Prayers for my mom

As many of you know my mom suffers from Alzheimers...last night she was admitted into the hospital---we fear that she suffered a stroke or seizure, but have no confirmation for now. Just really worried for her, and especially for my dad. Asking for prayers for strength for both of them during this difficult time. My sister and I could use some too.

Sorry to hear about this. Prayers for your family.

Prayers for you and your family. I know the hospital is a strange place for her, but am sure she is getting the best of care. Hang in there.

Praying for you and your family

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this, Amy. You and your family will be in my prayers. I pray that you hear news about your mom soon and that it's not serious. I'm glad she has all of you by her side for support. You are such a wonderful daughter!!

Praying for all of you. I hope they quickly figure out what happened.

Thank you all so much. And thanks Teresa, for what you said...you are so sweet.

Actually Rhonda, when she had her kidney surgery it was absolutely awful---she was in a different stage then and was freaking out, pulling tubes out of her and telling my dad they were going home. She is too far gone for that now and is actually quite comfortable and friendly with all the nurses. She just makes sure my dad is with her. That's a good sign, that she still is aware of him and knows who he is and who we daughters are.

Good news....at least I hope so and that it stays this way. She was doing remarkably well tonight while I was up there. Awake the whole time and fairly lucid. Yesterday she had very typical symptoms of at least a mild or 'mini' stroke. Today the main thing is that she still is not walking, but that could just be weakness. So, please continue to pray for strength in her mobility! Mentally she is doing much better, thank God!! She did still sleep a LOT of the day again today (my dad could not barely rouse her yesterday, she slept for 18 hours). I am hoping that she sleeps normally through tonight, and then has a more normal day of just 'napping' tomorrow. Even when she's ready to be awake, it is VERY hard for her to open her eyes and keep them open for any period of time. That's why tonight was so surprising for me. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come.

Thanks for the update, Amy. Your mom will continue to be in my prayers. I'm glad she is doing well this evening.

Thanks for the Update Amy, Praying everything will turn back to normal
Her Sleeping so much Could it be that the doctor gave her a new Medication? I don't know how the doctors are in your part of the world but here it seems they like to give the Elderly folks Pills that make them sleep most of the day, Thats what happen to my neighbor lady she even fell asleep at the table

Thanks Teresa & Jacob! I know what you're saying Jacob, but no new meds here, not for quite awhile. They do make her drowsy, but not to the point of sleeping as much as she does.

I have incredible news though. Here is my FB status---I figured I'll just copy and paste to here!

Well, what has happened with my mom is nothing short of a *miracle*. And I do not say this lightly! For those of you who may not be aware, she has Alzheimers and has diminished rapidly this past year, especially the past 6 months or so. My grandma had it as well and hers progressed much more slowly...my mom has only been diagnosed for a few years. What happened this past weekend with what we thought was a possible stroke was, to us, more of the natural progression of the Dementia. But she has been getting SO much better the past two days in the hospital! Even before we saw the 'stroke symptoms' this past weekend, for months now she has been walking very slowly/shuffling, extremely wobbly and weak, NO energy, and has not been able to form thoughts into language. Until now! Turns out that she has been dehydrated. She sleeps SO much that she was not getting enough fluids into her body. The IV and fluids in the hospital was the key. Yesterday and this morning, she has been speaking quite clearly, even sentences, and is happy and friendly and most importantly....WALKING!!! Better than she has in *months*!! She is now home, and you can imagine she and my dad are beyond thrilled and we are all just trying to process this right now! My sister and I had been texting about wheelchairs and nursing homes! Nope, God and my mom have other plans! ;) Of course, this IS Alzheimers so we're under no false delusions of the inevitable, but this has bought us some time and I cannot even express how grateful we are for that. Thank you all for your prayers and concern for my mom and my family. He listened and He answered. God is Good!!

This absolutely makes my day!! I'm SO HAPPY for you and your family!

Know what this is, Mimi?? This is big. This is real big! I mean BIG big!

I am so Happy for you and your family Amy,

Lisa wrote:

This absolutely makes my day!! I'm SO HAPPY for you and your family!

Know what this is, Mimi?? This is big. This is real big! I mean BIG big!

Yes, it IS!! Thank you so much, Lisa. And I'm just so happy and grateful that you could be there for me when I called to share the news, blubbering probably incoherently over the phone! Thank you for being such a wonderful friend.

JW wrote:

I am so Happy for you and your family Amy,

Thank you Jacob!! I appreciate it!!

This has made my day, Amy! Such great news for your family!

Dehydration does all kinds of weird things to a person's body....So glad she is doing well!

