A visit to Mom and Dad’s house….

I called my mother last night to see how things were.  She is still in pain from her neck.  I asked her if she wanted to go to the doctor today….she said she wanted to wait.  I asked her if she needed prescriptions and she said yes, she did but she didn’t think she could figure it out right then.  So I said I’d call her in the morning.  Mid-morning I called her—still in pain, still didn’t want to go to the doctor.  I asked about the prescriptions and she said they were out of some of their pills but she just didn’t think she could figure it out.

O.K.

So on my lunch hour I ran over there thinking that I’d figure out what pill bottles were empty, write down the prescription numbers and be on my merry way.

uh-unh.

First I tried to find both weekly pill cases….well, one was empty and the other was missing.  Dad had moved it.  Looked for awhile but gave up.  God only knows what my father does with things.  So I sat down with the empty pill box and asked why it was empty.  My mom said she’d been giving my Dad the ‘important’ ones but hadn’t filled the pill box.  Ooooooooo-kay.  He wasn’t out of any pills.  I filled the pill box.  Then I started going through her pills—now mind you she takes a million different things.  Well, it turns out she was only out of two things. The whole thing was a little confusing and after a few questions she finally admitted to me that she just hasn’t been taking them.

She just hasn’t been taking her medications.

This from a woman who was born obedient.  Who gets hysterical if you get her soup with a regular sodium count.  I mean, this just isn’t my mother.

She started to cry a little and said, "don’t say anything, you know I’m usually good about it" so I just asked her if I started putting her pills in the pillbox (which I will have to buy to replace the missing one) and started handling all her prescriptions, would she take them.  She assured me she would. I said o.k., that’s what we’ll do.

As I left my father cheerfully said "goodbye Debbie"….