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Olga Dougherty
2004

 

 

This album page contains all the pictures and movies that I have taken of my Mom this year. They are arranged in sequence by date, with each date in its own section.

 

January 7, 2004: My Mom Moves to the Traymore Nursing Home

As you've seen in the pictures from last year, my Mom had a hard time after a couple of falls, what with her rehabilitation and all, and Judy and I felt that she needed more care than the Bentley retirement home could possibly give her, and so I have been looking around for an alternative.


I have found The Traymore, an older nursing home that was, apparently, built to cater to older folks coming from the upscale area around Highland Park and this part of North Dallas. The cost was over twice that of the Bentley, but then Mom needs much more care, now, including help with just about everything. When I investigated the cost of an aide to be with her almost continually at the Bentley, being at the Traymore didn't seem so much out of line.

And the best thing about the Traymore was that it was so close; it was literally about seven blocks away. To get there, all I had to do was go up to University, take that west almost to Love Field, and then to north and west another block and there I was. I could get there in under two minutes if need be. It made visiting my Mom ridiculously easy. And with my travel schedule, I could be confident she was getting the care she needed.


The building itself seemed well-maintained and well-decorated, as befitted the residents living there and the cost of their stays. The staff seemed to be quite caring, and, as you'll see in a moment, anxious to learn what their charges liked and didn't like. Mom's first room (she moved later in the year) was on the second floor which provided a higher level of care, and where she could get a room by herself. The dining room was at the back of the building on the first floor, and it had nice views out to the yard that surrounded the building on three sides.

So, all in all the facility was quite good, though as I said it was expensive. But it was worth it to make sure Mom got the care she needed at this time, what with all her difficulties last year.


The picture at left was taken during my Mom's first meal in the Traymore dining room, which, I must admit, was quite nicely decorated- much like a nice hotel restaurant.


The first movie I took of Mom here at the Traymore shows her eating her first meal.

The second and third movies show one of the aides who will be taking care of Mom having a talk with her about what they can do for her. In the first weeks she was there, the staff made every effort to adjust to her schedule, which was very nice. Anyway, you can watch those two movies with the players below:

 

January 17, 2004: Visiting My Mom at the Traymore

It's Saturday, and Fred has come down to the house as usual, and he has accompanied me over to the Traymore to see my Mom, and see how she is settling in to her new surroundings. Most of our visit was spent with her recounting to me how she happened to slip to the floor between the wheelchair and her bed; I had been called that morning by one of the aides to let me know what had happened. So I took a series of movies of my Mom trying to explain her story, and then Fred took over and filmed me conversing with Mom and trying to determine the best solution for the problem. If you use the players below, in sequence, you can follow our visit:


Mom Tells Her Story - 1

Mom Tells Her Story - 2


Mom Tells Her Story - 3

Mom Tells Her Story - 4


Mom Tells Her Story - 5

Mom and I Talk About Solutions - 1


Mom and I Talk About Solutions - 2

Mom and I Talk About Solutions - 3


Mom and I Talk About Solutions - 4

Mom Having Her Lunch at the Traymore

 

January 24, 2004: Mom at the Traymore


Well, it is coming to the end of the first month that Mom has been here at the Traymore, and her room on the second floor is coming together. Fred helped me put the pictures up last week, so now I am making a film of the room so that I can send it to Judy and she can see for herself what it is like. I hope you'll take a look at my movie of Mom's room at the Traymore.

I also wanted to make a couple of movies just of Mom herself to send to Judy, and although I couldn't get Mom to understand what I was doing, I think the movies accurately portrayed what my Mom's condition is like now. You can watch those two movies using the players below:

 

January 25, 2004: Mom at the Traymore


With Fred at his Mother's in DeLeon, Barbara and I have come over to the Traymore to visit with Mom at lunchtime. This is the first time that Barbara has seen Mom since Mom moved into the Traymore at the first of the year, and I took the opportunity to make a film of Barbara and Mom talking together during lunch at the Traymore.

 

February 1, 2004: Mom at the Traymore

It's Sunday, so Fred and I have come over to have lunch with my mother here at the Traymore. I've taken quite a few movies and pictures today. They are not all great, but I am going to include most of them here anyway.

The first sequence of movies is of my Mom in her reading chair, and attempting to take off her outer shirt and get up into her walker. While it might appear as if I am not giving her much help, I am always ready to catch her should she start to slip out of the chair or fall foward in her walker. I have put links and descriptions below for the movies in this series, and you can look at as many of them as you wish by using the players:


Mom is awaking from a nap in her big chair
 
 

Mom wanted to take her outer shirt off before lunch,
and she asked me how to do that,
and so I told her to begin by unbuttoning it.


I suggested to Mom that she sit up and slide a bit
forward in the chair to get her feet on the floor
and thus be able to take off her shirt

Mom trying to slide forward in her chair
 
 


Mom has taken off her outer shirt
and is trying to stand up into her walker

The next series of movies has my Mom in her wheelchair, ready for lunch. We have a little while before they begin serving, so I am filming Mom so as to be able to send the movies to Judy. I am trying to get Mom to talk to the camera as if she were talking to Judy, but this does not always work. Anyway, you can watch this sequence of movies by using the players below:


Conversation 1

Conversation 2


Conversation 3

Next we have a series of two movies, taken by Fred, that show my Mom navigating her wheelchair by herself down the hall on the second floor to the back elevator, which will take us down to the first floor dining room. Use the players below to watch:


Motion Capture 1

Motion Capture 2

Finally, we have some movies and pictures taken at lunch.


