I've been pretty much MIA on our dear Mid Atlantic forum for months. My mom's health, which has not been good for years, took a bad turn a few months ago. She is completely bedridden and requires total care which we are doing at home. We have some daily caregivers, but I fill in the gaps in their schedule and spend every night at their home. I can't tell you the last time that I slept in my own bed or had more than a few hours at a time at my own home. It has been overwhelming at times, but you just adjust, adapt, and do the best you can.
While we have been so focused on my mom's decline, my dad's Parkinson's disease has been progressing. He was still functioning, but getting frailer and frailer every day and mental confusion started creeping in more and more each day. A few days before Christmas, I had my sister drive him down to the ER, primarily to check out his back pain and possible broken bones from one of his falls. No broken bones, but a battery of tests showed he had an infection that had gone sepsis. He was admitted to the hospital and the infection was treated and from an infection standpoint, he was recovered but everything else started going wonky. He just kept getting sicker and sicker and he passed away yesterday morning. We have all lost loved ones and it never gets any easier
I hope to get back to gardening this spring, it is something that always brings me joy and a feeling of well being. I also hope to attend if our annual seed swap happens in February. I see there is a thread started, but haven't looked into it yet.
