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I remembered two separate events when my dad asked me forlornly, "Can you help me?" When I would ask him what he needed, he would have this confused look. Then he replied, "I forgot." And that made him more upset because he couldn't remember what he needed help with. I just had to reassure him that he'll remember it later on.
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Lost
My mom has episodes of repeatedly saying help me, help me but never knows with what - there are times when she'll keep it up for hours

Last night, I arrived late to her facility - 10 ish and found her awake and semi crying
I asked her what was wrong and she just said my body
I took her temp got her something to drink but she didn't want a Tylenol
Finally it dawned on me that she was probably on her side for too long laying on her bad shoulder
Once we got her changed and repositioned she fell asleep
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MsMadge,

Thanks,
I keep forgetting to look for one.
I will look for one tomorrow when I am in town.  I need to put it on my list!
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Lizzy
Buy a little pill cutter at the drug store
A small device that holds the pill in place
Then just lower the lid which has a razor sharp blade
Easy peasy
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Sorry, Frazzled I should have said Happy Birthday to you too! Happy Birthday, Frazzled!
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Thank you smeshque!! :)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRAZZLED!!!!
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As for cutting pills, I might do better with a chisel and hammer :P

Good idea, cdnreader, I will ask the pharmacist the next time I re-order if they can cut the pills for me, I am willing to pay big time for them to do that.
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Actually Veronica the Skytrain is an elevated train line but not horribly high. As for the mop and bucket idea? LOL.........I'm thinking no. I think one day I might get another bench for Mom. It isn't cheap though so it may have to wait. I know my Mom would probably just shake her head and say "you don't need to have anything in place for me" and she would be right. She is in my heart as Sendme told me. :)

Yes, Blackhole, goodbye rural oasis for sure.
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Ouch, Gershun. Sad and frustrating.

Last year, I visited my mom’s grave on Mother’s Day. It’s a beautiful cemetery; the flowers I brought were “just so”; the weather was gorgeous.

Then I realized I was being serenaded by non-stop industrial racket. And the drone of heavy equipment. 

I looked across the valley. Oh. The next hill is now a fracking site.

Trees clear-cut the whole way up to create a makeshift road. Drilling rigs and well pads and towers on top of the hill.

It used to be so green and pretty. Goodbye rural oasis.
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Gershon maybe Mom has found a happier place to hang out. Once the murderer is caught maybe you can take your mop and bucket on the skytrain. The skytrain train sounds exciting is it? I am scared of heights!
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Oh Gershun I am so sorry.
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CWillie, there was a little lady like that at my Mom's nursing home too. She used to walk into my Mom's room and just sit down. My Mom would guide her out the door.

My whine today is a carryover from yesterday. It was the third year anniversary of Mom's death. I took the transit over to her bench that we had dedicated to her in lieu of a grave. It used to be a five- minute walk but we've moved. So the day started out good. I went to Starbucks and happily drank it on the Skytrain ride. But when I got to the park I got lost. I spent at least a half hour confusedly walking up and down the trails trying to find an opening. Now, please no one give me hell but I forgot to say that there was a murder in this park a year ago. A thirteen- year old girl's body was found and they still haven't arrested anyone. So I was thinking about this as I roamed the park. It was the middle of the day so it wasn't dark but I noticed not a soul in sight. Not even a squirrel. In the past when I'd go to this park I would pass all sorts of people. Joggers, older couples going for a stroll, couples with their toddlers. Yesterday, not a soul. It made me very sad. When I finally found Mom's bench I was so tired and depressed that it wasn't the nice, peaceful, reflective time I'd hoped for. Her bench looks dirty and covered with moss and ants. It may be my imagination but the whole atmosphere there has been sullied and probably will till they catch the person who murdered this poor little girl. My Mom used to love this park and now .................it's just sad.
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FF,

Right now I am having to cut a pill in half. Dosage reduced. I am not wasting them!

The best thing I have found so far is a tiny pair of scissors. Not perfect every time but most of the time.
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Lost, there is a dear little lady at the nursing home who constantly asks everyone she sees "can you help me?". Mostly she is just confused and anxious she might miss something or doesn't really know what she wants, when my mom was home she used to call too - it's challenging for sure!
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What about a sign on the door to remind her Frazzled, something right at eye and knocking level?
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Not really a whine.. but Mom and Aunt are in Tx and DD has to work for Mothers Day. Work just called me to see if I would want to work Sunday.. Sure, why not? At least I will get to know my patients are getting happy care ( I love my job) and the money is nice too. We can always celebrate another day and we will take the ladies out when they get home!  And we still can not believe they stayed the entire 6 weeks.. my cousins are awesome!!
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She's always asking if I can help her, and I can't, but I try. But she has eaten, taken her pills, gone to the bathroom, etc. When I ask what she needs help with, she never has an answer for me.
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Ugh my whine for the day - mom asked this morning if I wanted to go out to eat for my birthday (it's today) and I said maybe later, but that I wanted to nap when my toddler did, (because that is pretty much my only opportunity to get any rest).

Well a little bit later she came and knocked on my room door (I have asked her several times not to knock on my door when it's closed/locked because the baby is sleeping). She ended up knocking until she woke me and the baby up just to ask if I was ready to go yet.