Wow, Amy!! That is just unbelievable! I am sooooooooooooooooooo thrilled for you and your family!!!! That's such awesome news! Your mom must feel like a brand new person, ready to start a fresh chapter in her life. I bet she's going to be up for watching the new season of Survivor! It will be like the good 'ol days where someone bakes a cake! Ha!

Rob wrote:

This has made my day, Amy! Such great news for your family!

Mine too!! Still absolutely giddy over this and STILL trying to process what's happened! Although the lack of sleep the last few nights and now the energy burned today during this excitement is making me veeeeeeeery sleeeeeepy.

Rhonda wrote:

Dehydration does all kinds of weird things to a person's body....So glad she is doing well!

You're right, it is so dangerous for all of us, but according to the neurologist it is magnified/doubled for someone suffering from Dementia or Alzheimers. She wasn't even classified with 'severe dehydration' when she came in, only 'slight dehydration'! Unreal that THIS could cause such a severe reaction!! He also said it could have been caused by a combo of the dehydration and her stress brought on by some leg pain she was having and freaking out about. Like he said, with dementia patients, it's just a whole other ballgame. Thanks Rhonda!

Teresa wrote:

Wow, Amy!! That is just unbelievable! I am sooooooooooooooooooo thrilled for you and your family!!!! That's such awesome news! Your mom must feel like a brand new person, ready to start a fresh chapter in her life. I bet she's going to up for watching the new season of Survivor! It will be like the good 'ol days where someone bakes a cake! Ha!

Thanks Teresa! And yep, how I miss our old Survivor/dessert days. I spent the evening with my parents at their home tonight...it was wonderful. I immediately noticed the difference as soon as I walked in. She of course still has dementia, make no mistake, lol, but gosh, she has been so far 'gone' for awhile now that this 'new' mom is literallly more like how she was 6-8 months ago! HUGE difference. Jovial and happy and not so 'afraid' to talk, like she'll say the wrong thing or something. It was wonderful. She was even playful, wearing my dad's baseball cap and giving me a smile for my camera---which ended up dying (my phone went dead) before I could take it. And my dad couldn't find his either. She'll be coming to my house for the day tomorrow and I'll get a pic then. You have NO idea how good it feels to write those words, when here we were talking about having to put her in a wheelchair or look into a nursing care facility! The fact that she can still have some quality time is such a GIFT.

The walking is slow-going, but at least she IS walking! She did better at that hospital, so I'm told, but it could be just because she is still regaining her energy after being so 'out' at the hospital. Makes sense. It will be interesting to see if she can actually get better, as far as her walking is concerned. That would be incredible!

And gosh, I had the best 'mother daughter' night. I gave her a shower and washed her hair (hospitals---yuck! ), dried her hair and curled it (she has always loved being 'primped') and then we snuggled together on the couch. I put my head on her lap as we watched TV together with my dad, and she played with my hair! It's one of those 'great memories' I'll always keep tucked away, you know?

Thanks for the prayers and for the support, all! We have a long climb ahead still, I know, and I'll need you guys more than ever as time goes on.

Thank you for another update, Amy. It brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful and most memorable evening you had with your mom. Have fun spending the day together tomorrow!

Thank you Teresa!

Just now seeing this, Amy. I'm so glad your mom is doing so much better.

I will continue to pray things continue well.

Thank you Alice, I appreciate that!

Oh, that is such great news, Amy. I'm glad she is so much better.

Thank you, Lori.

She is pretty weak this morning, shuffling and having more cognitive trouble than she did last night....happy to be back in her routine, but weak. I'm hoping it's just from all the tranisitioning from the hospital/home/my house. And the fact that she was an absolute wreck on Saturday and Sunday. Makes sense that this may take awhile.

Here is a picture of her at my house, taken a couple of hours ago! It's incredible, considering that only three days ago she looked like a stroke victim!

Amy, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of your mom. What a beautiful lady. You look JUST like her, but with longer, darker hair. Your faces are identical. Such a cute pic of the pooch with her as well. They look so nice and cozy, complete with a game of cards.

Thanks Teresa! And actually my friend had the idea to get a deck of cards for her, because she is so tactile right now. She really enjoyed playing with them/sorting them. So glad she thought of that! I got 2 decks for my dad's house as well.


Here's a pic of the two of us together, taken at Sleeping Bear Dunes overlooking Lake Michigan. She was diagnosed about a year later. It's hard for me to see the resemblance---I always looked like my dad growing up---but I know how people outside a family can see resemblances better than the actually family can, half the time! My older sisters always teased me that I was adopted.