The Accelerating Slide

Mom's deterioration has become much more noticeable lately. I can't tell if it's a function of the insomnia or if the insomnia is a result of the deterioration.

She's become physically weaker over the last two weeks. Yesterday she spent the entire day on the couch napping and couldn't stand in the evening without help. Once she was up and had a grip on the walker she was all right although very slow, as if she had to consciously command her feet to move. Last night, about 2:30 a.m., I noticed, from under my door, her light was on and her door open. At first I thought she'd gone to the bathroom so gave her time to return. After a while though, with her light still on, I thought I'd better check.

She was fully dressed, standing by the side of her bed, but bent over at the waist with her head down in her pillow. She was also slightly twisted around although that was not easy to spot what with her scoliosis. She had tried to get up, fallen over, and was too weak to push herself upright again. Or even to move at all.

I tried to straighten her out, with no success. I did manage to get her glasses off which were twisted up under her head and mashed between her face and the pillow. I was finally able to lift her legs back onto the bed, with much protesting and some pain on her part, but she was now face down and still unable to move. I tried to turn her but couldn't manage both ends at once which meant either twisting her head around and leaving her feet, or turning her legs and leaving her breathing pillow, both of which would have been extremely painful.

So I woke my brother--scared him awake knocking on his door in the pitch dark--and together we turned her. She just smiled and said, "Thanks." We left her dressed (since half the time she sleeps that way anyway) but warned her she was too weak to try getting up again. As far as I can tell, she stayed in bed the rest of the night.

She was up at eight this morning moving slowly, but moving.