Hi there new friends,

   Things are happening too fast this year.

   Just last January, on the 31st, my younger brother passed away from Congested heart failure. He was divorced and lived on my parents land next to their house. He said he would take care of my parents when they got old and sick. I was fine with that, since I live 3000 miles away. But now he's gone first.

   When I went down to help with the funeral arrangements, I noticed that my Dad wasn't looking too well. He was extremely thin and his eyes were dark and sunken in. I asked him what was going on with him and he said he had a bad kidney. After he showed me a big lump on his left lower side of his stomach and said he felt full all the time and couldn't eat, I knew it wasn't his kidney, but cancer.

   I had flown back home to go back to work. I live alone, own my own home and have a few bills, of course.

   In the middle of April I got a call from my older brother, whom lives 10 miles away from my parents, that Dad wasn't doing so good. So I flew back down there....but I was a day late. He had passed away.

   Last summer when I had visited, I noticed that my Mom was lossing her memory. She couldn't remember things about her own body. Like her dental work, operations, and stuff. And she would get angry at my Dad because she couldn't remember appointments he was telling her about. Saying everyone was against her and saying she was crazy.

   But when I had flown down for my brothers funeral in early Feb., I noticed that she was doing a lot better. She was taking the drug Aricept.

   I had to make a decision on what to do with my Mom, now that Dad was gone. My older brother didn't have room at his place for her. In fact he very seldom visited my parents in the past. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year. My Mother never cared much for his wife, either.

   Although my parents land and house were paid for, I couldn't just move there to take care of her without me working. She only has $20,000 to her name, and hiring help is expensive.On top of that, work is hard to find in them parts and I had a good job in my town. So I moved her to my house just last Tues. the 2nd of June. We're hoping her house will sell to save the money in case she gets really bad and has to be put in a home, or need extensive medical treatment of some kind.She's scared to death that my brother or me will put her in a home. I told her I wouldn't do that unless she gets violent, or doesn't know me or anybody else. I would try and hire some help. 

   So here I am, looking up as much information as possible about her medicare and possible medicaid. Looking for a new doctor and stuff like that. I have to become her Power of Attorney, because she can't sign her name any more, and has no clue about her bills my Dad left.

   She's at the stage where she'll forget something I just told her 10 minutes ago. I guess you could call it her short term memory. She remembers most things about her past. She sometimes has a hard time doing simple things, like how to turn the light on in the bathroom for instance. I notice she can't see well either..... I think she has cateracts.