Happy Birthday Mom- well it should have been.

My mother would have been 90 yrs young tomorrow 8/30. She passed away 7/30. I had to place mom in a memory facility in Feb after her husband passed away. She had been acting really bizarr since last Sept. Befor that she was a vibrant woman who used to walk 1 1/2 miles to the grocery store and back again with groceries in a napsack. My step-father thought she had lost her mind and due to that took his life in Feb. She had been treated for a cronic UTI in November (IV antibiotics) but the infection had coninued unbeknownst to me or my stepfather. Neither had anyone explained to us that a UTI could cause delutions and paranoia. She was acting "Crazy". Her "Dr's" said they did believe she had Alz. After getting her into a Memory Care Facility she was treated again for a UTI, this time the delutions and paranoia vanished. I also discovered- now being able to have access to her medical records because her husband was gone- she had stopped taking her thyroid medication during this period and was in danger of going into a coma. We were getting that under control and by early July I really saw hope that she would be able to be moved to Assisted Living. The only side effects left to deal with were swollen ankles and short term memory loss due to the hypothyroidism (I thought). On July 22 I got a call that she had been taken to the emergency room due to "not being responsive" when the nurse went to wake her up in the morning. At the hospital I found out she had had a Major Stroke that left her paralized and speechless. Per her wishes she was not given a feeding tube. Hospise was called in and she passed away 9 days later. The last 6 months have been insane, she pleaded with me not to give up on her over and over. I promised her I never would. I couldn't fight the stroke though and feel really gutted! Family members were comming from all over the country for a 90th birthday party for her, instead they came a month early to say good-bye. We had a double memorial for her and her husband.

I guess tomorrow I'll still make Strawberry Shortcake with homemade whipped cream-her favorite.