Sundowner

Nurse Julie just left the house a few moments ago. Mom was exhibiting strange behavior when I got home tonight. She was disoriented and non-responsive. She fell and luckily landed on her bed, but face-down. Her feet and ankles are extremely swollen (they were not yesterday, but were earlier today). Her vitals are stable, and it is unclear what caused this tonight. At best guess, it appears to be an overdose of pain medication. Nothing to do but wait for her metabolism to clear it from her body. I have taken the meds away from her that she is most likely to take in the middle of the night that cause this kind of fatigue. A nurse will be out in the morning to check on her and administer pain medication if necessary. She has her pain patch on; this will deliver a slow and steady dose and does not run the same risk as the pills do.

We will continue to try to contact a social worker. I have yet to speak to one, though I've been told she has been working on Mom's case since Thursday of last week. It appears she works three days a week, so someone else will have to begin the MediCAL paperwork. We are trying to work something out in the meantime to provide her with at least some nursing care, but our financial situation does not allow much wiggle room.

I ask that people not call Mom tomorrow (Wednesday), as I doubt she will have the cognitive power to answer the phone, much less carry on a conversation. You will merely scare yourself.

I learned tonight that Mom is what is called a "sundowner". Sundowners become more active at night, though nobody knows why. This is apparently why she feels chatty at 10 pm and hungry at 3 am.