Family Meeting with Timber Ridge Staff

On Wednesday November 13th we had a family meeting with the Timber Ridge Staff. Papa O (aka Owen), myself (LaTasha) and Pop (aka Louie, Big Mama's dad) all attended this meeting. The overall reports were great. Everyone said she has made great strides in her improvement since she arrived but she still need lots of rehab to get her back to functioning on her own and being able to take care of herself with minimal assistance.

Kerry, the Physical Therapist, said she has made huge improvements. She is able to walk on her own for short distances but gets to going to fast to ambulate safely by herself so therefore still needs assistance. To this Big Mama's reply was "they're just slow pokes and need to learn how to keep up". Typical Rhonda!! They tried to give her a regular walker with wheels but she would take off going 70mph so they had to take it away! Kerry said she is doing great, she just needs to slow down.

Christine, the Speech Therapist, said Big Mama's vision is still impaired which is hindering the progression of some things. She is still unable to read (which we all know is one of her favorite things to do) but she is enjoying some books on tape/cd that Teresa sent her. She is able to write her name very well now even it it may not always be directly on the line b/c she can't see it well. Sometimes when shown a picture and asked to name the item, she still needs a hint (like the letter it begins with) to get the word out. She knows what the word is but processing the information and getting the word out orally is still something she is working on. Christine said she is doing better but needs to slow down when trying to perform tasks.

Taylor is Big Mama's Occupational Therapist. When Big Mama first began working with him she told us that he was a young handsome guy and she wanted to keep him around a while! Taylor also said she has improved. She now needs virtually no assistance with bathing, dressing and applying make-up. (They do have a female OT tech that helps her with this part!) When we arrived Wednesday Big Mama was dressed and had make-up on but couldn't find her mascara and really wanted it on. We went back to her room and found it for her. I was going to assist her with applying the mascara but she wanted to do it herself, and she did, very well actually. Big Mama is also still having some numbness in her left hand and fingers. Taylor said when they are assisting her in doing her laundry, she does not sort the clothes well because she is going to fast and she would do much better if she would just slow down.

Ken, the Psychiatrist, said the Big Mama's overall outlook has gotten much better. He said that she talks often and fondly of family, friends and her career & children at school. He said that he can tell that Big Mama normally has good morals and high expectations of herself and others. There are some things that other clients do and say that really bother her. He said they are working on helping her to understand that even though she may have control over what someone else does, she does have control over the example that she sets for them. He said that she is doing well and just needs slow down and think about her feelings and emotions before getting upset or angry.

Sarah, the Behavioral Specialist, said that Big Mama's overall affect has been much more positive and appropriate.She has improved and is participating much better in her sessions. She was having several "crying episodes" that would last anywhere from 30 seconds to many hours. In the last week she had a total of 5 minutes of crying. That is 5 minutes in the entire week!! She still has very limited safety judgment when it comes to herself. She does things by herself that she is not supposed to like transferring herself from her wheel chair to the couch or getting up and walking without assistance. She said they had a cooking session in which they made pb&j sandwiches. Big Mama got in a hurry and was trying to do everything to quickly and had peanut butter & jelly everywhere. Sarah said that Big Mama just needs to slow herself down and she will do fine.

Okay, did ya notice the common thread in all of these reports...SLOW DOWN... I can't remember a time in my childhood when my mother was ever taking it slow. She have some short legs but she still walked 90 to nothing & I had a hard time keeping up with her while walking through a store. She never sat still and probably never will! Even if she was sitting and watching tv she was crocheting, reading or something else. She was always going and it was never slow! This is her main area of concentration at the moment. All of them agreed that Big Mama has made great improvements and once her vision is better and if she would just SLOW DOWN then she would do even better!!