More of the Same

I visited Alison on Tuesday and Wednesday. She was frustrated, agitated, and uncomfortable. She was calling the nurse (bad) names and said the mean nurse was holding the nice nurse hostage so she wouldn't help Alison. 

She can find no peace in most moments it seems.  When I'm not there, she has the nurse call me and Alison tells me to come right away.  As soon as I arrive, she wants to call Andy or Reenie. If she's in bed she wants out, if she's sitting in her chair, she wants to get in bed.  She was demanding that I get the nurse my entire visit even though she had just been there.  And she has lost the politeness with me that, up until now, she was always able to surprisingly muster.  (I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened and I don't take it personally.) 

I was unsuccessful in calming her Tuesday. On Wednesday, I asked her if she wanted to listen to music. She said no, that it made her lungs hurt. I put it on anyway and she stopped screaming for a few minutes at least as I left. 

She is complaining about difficulty breathing and she is raspy. Her oxygen levels are normal though. 

She is having greater difficulty articulating and sometimes her words come out in a strained garble and she doesn't know it. She gets mad at me if I ask her to repeat it, saying she just said it. She seems to think she is speaking clearly.  Interesting. 

The physical therapy I have witnessed seems extremely short.  Alison appears to be somewhat willing to participate but then "digs in" and becomes impossible to manipulate, bringing the session to an immediate end.  

Some of this behavior could be a result of the medicine she is on.  I hope they can find the right formula for her to give her some relief from the mental anguish. 

Andy visited today and reported that it was a good day so hopefully she will post about that.