Have you seen Donna?

I have not been to my parents house for four days. It's difficult to stay away but it also has been a nice break. Last Thursday, I was there and dad helped me setup the cooker outside to blanch some corn. We cut it off the cob on the picnic table. I had brought two knifes and two boards out thinking mom would help. In the past, she is always eager to help with chopping in the kitchen. Not today tho. She seemed confused by the whole process. She repeatedly asked what I was doing & stated that she had never done that before. Is that ready to eat? Are you going to eat all that?
Dad helped with the cutting. He doesn't have a lot of dexterity in his hands but as usual he did not let that stop him. After working in the hot weather for awhile, I told mom to go get us three ice cream bars from the freezer. I repeated the directions & then she went in the house. It took a little bit & then she came out with the box of ice cream sandwiches and a bag of frozen stir fry. She looked at me and said, "Is this what you wanted?" I said, Yes, You go give dad this ice cream and I will take this back inside." It's heartbreaking to see mom not know what it means to get an ice cream sandwich.

Dad always checks in at 7:30 in the morning. Yesterday, when he called I told him to come down at 5 for dinner. They arrived on time & we had juice and chatted before our dinner of soup & grilled cheese. Mom was complaining about a cold & said she had a sore throat. When it came time to eat, she slurped up the soup & made noises indicating she was enjoying it. In a break in the conversation she looked up at me and said, "Have you seen Donna lately?" I have been training myself to go along with her thoughts & not always correct her so there was silence as I tried to decide how to answer that. Then Kenny said, "That is Donna. This is where she lives." and mom looked confused and responded, "I know that, where's the other Donna?"
It felt good to have mom & dad at our house again & dad always seems to relax and enjoy his time with us. Hearing mom's confusion is such a difficult situation.

Busy days

Since dad's heart attack the days have been busy! Today, I took mom for a doctor's appt. in Siren. I was disappointed because he really didn't evaluate her, but they did get a urine sample so at least I will know if she has an infection. She also got a shot of cortisone in her hip. It has been bothering her and was very sensitive to the touch. Hopefully, that will help with the pain. She has really been confused lately. She has asked me, "How did I get here?" Referring to the house she has lived in for 40 plus years. Today on the way home she couldn't remember where we had been or how the day started out. School started this week and I am sad not to be in the classroom but also very relieved to have time to help my parents. We now have help for them most days of the week. I don't know how long the situation will last...it is an overwhelming situation that you just have to take a day at a time.