11/14
Gramma ended up in a Psych hospital for 2 weeks and then went to live with my Dad. They packed up her apartment and moved her to Seattle where my aunt and cousins live. So, she is there now. Her insurance isn't working out so great for her up there so please keep that in prayer. At least she is constantly surrounded by family.
Thank you for praying.
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9/14
Right now, my Gramma is at the ER at Kaiser. They are putting her through detox in case maybe she had a mix up of her meds and an accidental overdose of morphine. Nothing has been diagnosed yet. They are planning to keep her in the hospital while she detoxes.
She is deeply convinced that people are out to get her for her money (she barely has a dime to her name) and she has been hearing voices and threats.
On another note, she has had a caregiver for the last 4-5 years who has borrowed and taken money from her on multiple occasions. I filed an elder abuse claim on this care giver tonight. So please pray about that, too, and that the truth will be known and will set my Gramma free.
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9/15
ok...the latest on my funny Gramma. I have always called her "my funny Gramma" and she continues to be but in a different way and one that is very frightening to her right now. Can you imagine living every moment paranoid and afraid for your very life? Regardless of the reality, her mind is leading her to be very scared and it breaks my heart. These emails are acting as a journal for me as well so I can keep track of how she is doing. Hope you all don't mind.
Sometime yesterday, she was released from the hospital. I don't know the details yet of how that all transpired, but she ended up at home with my Dad & his wife, Linda. She has disillusion syndrome possibly caused by her meds or a urinary tract infection. Which I guess affects the minds of the elderly. Did you know that? Weird. I guess they are hoping that once the infection clears, so will the hallucinations. I hope that is true. However, in the mean time...
When she was in her right mind this morning, she acknowledged that she thought it might be time for her to not live alone, but that she was resistant because she has lived alone for so long. Dad is pursuing the social worker and her primary care doctor to recommend that she be in assisted living/nursing home.
The social worker says that once my Gramma is in such a situation, she can easily be transferred to a board and care in Seattle where my Aunt and many cousins live. This would be an ideal situation. She admitted to not wanting to be a burden to the family. They were mid-discussion this morning when my Dad had to go to a meeting. They agreed to continue the conversation when he returened home. And 2 hours later a switch was flipped and she started getting loony.
Gramma and Linda were working in the kitchen together around lunchtime. Shortly thereafter, Dad called to check on Gramma and she had disappeared. Linda looked high and low for her to no avail and so called my dad to have him come home. Linda noticed that she, her dog & the leash were missing, but her purse, walker, glasses, etc were all still at the house.
Gramma had walked to the corner to a local Barber shop and told them that my Dad & Linda were going to kill her. She said she heard them talking about her across the street, and that they said they were going to kill the dog and then her. (My dad wasn't even home when she "heard" this) So, the Barber shop guy called the police.
That's about when my Dad & Linda found her.
Mom, thank God you advised she go to the hospital the other day. The police checked with the hospital. My Dad & Linda could have ended up in jail. My Dad is very emotional about the whole thing. She has totally turned on him and it is tearing him apart. He struggles between being mad and hurt. Of course, I just try to remind him that it is not really my Gramma who is saying all these accusatory and nasty things to him.
The cop said she refused to go home with my Dad. She thinks my Dad hates her. Dad told the officer that she couldn't go home to her apt, and the cop advised that an ambulance be called. She refused at first to get in the ambulance because she thought my Dad & Linda would kill the dog. Thankfully, my Uncle Jim & Aunt Kathy were there and they were able to convince her to get into the ambulance. My Dad hasn't seen her since because she is afraid of him. My poor Dad!
At this point, she would only yield to her son, Jim. Who, by the way, has been estranged, and has an abusive & psycho wife, who has unabashedly poured her wrath out on my Gramma numerous times for so many years. So....my Gramma doesn't trust my Dad who has bent over backwards for her the last few years and she is all too trusting of my aunt & uncle who have only ever been verbally abusive toward her. Yeah, something is definitely not right.
So...all this to say, please keep praying. I would like to call or visit my Gramma but am not sure how I might be received. I want her to be able to trust somebody and, at this point, she is suspicious of so many...even her favorite granddaughter (my cousin, Melissa). I don't want to be another person that she thinks is out to get her.
Thank you for reading this. If nothing else, it is entertaining, huh?
Mom, Dad is very thankful that you demanded she go the the ER. It really saved his tail today.
Tobi, Dad specifically asked that I fill yo in on all of this. Just thought you should know that.
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9/16
Today should be a shorter update.
