Monday, June 13, 2005
Finally, I feel like a corner has been turned. Mom finally went to rehab today.
The facility is nice. I remember when my grandmother was in a nursing home and how depressing that place was to me, and this isn’t like that. The place is decorated nicely, the rooms look nice, the staff is friendly.
Mom has a large room, and it doesn’t feel crowded even with her roommate in there. The roommate is hard of hearing, which is probably a blessing for her.
I told Felicia, the nurse, that Mom was in a lot of pain and able to do almost nothing for herself, and might or might not go along with a rigorous therapy program. Felicia said the therapists were excellent. Their goal is to get her self-sufficient so she can leave. She said they keep the patients busy and are good at motivating them. Felicia added that the therapists will work to find the best therapist to work with Mom – the person who motivates her most.
Felicia said she has worked for Manor Care for more than 11 years and really likes the company, so that is terrific.
Bruce came back in this afternoon and said he would stay for a day or two and make sure Mom is okay. He said he did remind her that if she’s not more active, if she just lies around in bed and won’t try to do the exercises, that her pneumonia can worsen and she could die. I don’t know if it’s true, but it sounds dire.
Alesia and I had a couple of serious talks yesterday about her behavior. She has been exhibiting a lot of attitude. I told her she needs to really listen – she tunes out things a lot. She also needs to behave herself, to do what she’s told, etc. I particularly stressed that going to the swimming pool, watching movies, getting a bicycle, etc. are all privileges, not rights. Leslie said she had gotten very fussy at the pool the other day. She is getting a bit of “only child” syndrome, and I wanted to nip that in the bud.
Last night before bed, when she was reluctant to write a letter back to the girls at Topolevo [the orphanage] who had written to her, I reminded her that any one of those girls would love to be in her place, with a mother and a grandmother and uncle and a nice house, etc. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but it just popped out.
I never want Alesia to feel I think she is some sort of charity case, or I was just being a humanitarian by adopting her. I want her to know that I thought she was my daughter from the moment I saw her, and that’s the bottom line. God led me to her.
I told her yesterday after the lecture that I think she is a smart, sweet, wonderful girl. I also said I will always love her and she will always be my daughter and no matter how bad she is. I also said I would never ever allow anyone to take her away from me. I think she really needed that reassurance.
Today her behavior has improved dramatically.
