Mom is going to have the cataract removed from the right eye on Nov. 6. The cataract has just gotten worst over the past few months, so Dr. Gwinn has decided to go ahead and remove it. Being the second surgery to remove a cataract, Mom is not worried at all. She is talking about going out to breakfast after the surgery.

Mom has always wanted Dad to have a Veterans Marker. Thursday we went and paid for his marker to be placed. The marker is free, but we paid for the placement of the marker by the cemetery and the Marble Base. She was afraid that she would pass and it would never get put down. Now she knows that it will be placed at the foot of his grave by the end of this year, no matter what happens to her.

Another thing that she worried about was that she did not have enough Life Insurance to bury her, so I got the up-to-date cost of burial for her. It is going to be close, but I think we can make it. I told Mom that if we are a little short, that I will pass the hat at her funeral. Made her laugh.

I do not tell Mom, but if need be we can cut some corners. We can have Visitation at her Church, which would be at no cost. Forgo the Chapel Service for just a Grave Side Service and we could go for an eleven a.m. service instead of an afternoon service. An eleven a.m. service is about half the cost of an afternoon service.

Some people think that I am on Social Security Disability. I am not. I have enough disability that employer’s will not hire me, but not enough to draw disability. I did apply and was turned down and went all the way thought the court system. It took a full page for SSA to explain why I should get assistance and one line to tell me that I have to much education to receive Social Security Administration Disability Benifits. What education has to do with it I do not know, but it is very important to SSA in the formula they use.

Unless something changes, once Mom passes I will be on the street. Unless someone gets real generous and gives me a business to run.  By the way, it would need to be large enough that I can have an office. I can not stand on my feet very long.

I have talked about Mom’s Heart Condition before, but have never said what it is. She has Congestive Heart Failure. This is why her ankles swelling (Edema) and why she wheezes when she walks. This condition can lead to Strokes and Heart Attacks. She may live another two to three years and she may not wake up in the morning.

Fluid build up causes the swelling of the ankles and a build up of fluid around the Heart and Lungs is causing the wheezing. Some of the symptoms are Abdominal Pain (this is why she holds her stomach sometimes), High Blood Pressure, Bronchitis and other Breathing problems and Frequent Urination (why she has accidents). She also has High Cholesterol and some other health problems. All the foods she is not suppose to eat, she loves. She is not suppose to eat beef, pork or anything green. I try to keep these to a minimal in her diet. Can not take them out completely.

Mom was diagnose in 1994, so next year will be twenty years she has lived with this condition. The Doctor has talked about a Nebulizer, but Mom will not use it yet. The day will come that is will have no choice but to use it.

I hope this helps you to understand Mom’s health issues. If you have any questions please let me know. Please feel free to give my website address (http://jehj.tripod.com) to anyone who wants to keep up with Mom.

In the last two weeks Mom has seen the two doctors that she see the most. Dr. Weaver (her General Practitioner) told her “for a 81 year old woman with your health problems you are doing good.”

Dr. Gwinn (the eye doctor) says her pressures are within range. Her eye pressures are 17 that is up from 16. Mom has Glaucoma and is going blind. She can keep this at bay if she uses her eye drops as she is told. Dr. Gwinn did not get the results he wanted with the removal of the left Cataract and that is why the right one has not been removed.

Mom does not go anywhere except to church with Debra and she has mention stopping that. The excuse she is using is that it is out of Debra’s way to come get her. That excuse just does not fly with me, because it is just not that far out of Debra’s way. There is also a Granddaughter that comes within a 1/2 mile on her way to church, so she could stop and get Mom. Mom does not want the girls to know how bad off she is. She gets confused sometimes and she has accidents (bathroom). She still goes with me to the grocery store and out to eat once in awhile. She has to use a cart to get around a store. The girls don’t seem to understand that she can not walk around shopping for hours anymore and that is the reason she does not go anywhere with them. We are gone about two hours to the store and she goes to bed and sleeps most of the afternoon when we get back. It just wears her out.