Monday Night Post - Steve

First and foremost, I agree with my esteemed brother's comments about talented siblings.

I tried to get rid of some of Mom's paper clutter as a way to reduce her anxiety. I think she sees mail piled up everywhere then is overwhelmed by it and it stresses her out. Cleaning the clutter was a slow process. I had to explain each piece of paper to her and ask her if she would let me throw it out. It made her a bit nervous at first. She was even hesitant to throw away empty envelopes. Anyway, anything we can do to reduce her stress is good.

I also bought her a copy of Vanidades magazine (I think that's the one Dad used to buy her). I was hoping it might keep her occupied.

When I first went over there this morning she was very stressed about check-writing. I asked her if she'd like my help with writing checks and she said yes. I asked her if I could take the checkbooks with me and she agreed quickly, so I did. At this point all of her finances are "secure" except for the checking account where Jesus is the co-signer. I think we should just leave that checkbook with her. The next time we meet we should probably talk about financial issues. Jesus brought up a good point the other day that got me thinking. Perhaps we should set up a household account, with debit cards for all three of us so that we can use Mom's money to buy her incidentals. She would still pay for her expenses with the main account, but a side account for the three of us could be convenient. None of us objects to buying her things, but in reality, it makes sense for us to use her money. Food for thought.

I also picked up her MRI's today from 2007, 2008, and 2009. I'll drop those off at the doc's on Thursday when I take her for another MRI. I'll also call the doc's office tomorrow and make a follow-up appointment so that we're already on his calendar when he starts getting the results.

Isabel was concerned about upping mom's meds. Meds are definitely dangerous and they need to be watched closely. We'll be doubling the dose this Wednesday from 25 mg to 50mg. According to NIH, 50 mg daily is the minimal therapeutic level, so maybe we'll start to see some impact after her body adapts to this new dosage. Two weeks after that we'll be going to 75 mg per day. The target is 100mg.

Lindy's working on tracking down a weekly program for activities. We'll fill you in on that when we know more.