I had considered taking advantage of what will likely be our last decently warm day of the year, but in the end, decided against it.

With how much I was able to get done last night, I made a point of taking a second dose of anti-inflammatories before bed. I can take them up to three times a day, but I’ve been typically taking them only once a day, and sometimes skipping that. Which means I’d be taking them with the stomach protecting medication, which is to be taken only once a day.

Well, I think taking more anti-inflammatories, even with a full meal, turned out to be a mistake. That stomach protector is supposed to be enough for a full day, but that didn’t seem to work out. Or perhaps I should be glad they worked as well as they did, or I’d have had a much rougher night!

Thankfully, my mother’s appointment for her MRI was in the evening. I was able to get the girls to do the morning routine so I could try and get more sleep. In between more trips to the bathroom.

At least it settled by the time I was starting to get ready to go to my mother’s. I was just winding things down, when I started hearing a rather terrible cat noise coming from my bed.

*sigh*

Butterscotch had herself a massive throw up that managed to get all my bedding except one pillow – and my pajamas! I recruited my daughter to help me change my bedding, and she was kind enough to start laundry after I left.

Before I headed out, though, we made sure to give the cats their evening feeding, so I could escape. 😁

I forgot something and had to pop back into the house, when my daughter and I spotted this…

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What I was trying to do was get a picture of the mostly white kitten that was almost completely under Pinky’s belly! Then the little tuxedo photo bombed me.

I caught a tongue blehp.

Two of them, actually. Furriosa is also licking her (I’m pretty sure she’s a she) chops, but that bug eyed little tuxedo was just too adorable.

Earlier in the day, my brother and I had a chance to talk and plan things out in advance. We were both planning to get to my mother’s early, though my brother turned out to arrive before I even left home! By the time I arrived, my mother had had her supper and my brother had gotten her her meds. He also got her bed time meds into a container to take with us, in case things went really long.

I’d brought the things I’d picked up for my mother a little while ago. I’d found a sink plunger that she’d been asking for for quite some time. She had asked me to make her some knee warmers, but I picked up some leg warmers at the dollar store that I thought might work for her. When she saw them, she was quite happy and looked forward to trying them out tonight. Her knees get very cold at night!

I also picked up a note pad for her and her lists. She keeps writing on a tiny notebook, various envelopes or scraps of paper, so I found an in between size note pad that I hope she’ll actually use!

Which got her to talking about how we should pick up milk along the way, as she brought out her scrap of paper that she was using to make her shopping lists.

So I re-wrote her list, clarifying somethings, on the new note pad. Just to get her started!

Unfortunately, my mother’s place is very small and there was really know way for the three of us to sit together and talk, so we decided to leave early.

About an hour and a half early!

We got my mother into my brother’s car – she struggled even with that! – and then I took her walker back to her apartment. We were going to borrow a hospital wheelchair, instead.

So glad we did that!

When we got there, I quickly ran in to where they keep their loaner wheelchairs by the door then brought her in while my brother went to park his car. I was pretty sure I knew where to go, but we paused at the main desk to ask, anyhow. The MRI was just around the corner from where the CT scan is, and I’ve taken both my mother and my husband there a few times over the year. It was a bit of a walk, though, and my mother really would have struggled with the distance, using her walker.

The final doors to the MRI area had to be opened from the inside to let us in. As we got there, a woman saw us through the windows and came over, looking rather confused, asking if we were there for an MRI, because they were all about to go on break! I told her yes, but we were very early. We fully expected to wait. She asked if we had any paperwork, and I got out the form that came with my mother’s appointment letter, with all the questions they ask about past history, and whether there were any metal objects to worry about. She left with that and I started getting my mother settled in the waiting room.

The woman came back very quickly and said they would take her in right away, rather than make her wait until after their break!

My brother hadn’t even caught up with us yet, as we started getting my mother ready to head in. She ended up bringing my mother a different wheelchair to transfer her into, which is when she spotted my brother at the doors and let him on. Between us, was got my mother all settled – after bagging up her dentures and collecting her life line pendant and glasses. Soon, my mother was wheeled off and my brother and I settled into the waiting room.

