My house is really clean when I am under stress. I have a compulsive need for order and neatness when my life is in utter chaos. I wonder if that means I have mild OCD?

Last night, I spoke with my mom’s sister. She told me that she has a mass on her adrenal gland. So let’s recap yesterday:

1. Sister failed the Dental Licensure Exam
2. Mom found out she has MRSA
3. Dad lost another 2 lbs.
4. My grandmother needs to be moved to an Assisted Living Facility, yet no one can actually “do it”.
5. Aunt told me she has a mass on her adrenal gland.

All in all… it was a pretty shitty day.

I thought a lot about everything last night. I researched all the different types of amputations. I then started trying to figure out what is going on with my father. I found plane fares are reasonable if I have to fly there at the last minute.

I called my sister this morning and we set up a plan for dealing with my father. To try to start figuring out what is going on. She’s going to get a list of all his medications because I am wondering if he’s simply out of balance now that he’s lost so much weight. That could be what is making him nauseated and lethargic. Metformin can make you feel like crap if you are taking too much (especially on top of insulin). He might not need as much blood pressure meds. My sister and mom are going to start keeping track of how he feels and his blood sugar. His blood pressure should be taken regularly. We need to monitor his caloric intake and see how many calories a day he’s consuming. It is possible that his dementia is causing him to become a bit anorexic. This “not eating” could be in some way his way of controlling what little he can in his life. I’m sure my sister just loved me dumping this huge to-do list on her on top of everything else she’s having to deal with.

My mom has started on an antibiotic. We are hoping the MRSA is responsive to it. It shows as sensitive to it, but the problem is that any meds that get into the blood stream need to be delivered to the site where the infection is and her microcirculation is so bad… we aren’t sure it will be effective. But I think this time she’s going to try to fight to keep her foot. Previously, she just let them amputate… now I think she’s going to try to “slow down her surgeon” a bit. I’m not sure this is the right course of action… but saving her foot seems like a noble goal to me.

My father called his brother and told him to get his mother OUT. They think she can handle an apartment, but she can’t. So that is stressful. I think they think my parents are like big whiners. They have no idea how bad its been. They simply see my grandmom up and walking around and assume she can take care of herself. But she can’t. She can’t even use the microwave. I guess they’ll figure it out right? Least things are moving forward. Looks like progress, quacks like a duck, so we’ll call it progress.

So we are making small baby steps. We have the illusion of control. It’s really hard to be so far away and not be able to be there “doing things”. The control freak in me just wants to swoop in and handle it all myself so it’s all done “right”. Heh.

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