I got aggravated and said, "NO, I don't want to go anywhere right now. I'm tired, you woke the baby up, and I've asked you to please not knock on my door!"

I feel bad for being like that, but I am still just tired, frustrated, and what I would like to say to her is for my birthday I would like to have a moment's peace and time to myself. Was up late last night with mom and the little one, and early this morning with the other two kids getting ready for school, then dealing with mom's paranoia and her hearing the voices saying they were going to come in and get her.

Anyway, rant over. I feel better now getting it off my chest.
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Hi freqflyer,

I had to cut some of my dad's pills. Have you tried asking the pharmacist to do this instead? I'm not sure if there is an additional charge, but hopefully they have better equipment for this.
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My whine, cutting pills. I have tried all types of pill cutters except for professional grade. When I cut the pill I usually don't get 50-50, its more like 25/75. Happiness are those oblong pills that you can snap in half, but not all oblong pills work that way.

Maybe the next time I see my doctors, I will ask if I can have more pills at a lower dosage each to add up to what I need to take so I won't need to deal and curse at the pill cutters :P
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Thanks FF, I've looked at buck & buck - unfortunately international shipping plus the exchange rate is too much of a PITA
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cwillie, check out the website for Buck & Buck, it has really nice clothing for assistant living and nursing home care :)
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So I've finished the top and will take it over to the NH. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong and it won't win me any ribbons as a seamstress but it should look OK from the front anyway🤞. I know I just don't have the patience for this stuff and the more frustrated I get the more mistakes I make but I'm not seeing any good alternatives.
(This is why all the ladies in the NH are wearing burgundy velour tracksuits or 1950's style house dresses 🙄)
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FF, I was chuckling as I read your antidote of the plumber and your significant other.

Susan, I continued giggling as I read yours. By the time I read 3/4 of the story, I was laughing.

You both made my day. I rarely laugh nowadays. Thanks.
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Barb, I hope it was just a glitch on the blood test.... I will hope for that until the 2nd test results come back. {{HUGS}}

I had to have a hysterectomy done due to a medical condition I was suffering repeatedly for 2 years. This medical condition would have required stomach operation every year. After my 1st surgery, I never ever wanted to go through that again ... Anyway, the year after the hyster, I had my annual check up. The doctor went through all my lab works with me. He saved the big news last. He pulled out the next lab result. ..... He looked at me, smiled widely, presented the lab result and said, "Congratulations. You're pregnant!" ..... I stared at him in shock ..... He smiled, chuckling, and said that it must be wrong so we're going to take the blood test again ..... The 2nd test came out negative.
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Hugs, Barb
Hope you can get some rest and treat yourself to some good food this Mother's Day weekend - it is easy to get run down, even for someone with your high energy
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I love you ladies! So much!
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Barb,

I hope the call from the nurse line comes to you as soon as possible.

I hope your next test results are back within normal range.

Susan,

That was the BEST LINE EVER!
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I've got to share my "women know nothing about man stuff" story...

I've been divorced since 2001 when my ex left me for someone else after nearly 10 years of marriage that included caring for his elderly parents. I've learned how to do a LOT on my own in that time.

I moved back to my home state to help my own parents back in 2002, and soon after I arrived, I went to the local quick-change oil place to get the oil changed on my van - a Toyota Previa.

Now, if you've never seen a Toyota Previa, let me fill you in - nothing on that van is where it would be on a Ford or a Chevy. The van is sort of shaped like an egg, and the engine curves under the front of the van, giving it a very sleek profile and almost no front end to speak of - great for parking, but a real pain for mechanics to work on.

I pulled into the oil change place, and knowing my own vehicle, started to get out. The tech stopped me immediately and said, "Oh no ma'am - you stay right in the vehicle!" I looked at him and said, "Are you SURE you don't need me to get out?" - "No ma'am - you just stay right in there!" Ok, then. So I stayed put, and just smiled to myself, pretty sure I knew something they didn't.

5 minutes later, I have 2 techs under the hood, poking around and obviously not finding what they were looking for. Then it was 3 techs. Then 5. The entire staff that was on duty was under my hood, muttering to each other and poking around. Finally, one of them asks for my vehicle manual. I gave it to them and asked if they wanted me to get out. No, no, they assured me - they just weren't real familiar with my type of vehicle and needed to check something in the manual.

10 more minutes...

2 cars are lined up behind me, waiting for oil changes. Part of the staff opens up the 2nd bay so they can start servicing those cars. The rest of the staff is still under my hood, owner's manual in hand, scratching their heads. One of them apologizes that it's taking so long, but now admits they've never seen a Toyota Previa and don't even know how much oil to put in it. Gee, that's terribly reassuring. I ask (again) if they want me to get out - nope, stay in the van. Ok.....

15 minutes....

Finally, the owner comes to my window and says, "Ma'am - we've never seen a vehicle like this before. Where the heck is the dipstick?? And where do we fill the oil??"

I hit him with the best line ever.

"I'm SITTING on it. Would you like me to get out NOW??"

(In a Toyota Previa, the oil fill and dipstick are beneath a panel in the floor under the driver's seat, which flips backwards to reveal the hidden panel.)

:-)
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