My Gramma is still at Kaiser. They are keeping her there until she can be moved to a psychiatric hospital. Supposedly, a psychiatrist was supposed to talk to her this afternoon. I am not sure if that happened or not. The doctor apologized up and down to my dad for releasing her too early. They want her to go to a psychiatric hospital because she will have no choice but to be there. If she goes to an assisted living or nursing home, she can choose not to go. And she really needs to be supervised 24/7 right now.
I tried calling my Gramma tonight but the phones were shut off so I will try again tomorrow.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
My Dad is feeling a little better today. Not great, but better.
I am hoping to get out there in the next week so I can encourage my Dad and Gramma.
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9/17
Some quick bullet points from a quick phone call with my Dad a few minutes ago. I will talk to him more in depth later.:
Well, my Gramma thinks the nurses & doctors are going to kill her. People are doing work on the ceiling and she thinks they are making a place to put her body after she's dead. She tried to leave the hospital today and was convinced to come back in.
I will go out there tomorrow.
They are hoping to move her to the Mesa Vista Psych hospital.
She is refusing food & meds.
She is getting worse.
The $200 Dar (the caregiver) borrowed will be paid back. She called my dad today to tell him she was planning to pay the money back. Which makes me think that maybe she was confronted about the complaint I filed the other day.
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A more accurate update on my Gramma,
There was a girl stationed outside the door all day today because Gramma tried to escape.
All the hospital workers are afraid of her because when she attempted her great escape,she had her purse over her shoulder and was carrying her walker over her head. It took 4 security guards to turn her around. The social worker told dad "Don't worry it's not just you, we are all killers."
She thinks her food is poisoned and set with expolosives.
My Aunt Cathy ate some of the food to prove that it wasn't poisoned and then Gramma was able to eat. Praise the Lord for that.
She was also able to take some meds today.
The Dr doesn't think it is the morphine or UTI that are causing the hallucinations.
They are planning to send her for an MRI. They want to rule out anything medically wrong before they send her to Mesa Vista Psych Hospital.
My cousin, Melissa is flying in tomorrow night.
Thank you for your prayers. I truly hope this isn't hereditary. (A little laugh for you.) Please pray that the Lord will be with me as I try to calm her down, that she will receive me, and hopefully am able to point her toward the Lord.
Love you!
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9/23
Happy Birthday, Gramma!
My visit with my Gramma went very well on Friday and Saturday. She received me without any trouble (thank you for praying) and one of the days, I was able to read the Bible to her. I read a few of the Psalms to her while she was asleep when I arrived on Saturday and later, she asked if I would read James to her. I read the whole book of James. Praise the Lord! She closed her eyes and listened contentedly. She was still quite paranoid but was able to eat a little and she finally got some sleep. An MRI came back showing nothing, and the doctors ruled out everything medically, so they decided it was time to have her transferred to a psychiatric hospital. My Dad was able to visit while I was there and Gramma no longer was afraid of him, so that is a relief.
She was moved to the psych hospital on Monday. She seems to be in good spirits, but the delusions are getting worse. She is no longer paranoid or fearful, thankfully. But she is imagining that a particular woman patient at the hospital is her grandma and then she claimed she was Jesus' grandma. Today is her birthday. I will go to see her on Saturday.
My Aunt & Uncle that I previously mentioned have been causing more trouble and even showed up at my Gramma's apartment when my dad went to pay some bills. They started to rifle through all of her things. I could elaborate but it just makes me angry, so I will skip it for now. They are selfish and mean.
Her doctor says there is definitely some dementia, psychosis, and meds involved. She is on 3 blood pressure meds and 3 depression meds. It's too much. She should only be on one for each. We are hopeful that it is just a matter of balancing the medications. But, it doesn't look that way.
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10/12
Gramma was released from the hospital Saturday and is, at this moment, on her way up to Seattle. She has lived in San Diego her whole life so this move is a big deal. She seems much better. A little confused because of the hallucinations she has had and is having trouble differentiating between what is true and what was imagined. For example, we had to convince her yesterday that she doesn't have cancer. She was sure a doctor had told her that. It seems that a balancing of her meds has helped her out. Praise the Lord! Please pray for her transition to Seattle. She thinks she is going to into her own apartment, but she will have to be in some sort of assisted living situation. She has been told the reality, but it's not clicking for some reason. Clearly, there are still some issues.
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7/26/10
My Gramma has settled into an assisted living home and is treated well. She claims this is the happiest she has been in a long time. Hallelujah! Thank you for praying.
Our new favorite movie for the time being is "Swiss Family Robinson". The little boy in the movie catches an elephant. This is very inspiring to a little 5-year-old engineer.
