Last night, Mom was so sweet. Today, not so much. I think her ammonia level is back down, but she's feeling the residual long term damage of confusion and memory loss and can't cope with it.
If anyone has any ideas on how to talk to a person who forgets everything or gets confused all the time without pissing them off, I'm open to suggestions. I've been told to let it go and not let her think she's remembering correctly, and I do that when I can. It's easier said than done when we're talking to a doctor and she's giving a false medical history unbeknownst to herself, or refusing to pay for prescriptions she needs because she doesn't remember the doctor prescribing them. Then she gets in a horribly defensive mood.
She is having sharp abdominal pain, which no doubt is the hernia ripping through her abdominal wall, so I called the surgeon to schedule the repair now that she's been medically cleared. She threw a hissy fit, said they were supposed to run a cat scan on her lungs to check for pneumonia, and that she'd die on the table if she stops breathing. I asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital (of course not), and the pcp and surgeon both said it was unnecessary, but she won't budge in her mind. She thinks they are still trying to approve a cat scan (this is the forgetfulness...they both denied it already), and that I'm trying to kill her. I asked her what she was expecting if she won't even allow them to diagnose an illness she thinks she has, and she said she wasn't expecting to die. She added the sarcastic "Thanks" for me killing her. I said she's not dead yet, but with her attitude, it could be arranged. =P
The hernia looks awful and really needs to be fixed. Especially when dealing with a woman who doesn't remember not to bend over until she already has.
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