Who Cares What Nansi Thinks?

Mom's eye surgery was uneventful today. She came out of it just fine. They didn't give her general anesthesia, but they gave her a sedative. She was still sort of happy in recovery.

We got there plenty early and had time to sit in the waiting area. Mom spotted a young woman across the room and commented that the woman looked like an idiot. WHAAA???? The lady was just sitting there. Mom swore that she was jumping up and down and "gyrating" like a floozy. Honest. She was just sitting there.

Mom accused me of trying to make her think she was crazy.

I was reminded of the last time Mom was in the hospital for a urinary tract infection. She kept seeing ME. The nurses told me that mom buzzed them several times to say her daughter, Nansi, was out in the hall looking for her. A few times they brought in people who happened to be out there. Mom would be so relieved, but the people weren't ME. And mom wouldn't believe them.

As the fog cleared, Mom realized that she'd been seeing things.

With the cataracts it's hard to tell when Mom's "seeing things" or just unable to clearly see what's really there. Last Sunday at dinner, the aide put a piece of cake at mom's plate. It was strawberry cake with a dollop of whipped cream on it. Mom thought it was smoked salmon with butter on it.

Today when we were driving back to the nursing home, Mom asked what I thought of the surgery. I said, "I don't know, Mom, I wasn't there." She said, "YES YOU WERE! I heard your voice the whole time!"

It dawned on me that when Mom's in distress she sees me, or hears me. Something tells me that fixed eyes isn't going to correct that misconceptions. :-)