In these tough times

What a year, huh? Covid 19 has impacted every area of everyone’s life. And, for the most part, not in a good way! Just when we think things can’t get any worse, well, you know, something else happens.

My mother is ninety-one and I hoped with all my heart that she’d be able to avoid going to the hospital during the Coronavirus. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Almost eight weeks ago she fell and broke her right hip (she’d broken her left hip twice eight years ago) and was taken to the hospital. By the Grace of God, she came through the surgery and, after a week in the hospital, she was transported to a skilled nursing/rehab facility where she spent five weeks. She hated it there and, although I wasn’t allowed inside the building because of the virus, everything I saw and heard (and have since learned) reinforced her opinion.

Anyway, long, long story short – I was given less than twenty-four hours’ notice that they were sending Mom home. Needless to say, I was very glad she was coming home but I wasn’t prepared for her homecoming. I needed special supplies I didn’t have so it was a mad dash to get them. My niece and my aunt helped me with some of that and I’m grateful to them.

Mom’s confined to a wheelchair twelve hours a day until the surgeon authorized more than 25% weight bearing on her right leg. She has an appointment this coming week for an x-ray and I’m praying she’ll be at 50% or more. Because I don’t have the strength to lift her, my brother was coming over every morning and evening to get her in and out of bed. This past week, thanks to the wonderful people at Council on Aging and Helping Hands, we have an aid for an hour every morning five days a week to do that and more. My brother still comes in the evenings and in the morning on the weekends.

We also have a nurse, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist, each coming twice a week. Coordinating all the schedules has been a daunting task but I’m truly grateful for each and every one of them.

I’m not going to sugar-coat what’s been happening and I know that Mom’s road to recovery has a long way to go. As my mother’s primary caregiver, there have been days when I felt as if I’d reached my limit - physically, mentally and emotionally - but I’ve learned so much through all of this. I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that, no matter what happens to us in life, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. I’ve discovered that, when I focus on the good things, more of the things that happen are good.