Not Yet an Orphan

On the 2nd of this month, my mother's nursing home rang me to discuss her situation. She seemed to be fading away, and they considered her to be on an "end of life pathway". She was not responding to people, not eating, and not drinking much. My father died in May last year, and it seemed Mum was going to do the same this May.

My sister had not been able to visit Mum for 6 months, but as Mum was dying the visitors vaccination requirement was waived. So she has been to visit a few times, which maybe is why Mum is still with us. Seeing her other daughter again seemed to perk her up quite a bit. 

This is the Ukrainian bookmark I started cross-stitching last month. I take it with me when I go to visit Mum, and if she is sleeping or unresponsive, I sit quietly and stitch for a while.

There is a covid outbreak at the nursing home, with about 15 of the residents testing positive over the last couple of weeks. None have been seriously ill so far, probably because they were all vaccinated. But the fact that it has spread at all is a worry. It seems to point to lapses in infection control procedures. If Mum catches it, the outcome is unlikely to be good, given her general frailty and lack of vaccination.

Another issue is that my sister is moving interstate next week, so will no longer be around to help lift Mum's spirits.

There are good days and bad days. On Friday (my birthday) Mum recognised me and spoke to me, and didn't at all seem like she was about to drop off the perch. Yesterday she was completely unresponsive to me and everyone else, until a nurse who has been away for a few weeks came in. He got a "Hello" and a smile!

She is keeping us guessing, but with under six hours to go, it looks like she has made it to the end of May.