8/17/11 a

From S

• Mom had about four inches of water in her dryer this evening. The reason that I opened the dryer was because there was a pan on top of it, and I wondered why it was there. When I asked Mom, she said she'd been washing clothes. So I looked. I explained to her that she's not supposed to put water in the dryer, and she responded with "No?? Ok." So I hate to do this, because I already feel that she's a prisoner in her own house, but this is for her own safety. I think we should put a lock on the utility room door so that she can't go in there. Thoughts? Any better ideas? I've already taken the knobs off the dryer, but in this case, i don't know if she turned it on or not, but she definitely poured water inside it. Either way, it's dangerous.
• She also has problems with the microwave. Again, we shouldn't assume she can heat anything up. I've seen her use it twice, and each time it was used incorrectly. Back to a lock on the utility room door?
  
• An ah-ha moment for me: usually, when you're taking care of someone who's sick, you do it with an expectation that they're getting better. That's not the case with Mom. I've learned that I keep acting as though we're going to reach some plateau of stability, when in reality, her decline is constantly one step ahead of our trying to keep her safe. I would have never thought that she would pour water in the dryer, especially a week after I had unplugged the washer because she'd poured too much soap in it. It's a constant game of catch-up. What will she do next?
  
• Also, I remember back in 2005 when I asked a colleague of mine (who had been an electrician long ago) about Mom's light bulbs burning out so much. We now know that the reason her bulbs burn out is because she doesn't turn off the lights. So, likely, she was starting these behaviors over six years ago. Every once in a while, I think of behaviors from years ago that were probably the beginning.
  
• Ruth had no luck getting Mom to bathe. I was there Tuesday morning and tried to convince Mom, but we had no luck. Is?
• Ruth also has asked that we buy a small crockpot and some veggies and meat so that she can make mom some stew every week. Yay or Nay?
• The dishwasher repair guy came by this afternoon at about 3:00. I went over there so it wouldn't make Mom nervous. She had a lot of questions. Anyway, the dishwasher is fixed now. There should be no more bad smells coming from there.