Lack of Response

On Saturday morning and Tuesday evening Muddear exhibited very odd behavior when we tried to wake her up. It didn't matter if we attempted to wake her up after a good night's rest or an afternoon nap. Muddear was completely unresponsive after numerous attempts to rouse her from sleep. On Saturday, once awake, she had difficulty speaking and was very weak dropping things upon immediate placement into her hands. Including a bottle of Ensure. Immediately we checked her vitals - for us non-medically trained caregivers that equates to temperature, pulse and verification of urine output. Next I felt Muddear's skin from head to toe to determine if her extremities were maintaining her normal body temperature. All was normal. Keep in mind, throughout this entire process Muddear did not wake.

Tuesday evening was the scariest of all. Muddear had fallen asleep in her wheelchair and Mike not only picked her up, he also placed Muddear in the bed and covered her. Not a sound did she make. Finally, I placed a phone call to Muddear's assigned RN to discuss and was advised to call her physician first thing in the morning to schedule a home visit. There was nothing else to be done. Please understand that we have experienced similar behavior in the past and after consults with Muddear's primary care physician and the ER doctors we decided on the best course of action. That being, allow Muddear to pass peacefully at home should that time arise, as long as she is not in any pain.

I then decided to change Muddear's clothes and clean her up a bit. Why? I just wanted to make sure that if tragedy should strike during the night, that Muddear was clean and wearing a fresh gown. Perhaps a morbid thought, but one that gave me peace nonetheless. Imagine my surprise when proceeding to change Muddear's clothes that she shot right up and said... "What's going on here!" Mike was so tickled he had to leave the room. Her behavior was simply unexplainable. All I can say is Muddear strikes again! :-)