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We have agonized over the sad
state Mother had fallen into. Forever she was so active. No challenge became
too great for her and she dedicated her life to helping others. Gradually,
but surely, she became difficult, not open to anything reasonable. She was
sad and cried a lot. My sister who had the lion’s share for her care was at
a total loss as I was.
A friend I met on this computer, actually through the genealogy, a cousin on
my husband line, responded to my emails asking for prayer. She told me her
mother had trouble, too, but that their doctor prescribed an anti-depressant
for her and in a short time she was back to her old sweet personality.
The sun was so hot on our little car that day I
opted to keep the car running for the air-conditioning in spite of my having
looked down on people who do this. My daughter was in the car and I wasn’t
going to take her into the clinic or let her suffer the heat in the car
while we waited for Mother to see the doctor. We had been in and out of
appointments and I wasn’t convinced this doctor would do anything better for
her. A pretty nurse
smiled and tapped on my window. “The doctor wants to talk with you,” she
told me. I felt like a
kid who must face someone who was going to mete out some discipline. “What
now?” I’m thinking. The
doctor thought he was calling my sister into his office and when he saw me
he had to explain that she had asked about assisted care. This did not
surprise me because I knew she was at her wit’s end. However, the look of
despair and loneliness on my Mother’s face made me almost sick to my
stomach. “Doctor!” I
began to try to communicate with him. “The only thing wrong with my mother
is that she is severely depressed. She is weak, can’t drive, doesn’t have
her husband, and has lost a lot of her old friends. She cries in the
afternoon from around three o’clock onward. A friend who has a degree in
geriatrics tells me this is called, “Sundowners,” and is common. Another
friend told me the doctor prescribed an anti-depressant for her mother and
it worked wonders.
Usually, I cannot communicate with doctors but this man was a wealth of
understanding. “I can
prescribe a light anti-depressant but you must know it will take a while to
work.” “Doesn’t matter
to me,” I gushed. “Any hope you can give me I appreciate so much.”
To make a long story short, the second day after
the medication Mother is back to her old sweet self. She is resting, not
frantically, walking, and wishing to run around town, or lashing us with her
tongue. Already, she is having less pain in her lower back and reduced the
pain pills, herself, to one-half. Believe me, I take back every mean thing
I’ve ever said about doctors. And, more than ever I appreciate the friends
who not only prayed for me but offered the best advice, as well. |