This is a movie of mom and her lunch table companions- Bill, a resident at the Traymore, and Mary Lee, Bill's wife who visits him every day. Here is another picture of Mary Lee and Bill.


Here is a movie of Mom being served.

 

March 1, 2004: Mom at the Traymore

It's Monday, and since I only have a short trip down to Austin this week, I have come over to the Traymore to see my Mom before lunch (as I have a serviceperson coming to the house at 12:30). All I've done today is to take a few movies of my Mom moving around in her wheelchair and talking with me. You can watch these movies with the players below:


Mom wheeling herself back to her room at
The Traymore from the activity area where she
has been spending some time this morning

Mom navigating her way out of the bathroom
in her room at the Traymore
 


Conversing with Mom in her room at the Traymore

Conversing with Mom in her room at the Traymore

 

April 11, 2004: Mom at the Traymore


It's Sunday, and Fred is at his Mom's, so I've come over to the Traymore without him to visit with my mother at lunchtime. As I've said before, my Mom isn't really capable of conducting a conversation with me; she can get some words out and sometimes I can get the gist of what she's saying, but most times all I can do is listen and try to react the right way at the right time. So there is no particular reason for me to come here ever so often and take a few pictures and movies, other than to record for myself and Judy how Mom is progressing (or, sadly, progressing in a negative way as her faculties become more and more frail). It is a slow deterioration, though, and I suppose that is a good thing. Anyway, that's why these pictures and movies are here.

Before lunch, I spent some time with Mom in her room, and she was trying to tell me something about the belt she was wearing that day. I took some movies while she talked, and you can watch those movies with the players below:

Then we went to the dining room where Mom had her lunch. I took a couple of movies of her and the dining room while she was eating, and you can watch those movies with the players below:

 

June 20, 2004: Mom at the Traymore

Today is just a typical Sunday lunchtime and I have come over to be with Mom. I am trying to record her and photograph her as much as I can these days; I want to try to make sure that Judy and I have some sort of record of her that we can keep, since no one knows what the future holds.


Before lunch, I sat with Mom in her room and carried on a conversation as best I could. And I thought that what I would also do would be to make a movie in which Mom could "talk" to you, Judy, and you can see what she is like at the moment. I am limited to 30-second movies with my little camera, and so I have broken up this movie for Judy into three parts. The first one can be watched with the player at left.

The next two can be watched with the players below:

We went down to the dining room together, and I sat with Mom while she ate, taking a couple of pictures and movies in the process. The only picture I took is this one of Mom enjoying her Jell‑O.

Since it is Sunday, everyone is all dressed up and the Traymore has provided someone to play the piano while the residents eat. I took a couple of movies of my Mom while she was eating, and you can watch those movies with the players below:

 

July 11, 2004: Mom at the Traymore, Sunday Lunch


I have come over to the Traymore today to be with Mom at lunchtime. Fred is at his mother's in DeLeon, or he would probably be with me. Mom is holding her own here, and the environment is certainly nice. Here is another picture of my Mom enjoying her fruit appetizer.

I also took a couple of movies of my Mom while she was eating, and you can watch those movies with the players below:

 

August 19, 2004: Mom at the Traymore

My mom seems to be doing well here at the Traymore, which, of course, is only a few blocks from my house, making it very convenient for me join her for lunch most days. That's about all we did today, and I took a few pictures of Mom and her tablemates (whose names I have, unfortunately, forgotten). Below are thumbnails for those pictures of Mom having lunch at the Traymore; to view the full-size images, just click on those thumbnails:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

 

December 20, 2004: Mom at the Traymore

Fred has gone back to work this morning, and I have come over to visit Mom at the Traymore this noon both to sit with her at lunch and also to find out how she is doing in her new room. Mom had been up on the second floor until a couple of months ago, when this room on the first floor opened up. It is about the same size, but much more convenient since we don't have to fuss with the elevator to get back and forth to meals and such. Also, in this particular wing, residents are a bit more mobile and need a bit less care, and so the rate is a bit less.

Mom at Her Makeup Table

Actually, Mom has been improving so much this year that I think that shortly it will be time to see whether she can go back to the Bentley- not the place she was living before her last fall, but the Bentley Manor next door. The Bentley Manor is described as "assisted living," rather than simply "retirement," that that seems to be all that Mom needs now. She is pretty much done with the skilled nursing care part of her rehabilitation. So we ought to be able to get her somewhere where the people are a bit more mobile and animated and where she can get just the help she needs, all for a lot less money. I have set aside January to investigate these possibilites and perhaps have her moved.

But today, I am here to take some pictures and make some movies both for me and to send to Judy, so she can see what Mom's new digs are like. First, you can look at a couple of pictures of her room. The first one looks back towards the door to the room and shows her sleeping area. The second one looks the other way, and shows the big bright window that looks out onto the central courtyard. The room just seems nicer than the one she had on the second floor.

I also took a couple of movies today, and you can watch them with the players below:


Mom's New Room

Mom "Talks to Judy"

 

December 29, 2004: Mom at the Traymore


I have come over to visit Mom at the Traymore this afternoon because Jeffie and Michael are leaving Dallas for Atlanta today, and I wanted to be with them and Mom when they said goodbye, to try to make sure that Mom understood what was going on. There are many pictures of Michael, Jeffie and Mom on the regular photo album page for this date, but there were a few other pictures and movies that I wanted to save, and so I am putting them here. The picture at left is Mom talking to Judy on the phone.

The other two are movies that you can watch with the players below:


Mom telling me she needs more lipstick

Mom talking to Judy


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