It happened last October 13, 2008. I got the call from mom at 12:30 a.m. That scared, childlike voice on the other end of the phone was almost in tears stating she had fallen. We spent the next eight hours at the ER. Oh what fun!! She was getting up to turn off the refrigerator because she thought it was running too much. The x-ray and CT scan showed a fracture at T4. Well, the next month or two was rough for her and this old babyboomer. She could not tolerate the pain at all and the pain medications never seemed to help. The nerve blocks did the trick and she did get better over what seemed like an eternity.
She came to live with me. This living arrangement was difficult for both of us at first. We were both used to living alone. But I knew I had to step up to the plate and care for her because it was just not possible for her to live alone any longer. She had always been a very negative, critical, controlling parent, but yet loving and nurturing. I do love my mom very much and she has been a good wife, mother, daughter, and sister.
I have come to love caring for her even though it has been quite a challenge and learning experience. I have learned to see things from her point of view and know that I will be in her shoes someday if I live to be 83. There are still some tense times when we just plain get on each others nerves. We are both very human!! The forgetfulness seems to get worse as time passes. Oh, I have tried caregivers at her home, adult daycare, the local senior citizen center which offers so many wonderful activities. She wouldn’t cooperate with any caregiver and pretty much ran them off. She also would not participate in any of the senior center activities. Mom is a very special case. All the things she loved to do—mowing the yard, cleaning the house—are the very things she can no longer do. Unfortunately, she never had any hobbies.

She is who she is and I have learned to simply accept her, respect her, love her, care for her and make the best of each day we have together. She was a stay at home mom who reared me with strong Christian and moral values and I know there were days I tried her patience. I am eternally grateful that she was chosen by God above to be my mom. God bless her and all the elderly parents all over the world. Where would we be without them? It is an honor and a privilege to care for her and call her MOM.