Mom had a temp of 104 last night. Called hospice, they came at 10:30 pm and gave her a dosage of Lorazapam and a Tylenol suppository. The dr ordered an antibiotic and she'll start it in the morning. Dr said she either has an infection or it's "part of the process." Mom has been sleeping more last 2-3 wks, eating less, and urinating less. I had "wheeled" her across the street to church on Sunday, but it wore her out and she said she just couldn't go anymore. That's the one thing she's still insisted on doing. She slept almost around the clock till Tues morning when her dr came. When I woke her, she was very animated and talkative, something I hadn't seen in several months. She said she'd had a "glorious" day--that she'd just seen Jesus and He reassured her of His love, that she had truly accepted Him as Savior when she was a little girl, and that she was His child. She said she experienced such a fresh touch from Him. She said she asked God when she could come home to heaven and He said, "not quite yet, Kathie (me) needs you. She then told me she didn't know what more she could teach me except to just keep telling me how He's worked in her life all these years. I reassured her that she'd passed her faith on to me and that when Jesus called for her, I'd be okay and she could go. She also asked the dr if he knew Jesus and he said he did and then she began to thank him for taking such good care of her and expressed how appreciative she is of hospice. She made perfectly good sense as she was talking and had so much to say, although she repeated herself some. All her vitals looked good that day and when he left, he said, "maybe I'll see you again, maybe I won't. Maybe it's 'lewy', maybe she's getting ready to leave." After he left, she slept again, and that evening after feeding her some supper, she told me she'd witnessed to 6 young men that day and they had accepted Jesus as Savior. She was worried about them finding someone to help mentor them in their faith. She also expressed her love and appreciation of my husband for the roses he'd brought her (it was our anniversary a few days prior and he brought us both some roses). She also thanked me for taking care of her and said she's been so happy with us this past year and a half. Wed-Thurs was about the same, 1-2 light meals, lots of sleep. Fri seemed about the same too, although I was gone a lot of the day running errands and grocery shopping. At 6 pm, I brought she and her caregiver a meal from Cracker Barrell, thinking it would be a nice treat for mom. I then went to our VBS night at church. Mom ate 6 bites of food and declined dessert, which is very unlike her. She had been talking normal for most of the day, but also was having some delusions about "grading papers" (she was a schoolteacher). She had her usual night meds at 8:00 and was settled down for the night with a Gaither DVD. When I got home at 9, she was completely changed. She was burning up, her body was "jerking" all over, eyes half open and glassy, trying to talk but it was just jibberish for the most part. One thing both the caregiver and I understood was her response to me when I told her I loved her, she said "I love you too." She urinated 2 times today and it was normal, but there is the possibility of at UTI, which I'm guessing they will check the urine tomorrow. The suppository did work and the temp came down, the jerking stopped, and she fell asleep. I'm to just keep checking on her and start the antibiotic in the morning.

What a blessing your mother is! And how amazing that the Lord uses this illness for His own glory! My husband, who has LBD, was an intellectual scoffer and unbeliever all of his life but received Christ two years ago. I pray your mother will have a comfortable transition. What a wise daughter you are! God bless both of you! You have brightened my morning.

Moderator: I know there are rules about discussions of 'religion'. Please allow some leeway here as it could help someone else. Our faith is pivotal in our dealing with Lewy. Many of us could not do it without the Lord. Thank you!

Pat - given that the spammer was here for 3 days, I dare say that there is no moderating happening. - Robin

kitkat -
Your mother is amazing! What a strong yet gentle woman she is.
Robin

Thanks you two for your kind words. Her fever broke about 5 am and hasn't returned so far. In fact, her body temp is barely 95 deg. We started Cipro Oral at 3 pm. Now she's having a lot of diarrhea. I no sooner get her bathed, then she's going again. Trying to keep giving her liquids so she won't get dehydrated but she can barely stay awake long enough to get anything in her. She didn't remember anything about last night of course but her speech is understandable today.

Is your mother still having diarrhea?

The diarrhea stopped on Tuesday afternoon when she finished the Cipro. She's eating fruit and a small pastry in the mornings (or whenever she wakes up) and will still drink an Ensure. She may take 4-5 bites of dinner in the evenings but that's it. She continues to sleep constantly. She's expecting a great-grandson in a few weeks and I think she's trying to hang on to see him.

My husband got pseudomembranous colitis a couple of years ago from [we assume] an antibiotic and nothing would stop it--he had to go into the hospital and the doctor said he might not survive--about a 50/50 chance. I give him Activia every day hoping it keeps his intestinal flora healthy. It was really awful and--as you probably have found, dementia and diarrhea are a particularly bad combination.