for lunch. She was leaning in her wheelchair and had a hard time drinking (I got a straw) and even when she picked up a cookie, she couldn't seem to hold it nor get it to her mouth right. I mentioned this to Debbie and she said that Mom was eating REALLY good still! She said Mom had cleaned her plate yesterday at breakfast and lunch. I asked about Dad's appetite, and she said he was eating really good, too. I asked about the pneumonia, and she said he'd finished his meds. They're going to order another chest x-ray to be sure it's ok, but she said he seemed ok. She said Mom was sitting up at breakfast. I really do think they were both tired at lunch. Dad told me after lunch that he was worn out. Anyway, to me they were worse than they were about 10 days ago. Of course it was lunch time and they were tired. I asked Debbie if she thought Mom was worse. She said that Mom was sleeping more--they both would sleep more. She did say she thought Mom had gone down some. I don't know. Mom seems really 'away', but at the same time, Debbie told me they got into an argument over a cookie at lunch yesterday. I don't know. Mom is just bad. I asked about Dad's confusion and Debbie said it comes and goes. She said he was worse when he was tired. That's true. Anyway it was not a wonderful visit, but I did feed Mom and talked some to Dad with some sense. He did say 'you don't have to go, and be careful going home' when I left. I've got to schedule them both for haircuts again, too. Ok, that's it. Annie did fine today and when I called later this afternoon again, they said she was doing great. I'll pick her up after lunch tomorrow. They got all the stones out of her bladder. We'll see how this goes, too! Love you all, Jeanie

Poor Annie! I guess I missed your post last night since I talked to you to find out all the information instead of reading it. Good aren't I??? NOT! I did talk to Ona today and she was little down. Randall is still coughing up a lot of gunk and they have ordered a chest x-ray for today to make sure he doesn't have an infection. Ona was crying about it but she said that the people at this new place have been awesome and encouraging and told her that she didn't have to worry about it because they could handle anything he would need. She said Mondays were always hard and it was again yesterday. She hates them because he fell on a Monday and also because everyone leaves and she's there alone. I want us to sit down when I come up and try to decide about going out there. I have a need to do that! Jeanie I know you're at the nursing home now and look forward to your post tonight. I know you told me that Mom was okay and was asleep in her chair but I got the feeling Dad is a little confused still by the comments you made. Obviously not bad though since you were laughing. Hopefully he's ok too. Love to all, Judy

This is an update on Annie and not Mom and Dad! FINALLY we got to get her today. It's a weird situation. They are not sure exactly what IS going on. She did/does have a UTI--(like Dad!)LOL!, BUT---and this is a BIG but!----her blood sugar has gone from a high of 426 on Sat when I took her in to around 160 WITHOUT insulin for the last 5 or 6 days! The doc doesn't know what is going on. He said he is SURE that she WILL be on insulin at some point, but right now it is more dangerous to have her on it than not---low sugar kills quickly, high sugar kills over a long time! In addition to that whatever it is, she has stones in her bladder---like kidney stones, but in the bladder and not the kidney. SOOOOO tomorrow she has surgery to remove those stones because he is still finding blood in her urine which he said is coming from the stones. He's going to remove them tomorrow, she'll continue on her antibiotic, and then he'll see how she does. He doesn't think that she has a tumor on her pancreas because that usually causes high insulin production and not low insulin production. He said she has both of them (there are two docs in this office) baffled---but they're going to keep looking for the answer. When she still had the UTI after taking the antibiotic for over a week, they x-ray'd her and that's when they found the stones. What a mess! We brought her home tonight and the first thing she did was drink an entire bowl of water, go outside and pee, and come back in and drink over half another bowl of water. I then walked her and she peed several times ---not unusual, but then about an hour later she had to go out and peed a ton! (This is what she was doing that made me know she wasn't right a week ago Sat.) Since then she's acted normal! Go figure! Bless her heart. She hates her medicine, so that's going to be fun to give her for ????? Anyway, I'll post how she did tomorrow after her surgery. Love you all, Jeanie

Weirdo, I meant HOMER LAUGHLIN was at fault for me buying dishes---not Bruce! LOL! That is too funny! Bruce does like them and did pay for them, but I doubt he would drag me in to buy! Too funny! I'll check on Mom and Dad tomorrow. I had Macie today---she's getting so big! She's such a sweet natured baby. Ok, Love you all, Jeanie

Talk about burying your head in the sand!~! Jeanie blaming BRUCE for her Homer Laughlin dishes??? Good try Jeanie but I know better!!!LOL I hate Dad having to wear the bracelet like I mentioned to you earlier today Jeanie but not as bad as I hate the thought of him walking off! Good Grief!!! This whole thing does suck for sure but I have to keep reminding myself of where they COULD be--home alone!!! Even suckier!! Keep those posts coming! Love to all, Judy

Jamie, you're so sweet about Annie, too! She loves all the sisters and is such a sweet little dog. She DOES love to eat! LOL! We went last night to bring her home, but since she was there for medical and not just boarding reasons, they wouldn't let us. She was SOOOOOOOOO happy to see Bruc, Maggie and me. She just licked and licked on us. She's definitely lost weight this week, but other than that she looked good.

I talked to Nikki last night. She called and said that Mom had new skin tears on BOTH elbows. She thinks it's from her moving around in the bed and wrestling with the aids when they're trying to get her up. Dad, she said, tried to get out twice yesterday! They put one of the bracelets on his ankle, too. I told her absolutely that I wanted it! I do NOT want him to get out! Nightmare! I asked about Dad's seemingly bad week of confusion, etc. She said that with a UTI that is one of the first symptoms they see. He finished his medicine yesterday. She said he had a bad time for just a short time yesterday, but then he was ok. She said Wed and Fri he'd been fine, too. She'd given him tobacco thinking it was that, but it wasn't. She said they got him to laughing and took him outside to hangout there with them and he was ok. I won't go today----they're bringing me Macie at about 8:00, but I'll go tomorrow. Nothing was said about the pneumonia---me included---I didn't ask because I guess I've been mostly concerned with his mental state this week.

Ok, I've got to shower and get dressed and put a few more things away. Bruce and I had such a good time!!!! We came back with a lot of treasures! LOL! Homer Laughlin draws me in!!!!!! LOL! It's HIS fault that I buy! LOL!

Ok, Jamie, keep those nerves under control! We'd love to have you closer!!!!!! Love you all, Jeanie