Sunday 1 February 2009

The effort of a throat swallow ....

Following on my post of 26 January .. I've been able to give my mother small teaspoons (half ones) of thickened lemon drink .. she is so grateful & is thoroughly enjoying the pleasure. It exhausts her however .. which sort of brings home ... how much effort one swallow is for her .. after 'having' to swallow, because I need to make sure the 'liquid' goes down tires her out after 5 - 7 swallows. We tried some tea (thickened) yesterday .. it wasn't such a success .. as Mum wasn't really awake enough.

Last year .. why she couldn't have had this pleasure a whole year ago I do not know .. as nothing has changed in her ability of talking etc over the past year & she's been happily swallowing voluntarily all year.

Anyway .. when we were discussing it & I said the powers that be had said nil by mouth .. and I was telling her that if I gave her something - water or tea - I'd be had up for possibly killing her .. my Ma just said .. "ring Barbara up" .. why? "so that you can get an Affidavit drawn up which can be signed by me exonerating you of all blame" ... well, well ... again there is this brain still functioning & its positive attitude & desire to live!!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Hilary

You said it best, "positive attitude & desire to live" that and you are what is keeping her spirit up.

Take care,
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than NO Action

Unknown said...

Hi Hilary, Your article reminded me at the time when my mother taking care of my father who had severe diabetes. It is now in the memory of both my mother and I, but she was glad and sad in every second. But my mother and I know that it only help when you have positive spirit. Shaw_

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Gio .. thanks very much .. she just longs to get out of bed & leave Kestrel House; the spirits are around her .. but we wait & love her as best we can & provide as much pleasure, support and input as she needs: it's a good time.

Thanks again Hilary

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Thanks Shaw very much .. it is an amazing time & I'm very blessed, I believe, in having this time with her ... & my advantage is I can keep her personality alive through my positive letters blog. Thanks very much for your support.

I'm pleased to hear your mother is glad of her time with your father towards his end .. is she in Tokyo?

I appreciate your comments - Hilary

Believe Achieve - Hugo and Roxanne said...

Hi Hilary,

Your Mum has a wonderful sense of humor and such a positive attitude. We love to see that she brightens your day as much as you do hers. :-)

Hope you're having a beautiful week.

Many Blessings....
Roxanne and Hugo
~ Believe Achieve ~

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Thanks Hugo & Roxanne .. we keep smiling it's the only thing we can do & turn negatives into positives.

We do laugh a lot .. thank goodness ..

You too - have a lovely week & a big hug from me to the kids .. Hilary