Chapter 14: Initiating Records Management
May 2023
I recently created a folder to track everything related to mom’s appointments. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about but my Lord, there seem to be a lot of people who want to talk to her now. I love my dad for everything he’s doing, but he doesn’t have my great passion for taking notes. 😊 So I’ve decided I’m just going to badger him with questions over the phone every time he takes mom to any medically-related “thing” so I at least have peace of mind that I know what’s going on!
For example, Mom had a brain scan done – but because it was the first one she’s ever had, it’s inconclusive. There is no obvious plaque, but without any previous records to compare it to, we can only call this her baseline. She’s now in the system to receive annual scans. So really, it won’t be until this time next year that the doctors can see whether there is enough change to confirm brain deterioration of any kind. An appointment has been made for a “liquid” scan later this month. Whatever that means.
Dad took mom to her initial intake appointment at the Glenrose Hospital’s geriatric assessment program this week. It was a three-hour process. !! Mom was asked to perform a number of tests and her overall rating was 8/10 – that doesn’t sound too bad, I guess. It sounds like dad also had to do a fairly lengthy interview to provide a lot of details about what he’s observing at home. I’m glad he is there to support mom. I’m sure this is frustrating for him too.
One of the doctor’s initial assessments is that mom might benefit from activities that will give her a sense of purpose. Dad and I are not going to argue with that! Mom was absolutely terrified of getting COVID and now that I think about it, that is about the timeline when she started to “pull back” from a social perspective. It is kind of strange that given the choice these days, she’d rather stay at home rather than go out. That’s definitely not the mom I know! Maybe I’ll look up some options – I seem to recall getting an email about some American university that’s offering a lot of free classes on a bunch of different subjects…
In the meantime, mom’s condition has triggered a referral to Alberta Health Services’ home care department. Home care!! Mom does not need home care. I’m pretty angry about this, but I suppose you don’t turn down a service – dad is going to schedule that for next month.
It was also suggested that mom might benefit from a stronger sense of routine. Dad and I were both pretty happy with this. It’s something we’ve both been pushing mom on for awhile now and she’s always resisted this idea. Fortunately, mom is from a time and place where you never questioned a medical doctor’s authority, so perhaps this will convince her to take this idea seriously!
Apparently mom’s biggest health risk right now is her high blood pressure. She’s been on medication to try and control it for several years, but it’s still high. We need to try and lower it or her risk of something called “vascular dementia” could really go up. Unfortunately, mom is a natural-born worrier and the mere act of someone else taking her blood pressure causes her anxiety – which I’m sure factors into readings that are higher than they should be. And she’s 76, I’m not sure we’re going to be able to change much about that at this age…
Still, all in all, the prognosis seems positive. Maybe things aren’t as bad as we feared.
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