The MRI scan took all of 12 minutes, and they were wheeling her back!

Her doctor should get the results in about a week, so we’ll need to follow up on that. The results need to be sent from the doctor to Home Care, as it’s needed for their panel to get my mother into a nursing home.

It was just past 6 as we were getting my mother ready to leave. We were supposed to arrive for 6:30, with the scan being booked for 7.

As we were getting her ready to go, my mother started asking about what the MRI was for. More specifically, of what benefit was it to her to get it. Of course, the staff didn’t know that it was part of getting my mother into a nursing home, but the woman helping us tactfully said it was because the doctor wanted to see about memory loss. When I reminded my mother that it was about getting her into the nursing home, the worker corroborated that. Then she asked, why was the appointment so late. The lady explained that they have a year long waiting list, so they keep doing these scans all the way to midnight, every day, to try and get them done. To which my brother pointed out, my mother is very lucky to have gotten this appointment!

From there, we headed off. This time, my mother had an even harder time getting into the car, even crying out in pain. It’s her knees that are really giving her grief. If she were 20 or 30 years younger, they’d probably recommend she get replacement knee surgery, but at her age, the risks are too great.

The drive back was uneventful, which is always good this time of year. Not a deer in sight! My brother was very happy that we got back to my mother’s so early, as he still had almost an hour to drive home. He would get home at a decent hour to get some sleep before going to work tomorrow!

I stayed a bit longer. My mother had only had oatmeal for her supper and she was getting hungry, so I helped her out with making some tea and a snack. It was still way too early for her to take her evening meds, but they were set out for her in her tiny bowl for them.

My mother did started to suggest that I could just leave her morning meds out, so that I wouldn’t have to come back in the morning, but I told her I needed to come out again, anyhow. I could do her med assist, and all the other stuff she needs help with in the mornings, from putting a breakfast together for her, to emptying her commode, etc. Then I would be doing her shopping. So there was no need to set her morning meds out in advance.

Through all this, my mother was on some of her better behaviour, with only a few nasty digs aimed at my brother, and only some relatively minor side tracks into ranting about things. Often two or three different things all mashed together. To her, they’re connected, but they’re not.

My mother really does view people in the worst possible light. All people, but mostly people who aren’t white.

Today, though, it barely registered. Since we used the wheelchair instead of her walker, she wasn’t tired out, either.

Hopefully, this will get her more likely to start using my late father’s wheelchair that I brought for her over a month ago. It’s still sitting in her living room and, as far as I know, she still refuses to sit on it. She wanted us to buy her a new wheelchair, but won’t try this one out to see if she can even handle one, without someone to push her.

I didn’t stay too much longer, as I was going to be back in the morning, so I headed home. I’m happy to say I did NOT hit that suicidal deer that ran alongside me before deciding to run right in front of the truck! By this point, I was on the last couple of miles of gravel road, and already driving quite a bit slower than typical, so there was very little risk of an actual collision, unless the deer decided to run right into me. Which happens. Quite a few years back, while my husband was driving home from the city after work, he got hit by a deer. It actually ran into him. He managed to get home, but that was it for that car. It was totaled!

At least by the time I’m heading to my mother’s, tomorrow morning, it’ll be light out.

While all that was going on, I made sure to keep the family updated, which is when I saw a message from my daughter. She was washing my bedding and the first load went fine, until the very end, when it didn’t sing the victory music the washing machine sounds out when a load is done. She started the next load and everything seems to be working fine, but there’s no sound. All the beeps and tones it normally gives off as we adjust the settings are just gone.

When I got home, the laundry was still going, but I ended up with a third load. Yeah, I came home to another cat mess in the middle of the fresh blanket! At least this time, it was just the blanket that needed changing.

It is downright weird to set up a new load and the washing machine is completely silent! The only way I could tell it was set was from the sound of the lid being automatically locked.

I don’t know if it’s even worth getting it fixed. It’s working fine, otherwise.

Well, we’ll see.

For now, I need to get myself to bed, because it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Hopefully, my mother will be still be on good behaviour!

The Re-Farmer