A Hospital Day

Today my mom had her second cataract surgery.  All went well, and that is due to a very fine doctor and an excellent and understanding hospital staff. 

My mom has dementia.  It’s not Alzheimer’s.  She knows that she doesn’t know.  I’m not sure if that is easier or more difficult than the alternative. 

My mother-in-law had Alzheimer’s.  She was constantly bewildered and didn’t know she was bewildered.  My mom is often bewildered, but she knows she’s mixed up.  That can be heartbreaking, too, because she is always apologizing for her confusion and always sad about causing extra work for those around her.  She remembers what happened yesterday and last week and last year.  She will give a thoughtful and wise critique of one of my speeches, but she might get lost in her own kitchen, unable to find the water tap, unable to find her way back into the living room.

Today, even under sedation, she was active and jerky during the surgery.  Somehow the doctor managed to successfully remove that cataract.  I haven’t a clue how she and her staff managed that, but they did, praise God. 

(Thank you, War Memorial Hospital.  What a great and kind group of people work there!)

When Dad and Mom and I arrived home, Mom asked, “Now that’s the last procedure, right?”  My dad made a quip about the third eye, and we all laughed.  Mom’s big brown eyes were shining again.

I’m blessed, Sue