I know she has said that a few times already, but I REALLY feel like she’s feeling like a human. What has changed? After getting her foley out (which is MAJOR!), she was given clearance to have pureed snacks whenever she’d like, as long as it was with supervision.
Applesauce seems to be her go-to. She had a couple containers on Saturday and later a pudding cup and had two more containers of applesauce yesterday. The funniest thing is that the first one she had yesterday was actually UNsupervised. The family and I went to church before coming to see her so we were a little later than usual. Apparently she got hungry and didn’t want to wait. She managed to wheel herself close enough to the table that had her stash of applesauce and use her grabby thing to get a container. By the time we arrived there was nothing left but her empty… I can’t do it justice, but when we walked into her room she was so engrossed in what she was doing that we startled her. She had a little “jump scare” moment and the lid flew out of her hand. It was actually really funny. Part of me wanted to scold her for eating alone but the other part of me was proud of her for figuring out how to do it. She managed to get the lid off (she said she used her teeth) and that it took her five hours to get it opened. I doubt that she worked on it for that long, but I applaud her diligence. I asked her if it was good and she said yes. I told her that it was especially tasty because that was the taste of victory.
Today she participated on a couple of social activities. One was playing Scrabble with a couple of the ladies (led by the events coordinator who helps the residents) and a bit later a “strawberry shortcake social”. She couldn’t have any of that, but she was able to have one of her special popsicles. She met another resident while there and seemed to have a good time.
Being able to eat whenever you want (no matter what it is) is quite empowering. Her mood has definitely improved and I think that maybe it’s the realization that she’s getting better and won’t always be reliant on others for help.