10 March 2025
Over the weekend Joyce registered her first weight gain since coming to Golden Heights in November. But it was so small I discounted it, hoping to see if it was real today.
It was real. She had slipped to 114 lbs. but today she weighed 117 lbs. and 12 oz. before lunch. Lunch itself added a pound when Wendy the RNA weighed her but we know where that pound came from.
It came from the liquids she ingest. Prune juice, milk, coffee and a Boost. Plus ice cream (and maybe a bite or two of the main course). She does not like chewing food. But she'll drink it.
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MEANWHILE I dashed over the main desk to see if anyone could explain an Apria bill to me. Apria is the company that supplied her Wound VAC years ago and tried to sneak another one in a few weeks ago, which I refused since it was the cast iron monster and she was going back to wet-to-dry anyway.
Julian who handles transport and apparently everything else looked it over and explained it was for a walker delivered in September. So not the Wound VAC. I did remember Joyce between returned home once with a walker, which she had never used before and didn't use at home. It's still in her room. I dust it on Sundays.
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JOYCE HAD a better day than me in other ways, too.
For one, Christina trimmed her fingernails again. And Joyce actually said they felt a lot better. In fact, Christina said, she was conversant for the first time in a while.
I missed that because I was running around trying to find out if Golden Heights was ever going to give her a Covid booster. I remember having to sign a consent form for my mother so she could get one. The week she died.
It turns out they were on top of it. Her current booster (and mine, for that matter) expires tomorrow, so she's due. The RN had me sign a consent form for the flu, RSV and Covid vaccinations all at once (although she already had this year's flu shot).
She said she'd fax the consent form to the doctor for the order and administer the vaccines by Wednesday.
After lunch I took Joyce to the gym to work on the SciFit for a while.
Then Daisy and Wendy got her up for a walk. She did not want to walk but it had been four days since the last session. And Daisy really did want to see the improvement Wendy had told her about.
So they took her to the end of the long hall and she did walk all the way down, stopping a few times and complaining she couldn't do it, then getting up to try a few more steps.
That was the equivalent of going back and forth on the short hallway.
Christina was impressed. It was quite a change since the last time she saw her. We wondered what to attribute the improvement to.
Christina thought getting dressed every day makes a big difference. And the Memantine might be making a difference too. She's more attentive, Christina noted, alert and paying attention.
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MY DEVIOUS GRAND PLAN is still to keep her there only until she can manage to care for herself at home again. That's my plan, anyway. And I'm monitoring her progress in that regard.
Can she eat? Can she make it to the bathroom? Can she dress herself? Can she manage the stairs? Get in the car? All stuff you have to do yourself.
Consequently I don't look at Golden Heights as more than a temporary inconvenience.
When I got home, Loren the Social Worker called to tell me Medi-Cal had discovered some interest payments and wanted Joyce's 1099s.
Joyce always took care of her own finances, which means they were a mystery to me. But I put her checking account transactions for 2023 and 2024 on her computer so I could manage that much. And after a little querying, I discovered those accounts were indeed paid $16.45 in interest in 2024.
Loren thought Medi-Cal might drop it if told I didn't handle her finances other than that. But she also said to expect Medi-Cal to calculate Joyce's share of cost at all of her Social Security monthly payment minus $36 for personal expenses.
That, however, represents three-fifths of our monthly income. Yet it would be the least expensive 24-hour-care solution for her.
Which is why I'm hoping she doesn't require it for years.