(no subject)

Okay, the Gloria thing. The doctor says yes, she thinks it's the urinary tract infection. She has a nice doctor, actually, youngish, Hispanic, sweet-voiced and smart. But the doctor thinks she should not be discharged to home when she's stabilized and eating again, because she's gone beyond home care. We're all pretty well agreed that we're at this stage or near it anyway. I wasn't there today -- I was in Oakland visiting my brother. But Friday I was there pretty much all day. She needs someone by her side all the time because she's anxious and wants to walk away from the catheter and IV and discomfort. She didn't eat anything yesterday but a bite of jello and a bite of this orange dessert substance. We had to struggle to get pills down her. She screamed when I washed her bottom. She screamed when they took her blood pressure. But when she heard her youngest son's voice she calmed down a lot. She calmed down the most when we got to talking about politics and retirement and things. The other caregiver bought her a stuffed bunny in the gift shop and she loved it. She sort of touched it absently but when the nurse was adjusting her pillows she clutched the bunny and said "it's mine." She's dropped a couple of cognitive rungs and I think she's run out of the wherewithal to regain her place.

Today supposedly the doctor and the discharge nurse were going to talk to whichever sons were available (the daughter being in Australia at the moment). Places in nursing homes are kind of tight. Nursing homes used to be a major industry in Santa Cruz but the property values have skyrocketed so it's not so profitable as it used to be. Also, there's been some closures due to licensing issues -- that is, they were hellholes. The ones that are left tend to be okay.

Tomorrow I'm goig to go do Gloria all day again.

This week I need to look for another job.

I'm taking Glucosamine now for the neck thing but I'm not sure I'm doing it right.