My mom had a severe stroke the end of October. This was just over a month after spending two full days at the Aitkin Rendevous, as noted in my last blog. The last month has been spent wondering if she would recover and recover to what. I go to the nursing home most mornings before work and each evening. In the morning I just say good morning and maybe help her pick out her clothes for the day. At night, we chat about the day as I rub her feet with Badger Sleep Balm and lavender cream. I also have been administering Bach Flower remedies to her regularly, but now the nurses have removed those from the room, so I bring them in each time I come and continue to administer the remedies. She is continuing to improve, swallowing her pureed food better so that she is getting most of her calorie intake that way. I almost slipped and said "nutrition" which is what got me sitting writing this blog. As with our children in school, the food given our infirm seniors or others living now in care centers seems completely void of nutrition. The other evening when I came in to Mom's room, there were two bowls of unrecognizable pureed food on her nightstand. "Didn't you eat yet?" Yes she had, that was the evening snack. When the nurse came in I asked her what it was, as I said "unrecognizable". Pureed bologna sandwich. Really?! I mentioned she can't have bread. She assured me it had no bread, that means it was pureed bologna! Really??!!! You are feeding my mother, that can't move well and is fighting to stay in this world and get back home pureed bologna?! I didn't say that, it would have done no good. Luckily Mom has the where-with-all to know what is going on around her. She said it isn't worth the work to puree and she refused to eat it. Yay Mom! The next night the nurse came around offering the "Fireside Snack" Really? Fireside? This time is was mini corn-dogs. Really??!!! I just told the nurse no and there is some applesauce in the cooler for her. So she brought in one of the single serving organic applesauce cups I purchased for her and she ate happily. So today I am planning foods I can take in for her for them to feed or food I can bring in myself.
Here is what I have so far...Turkey Noodle soup made with organic turkey and broth, organic homegrown carrots, celery, onions. Kale, homegrown if I still have some in the freezer, and organic noodles. Chili, without the beans for obvious reasons and not too much chili powder since spicy foods are making her cough, made with local grass fed beef, homegrown organic tomatoes and the same carrots, celery and onion. Apple cake made with organic apples and whole wheat flour. And Chocolate pudding...she loves chocolate pudding and I can't find an organic single serving cup one, so I will make it myself with my organic milk, eggs, sugar, cocoa and butter. I do have to use the little Gladware cups so it can be stored in the cooler at the nursing home, but I figure outgassing of plastic packaging is the least of Mom's worries at the moment. Plus I am going to make smoothies with kefir or yogurt, protein powder, frozen fruit with flax oil and spirulina added for nutrition. These I will bring in for her evening "Fireside Snacks". As long as Medicare is paying the bill and she remains in the hands of government mandated "Nutrition" I will be making her food as I can.
