Brilliant and resourceful

Do you see that look in her eyes and that smile that is beginning?  She’s in her body, but she is seeing the other side.  Her speech is gone.  She doesn’t have enough air to push words out.Mama Trudy always needs water when she wakes up, but sipping through a straw is very difficult for her now. She does not like anything cold... Ice is not an option for her. So, I hold a little water in the straw and release it, but must be very careful that she doesn’t get strangled. This method was taking too long to get her parched tongue moist, so she whispered, "spray." That's correct. A spray bottle to get her mouth moistened quickly was her idea. Works great! Take note.

Billie Coltrain, our Leslie’s mother-in-law and great friend to Mama Trudy, told me about Toothettes.  So I called the hospice nurse and asked about them.  Billie, the Toothettes are wonderful. She is loving me cleaning out the inside of her mouth and gums. She's able to suck the water out of those little sponges, also.  They are great!  Thanks for telling me about them.

This morning, the nurse put a catheter in place and I was horrified that 1400 ml of fluid drained from Mama’s bladder.  The nurse could not believe that her bladder had been holding that much fluid… the most she had ever seen in twenty years of nursing.