I have been taking care of my parents for over 10 years. My father passed away in 2001.My mother is 87, and needs 24 hr. care. She suffers from parkinsons disease,high blood pressure,irregular heartbeat,and has had other ailments.She had a tia stroke in June,and went through hospitalization and rehab.She now lives with my husband and I(I am an only child).I know she suffers from depression,and was told she may benefit from taking a mild antidepressant to help in her depression symptoms.And of course,she doesn't want to.She is so miserable,she doesn't even want to get dressed everyday anymore,she is in her pj's and bathrobe for sometimes a day or so. She is so small and frail,only 100 lb. with her clothes on. She does not have an appetite.The doctor has put her on an appetite booster, and that worked for about 2 or 3 days.Now she is back to eating like a bird. She doesn't eat enough in my opinion to sustain life.She is wheelchair bound,after falling due to a tia stroke about 5 mo. ago.No bones broken, but since the stroke, The weakness on the right side is so severe, she has no sense of balance,and her legs give out on her. I pretty much do everything for her.I bathe her,make her meals and help her eat when she is having a difficlt time eating.After I tucked her in bed tonight,I came back to check on her, and she was crying,sayin she was going to die alone,and that she came into the world alone,and would probably die alone. Then she went on to say she thinks of her mother a lot who died in a nursing home.I asked her if they called to let her know she was close to death,and she said yes, and that she was there with her when she died. (My mother worked as a secretary full time and told me grandma went to the nursing home when she was afraid to leave her Mom home alone,for fear for her safety.) She has often told me what patience I have,and wish she had had more with her mother. What can I say to her? I don't know how to make this better for her. She spends the majority of the day in bed these days. I will try to get in touch with her doctor and see what he thinks. This whole situation is more than I can bear at times,but know I am doing all that I can do.
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