Not Expecting the Expected

Ok. So they told us to expect more strokes and/or seizures with Susan, but we still weren’t expecting it. The fact that she had been quietly in her room for several hours did not arouse any concerns. Sunday was, after all, overcast! Along with being out of sorts, overcast days make Susan want to sleep more. That was what I thought as the time ticked on in the house and Susan did not come out to wander around, as she had been doing all morning and early afternoon.

Jeff and I had accepted an invitation to dinner. We don’t do that very often these days. Kyle and Ashli had agreed to watch Susan. I was definitely looking forward to getting out and socializing like normal folk. As Kyle and I went over the details of caring for Grandma that evening, he mentioned that she had slept long enough and he would be waking her up to eat. He immediately began preparing her something he knew she would like and we left for dinner. Free at last! Our wheels had only been rolling a few miles when our cell chimed. So soon? It was not like Kyle and Ashli to call us when we are out.

When Susan would not come out to get her supper, Kyle used a credit card to enter her private domain. He found her lying on the floor. After hearing their description of her condition and the circumstances that they found her in, we were convinced that it was a repeat event of her last episode. Kyle and Ashli felt sure that it was another TIA (mini stroke). She couldn’t sit up in the chair, had to be carried to the bathroom,
urinated on herself and was weak and confused. The good news was that she still had an appetite and was not injured by the fall.

Yesterday Susan fell four times. She kept blaming her falls on the dumb chair, the stupid bed or her clumsy shoes. I suppose that made her feel better; but not the rest of us. We couldn’t convince her not to lock her door that evening, which made her harder to reach each time she fell. After the last fall sometime during the late night, Kyle chose the only option left: he took her door off the hinges to prevent her from shutting and locking it again.

Needless to say, she doesn’t like a room with no doors, but we can keep a closer eye on her until we can figure out a better option. We have thought about the doors that are sliced in half that are often used at day cares. She could still lock the bottom and we could see in the top. Perhaps another option might be a door with a little window that didn’t totally interfere with her privacy. We haven’t figured this one out yet, but we will; we always do. Any suggestions?