Spent Time With My Mother

If you get Healing God’s Way newsletter you know my mom isn’t doing well. She lives in a Living Assisted Facility, Alzheimer’s Special Care Unit. About a year and a half ago she stopped talking. They also put her in a wheelchair so she wouldn’t fall. For a variety of reasons, including breaking a rib, I have been unable to visit her for a little over a year. So when I made my airline reservations last month I wasn’t sure if she would remember me. On Tuesday, May 15, I walked up to my mother and greeted her. Every day I would say hi, then tell her my name and that I am her daughter. Her face didn’t tell me if she remembered but her behavior sure did. She quickly grabbed my fingers and refused to let go. Whenever her grip would loosen and I would try to pull away, she would grab on again. By the end of the day my left arm hurt from all the strange positions it had been in. The staff noticed my mom seeded really happy all day. The rest of the week she didn’t grab me much but smiled at me whenever I told her "I love you", which I did repeatedly. She seemed a lot more engaged, that is when she wasn’t falling asleep, and even chucked a little bit. Clearly she remembers me and benefited from my visit. It saddens me I can’t visit her more often and that there are over 1,700 miles (2,736 km) between us.

While in California I purchased some clothes for my mother. All of her clothes were several sizes to large. Tough buying winter clothes in May, but with the help of others I found a very large thrift store where I was able to get some long sleeve shirts for her. I also got her some slacks.

I won’t mention where I stayed but I have to say it was the worse room I ever been in. The décor was bad enough (San Francisco 49er's football wallpaper and furniture) , but finding a spider in my bed when I got up in the morning and another baby spider in the bathroom sink didn’t make me happy either. There were other problems with the room, which I sure hope they fix. Fortunately after finding the spiders they moved me to a much better room.

I flew on ExpressJet, a new airline that has non-stop flights. No other airline flies from San Antonio to Sacramento without forcing me to change planes. I got a little meal and was able to listen to XM Radio. I have no reservations of flying with them again. The plane held about 50 people, so it is small, but the flight was enjoyable. The only warning I have for others is we had to climb down steps, then walk over to the plane, and walk up more steps to get into the plane. They do have a way to get passengers in wheelchairs onto the plane, but be sure to let them know ahead of time if stairs are a problem for you.