Mom went to bed a little after 9 last night. Around 11:15 I heard her talking about flooding on the Amazon river over the monitor. When I went in to see what was going on, she told me about what a great sleep she’d had. I pointed out that only two hours had passed. She wasn’t done yet. I helped her to the restroom and back to bed. I then tossed and turned for a couple of hours worrying about whether I would wake up if she called or rang. At 2:40 I woke up to the sound of the ringing bell. Well, that’s cleared up-yes I will wake up. Good to know. Mom decided that she would like me to find her a warm robe so she could sit in a chair and read. She asked me if I had a good night’s sleep. Uh-no. What I had was a nap. Thanks for asking. I suggested that it really wasn’t a good idea to sit up and read in the middle of the night, that sleeping would be better for everyone concerned. No, she decided, the chair was where she would go. I asked what would happen if she wanted to go back to bed. No problem, I’ve got the bell. Lovely.

Of course, after that interruption I was up tossing and turning until nearly 5. Then another little nap until Rick woke me to ask if I heard something. Nope. I was asleep. If it wasn’t a bell or a loud thump, I’m not getting up again. Period. So, in short, I got a whopping 3 1/2 hours of sleep. When I got up she was sitting at the kitchen table and I finally told her I can’t make her do what she knows she is supposed to do. If she falls and gets hurt, it’s because she is doing something she should not. I can’t watch her 24 hours a day. Once we got to the radiation appointment, she fell asleep in her wheelchair. I wanted to cry. I sent her PCP a text asking about a prescription for a sleeping pill for her, at the suggestion of the radiation tech.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that nothing about this situation will work out if the first night is any indication. And I’m back to wondering what the future is going to be like. So far pretty bleak, I’d say.