The first order of business in taking care of Mom was to try and get her kidney function under control. She was placed on a "renal diet with potassium restriction". No bananas, no potatos, no tomatoes, WTF? Worst for Mom was no Chocolate!! I am a good cook, but really!!
But I did it with the help of a great web site dedicated to all those poor souls out there that suffer from kidney disease. Of course we all at the same foods until I started getting horrible cramps in my feet and an RN at the hospital told me it could be a potassium deficiency and she had no idea that we were even eating potassium restricted at the time.
Not long after, Mom's kidneys decided to behave themselves and we got to start eating like real folk again.
We both lost alot of weight throughout this process. Mom lost over a hundred pounds in about 3 months. I lost about 30 in the same time frame. I was so stressed taking care of her that eating was usually an after thought and I was too tired to make much of an issue about it. I couldn't leave her to run up to Taco Bell or McDonalds and I don't like pizza enough to order it obsessively, so I just did without.
Once her kidney function was restored, we started to treat the cancer but the treatment was really hard on her and while the survival prognosis was "good", as broken as her body was the quality of that survival was questionable. We talked about it and decided to stop the treatment and make the best of the time she had left. And boy, did we!!
I baked, I cooked seafood, we grilled steaks. Mom ate like a queen. She never gained an ounce back but it wasn't for lack of trying. I, on the other hand, DID! We also got our hair done, got manicure/pedicures, went for lobster dinners (in the middle of the AZ desert!) and LIVED. That was the best. The picture here is a galette (fancy for pear tart) that I made. We had a great six months together.
Then in November, things started going downhill. Mom started exhibiting signs that the cancer was taking over. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, she ate a turkey dinner with her brother, kissed him good night and went to bed. She basically never got up again and passed away on the 1st of Jan 2009.
All of this is pretty unremarkable, except Mom and I got along like fire and gasoline. I was the only one of my siblings in any position to deal with her so I got the responsibility. The only thing I regret is that we really never learned to get along. I am sure she loved me in her own weird way and I loved her enough to make sure the last days of her life were the best they could be.
But I did it with the help of a great web site dedicated to all those poor souls out there that suffer from kidney disease. Of course we all at the same foods until I started getting horrible cramps in my feet and an RN at the hospital told me it could be a potassium deficiency and she had no idea that we were even eating potassium restricted at the time.
Not long after, Mom's kidneys decided to behave themselves and we got to start eating like real folk again.
We both lost alot of weight throughout this process. Mom lost over a hundred pounds in about 3 months. I lost about 30 in the same time frame. I was so stressed taking care of her that eating was usually an after thought and I was too tired to make much of an issue about it. I couldn't leave her to run up to Taco Bell or McDonalds and I don't like pizza enough to order it obsessively, so I just did without.
Once her kidney function was restored, we started to treat the cancer but the treatment was really hard on her and while the survival prognosis was "good", as broken as her body was the quality of that survival was questionable. We talked about it and decided to stop the treatment and make the best of the time she had left. And boy, did we!!
I baked, I cooked seafood, we grilled steaks. Mom ate like a queen. She never gained an ounce back but it wasn't for lack of trying. I, on the other hand, DID! We also got our hair done, got manicure/pedicures, went for lobster dinners (in the middle of the AZ desert!) and LIVED. That was the best. The picture here is a galette (fancy for pear tart) that I made. We had a great six months together.
Then in November, things started going downhill. Mom started exhibiting signs that the cancer was taking over. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, she ate a turkey dinner with her brother, kissed him good night and went to bed. She basically never got up again and passed away on the 1st of Jan 2009.
All of this is pretty unremarkable, except Mom and I got along like fire and gasoline. I was the only one of my siblings in any position to deal with her so I got the responsibility. The only thing I regret is that we really never learned to get along. I am sure she loved me in her own weird way and I loved her enough to make sure the last days of her life were the best they could be.
Hi, Thanks for posting your nice comment on my blog! I'm down another pound this week! :) Sorry, to hear about your rough time with your mom, but it really was wonderful that you gave her those last months to really LIVE! Gave me chills!
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