Journey Through Dementia

Journey Through Dementia

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

TB Test

I went to Atria to take my mother to her TB test at 11:20.  I knew she wouldn't remember.  Someone from Atria met me in the hall and said that she had just awakened her.  Not surprisingly, when I came in, she was upset, disoriented and didn't know where she was.

I pushed her to get dressed and told her I would make sure she got to the room where they were doing TB tests.  She just said over and over again that her head wasn't right and that she didn't know where she was or what she was supposed to be doing,  God, I wish I knew how to answer that question for her!!!

She was a tad better when we got back after the test (though she wasn't sure where her apartment was) because when she pulled the "don't know what I'm supposed to be doing" line I reminded her that the thing she was supposed to do today was get her TB test and that she had done it, so she had completed what she was supposed to do and she could relax the rest of the day.  Surprisingly this did seem to calm her down, at least momentarily.

I didn't stay long because I was in the middle of a zillion things at home and I have to go take her to get her hair cut tomorrow.  She really doesn't want to do that, but when I tell her the beauty parlor is inside Atria and she won't have to leave the building, she relaxes a bit, but still doesn't look happy about it.  I, however will feel much better when it is finally the right length again.  She looks like an old crone these days because not only is her hair too long, but she sometimes doesn't bother to brush it and when she does, it is just all straight and stringy. If she could actually look in a mirror and understand how bad she looks, I don't think she would be so unhappy about being dragged to the beauty parlor.

Her wound is looking better, but goddammit, she put nail polish on it again.  I don't know WHY she does that.  It's either nail polish or lipstick.  The lipstick is easier to clean off!

No comments:

Post a Comment