I received the following email from my sister today:

David,

I met Connie & Marilyn today. Marilyn thinks that where Mom is at now is what her baseline is going to be. Neither of them seems to think Mom is going to improve, and that at best we can improve her environment. Connie was saying that with some dementia patients they can have moments where they seem to have no problems and then a moment later show symptoms. She did not understand why you were asking her why this or that was not done at Stewart-Marchman. Marilyn was saying that Mom is not very talkative except when she is getting anxious, at which point the only thing they can offer is “supportive” therapy, basically telling Mom it is going to be ok versus another type of therapy where they would try to dig deeper into the root of the problem. I was sitting there torn between whether I did not care for what they had to say because it was sounding hopeless or because it sounded like psycho-mumbo-jumbo talk. Either way, it still came back to her needing to be out of there. They mentioned a couple of places they said to look at, Shady Oaks Rest Home (I hate the idea of anything called a “rest home”) and Garden Manor. Then as they were talking mentioned Lakewood again, saying that Maria might be willing to take Mom knowing she is on the Medicaid waiver list.

Don’t bother asking either of them about meds; you have to ask Mom’s nurse for the day. Mom’s nurse today, Dan, gave me the following information:

She has been on these pyschotropics:

HALDOL 2mg/2x/day since 2/6/12
NAMENDA 5mg/2x/day since 1/25/12
ZYPREXA 5mg at bedtime since 2/6/12
ARICEPT 10mg in the morning since 1/26/12

and these others:

BENADRYL 2x/day
LOPRESSOR 25mg/2x/day
PRENAVIL 10mg/2x/day
HCT2 12.5mg in the morning

Meds are usually given between 8am-9am and at 9pm.

I am sorry I don’t have more details about the conversation with Connie and Marilyn. That is pretty much the gist of it. I wish I were better at remembering all this. I am trying.

I called St. Paul’s and left a message. They called me back, and the first place their minister to the sick suggested was Indigo Manor, where Nana was dropped. Part of their recommendation was based on the food. Um, no. They also mentioned another place Nana lived, Forest Lake. I am not sure if she understood the question regarding looking for places financially feasible, and she was apparently limiting the search to Daytona. I can call her back if you would like, but I do not know if that is worth it. […]