Vickie spent Christmas eve at her childhood home, now owned by her sister.
Vickie was good company until she passed her bedtime and despite the commotion from all the family she had a difficult time staying alert.
She will stay in her own home until late Christmas day before returning to her current residence.

Vickie kept her Dr. appointment this afternoon. She was not all that cooperative, she was in one of her obsessive moods and wouldn't stay focused enough to respond to questions or commands.
Friends from work visited Monday afternoon and seemed to catch Vickie at a good time. They were pleased with the way she interacted.

This evening Vickie had Chinese food brought by her sister. At times she is eating much better, but not consistent enough to eliminate the tube feeding.

Vickie had Thanksgiving dinner at a sister's home Thursday aftenoon.
She had a chance to visit with family including two of her grandsons that she rarely sees.
Vickie ate quite a bit, at least for her and she even had a little wine.

Vickie continues to enjoy her snacks and small portions of fast food provided by visitors. Her overall condition is good considering the situation. There have been no changes.

Vickie's latest feeding tube also turns out to be defective but adjustments will be made and it will be used as it is.

As usual with Vickie, nothing seems to be as it should. The new feeding tube is defective and will be replaced Thursday.

Vickie received her new feeding tube this afternoon. The procedure was quick and without problems.
On the return trip to her residence Vickie requested a hamburger, some fries and a coke. After a stop at the Burgerville drivethru, she ate both the fries and the hamburger. The ironic part of this, if we could get her to eat like this regularly the tube wouldn't be necessary.

Vickie will go to MHMC Friday afternoon to have her feeding tube replaced. This is a non-emergency routine procedure that her Dr. agreed to do without delay. She should be able to return to her residence within hours.

Vickie had a good visit with two of her former coworkers this afternoon. She ate some of the French fries and drank the milk shake they brought for her.
Visitors other than her regular ones seem to make Vickie more responsive at least for a little while.

Sunday evening Vickie joined family at a local restaurant for a small birthday event. Since she was the birthday girl she was on her best behavior.

Because Monday was Vickie’s actual birthday, several sisters and friends visited her at her residence this afternoon and brought presents and cards for her to enjoy.

Vickie has not changed since the last post. She is still unable to feed herself. The obsessive episodes continue.

Vickie attended a family picnic at a sister’s this afternoon. She was introduced to the two latest additions to her extended family, a new grandniece and a new grandnephew. She did well although she became tired in the evening.

At her latest appointment, Vickie’s Dr. noticed a possible problem with one of her ears so an examination by an Ear, Nose and throat specialist was suggested. The E.N.T. determined there was a perforation in the eardrum. No treatment was necessary other than some antibiotic to ward off any possible future infection to the exposed inner ear.

Last week Vickie’s 39th wedding anniversary passed without fanfare.

Vickie’s overall condition remains stable.

There are still no changes in Vickie's behavior.
Saturday Vickie visited a sister's home during the afternoon.

Vickie's condition and behavior has not changed this week.

Something interesting has been happening this week. For brief periods of time Vickie will come out of her ever present obsessive mood and talk without prompting. Much of what she says is a little less than completely sensible but it's a welcome change.

It's been one year since Vickie left her home and moved to an Adult foster care facility. While her condition has not improved, she is well cared for and all her needs are met.

Vickie still nibbles on snacks but will not eat a meal or anything close to one. Her overall condition remains unchanged.

Vickie seems to have a little better appetite at times, although she only eats snacks such as small candies and cookies, and only in small amounts. It's possible the new medication is helping her relax and lessens the obsessive behavior.

Vickie has not experienced any change in behavior or condition since the last entry. She is still in relatively good physical health.

Except for a slight increase in appetite, Vickie's condition remains unchanged. She has started taking a new medication intended to help her with anxiety.

Vickie was out Saturday evening to help celebrate a sister’s birthday with friends and relatives. There were some very brief moments when she showed some of her personality from days gone by.

June 16th is also the day Vickie’s life was critically changed three years ago. The lives of those close to her have also been dramatically different since then. Initially the focus was based on a full recovery or at least a partial return to a normal life. It now seems, baring a profound medical discovery or Devine intervention, Vickie’s condition will remain the same as it has for many months.

Everyone agrees that Vickie’s medical and personal needs are excellently met and that she receives wonderful attention as a person where she is now living. The intermittent posts here reflect the fact that Vickie’s condition is stable with few changes one way or another. Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support and kindness.

This week Vickie is still the same. She still refuses to eat or drink on her own. The interaction with others is sporadic at best.

Vickie's condition remains unchanged. There are brief moments when she seems lucid before falling back into her obsessive behavior.

On Memorial day Vickie spent the afternoon at a sister's home. She had a pleasant and uneventful visit.
There have not been any changes in Vickie's condition or behavior since the last post.

There have been no changes in Vickie’s condition to report. We are at the point where “no news is good news” or so it seems.
She is well cared for and all her needs are met.

Vickie’s condition seems to have stabilized with no noticeable improvements. Her behavior changes from being fairly responsive to an obsessive state in which she ignores all that is around her. The different moods can change in a matter of minutes or less without an apparent cause or reason.
Everyone is pleased with the care she is receiving at her current residence.

Vickie has returned to her previous behaviors. She will eat at times, but refuses to more often than not. She does have times when she will communicate more than before.

Vickie was listless today, managing a barely audible whisper. She was able to leave the hospital late in the afternoon. Her anti-seizure medication dosage has been increased to prevent a reoccurrence of the problem.
After Vickie settled in at her residence this evening she was offered some regular food, which she proceeded to eat using a fork. This is something not seen in many months. She was able to speak at her normal volume. Not sure why this happened, just hope it continues, there have been too many disappointments.

Early this morning, while staying at MHMC, Vickie suffered a seizure. After some time it was brought under control with medications. The cause was probably the interruption in her normal medication routine due to the absence of the feeding tube Sunday. She will be in the hospital overnight for observation and should be able to return to her residence Tuesday afternoon if she recovers completely from the ordeal.

Vickie went to MHMC early this morning to have her feeding tube replaced after it came out unexpectedly Saturday evening. The procedure didn’t go as well as hoped with several unsuccessful attempts during the morning, but it was accomplished surgically this evening. She will stay at the hospital over night and then return to her residence Monday.

After having her hair professionally trimmed this morning by hair stylist/daughter-in-law, Vickie traveled to a sister’s home to spend the afternoon. All went well.

Test results showed no problems after Vickie’s Dr. exam Last week.
Although Vickie’s condition remains unchanged, everyone seems pleased with the care she is receiving at her new residence.

Vickie kept her appointment with her Dr. for an annual exam Tuesday; there were no extraordinary problems.
Depending on the time of day one visits her, Vickie’s behavior can be at one extreme or another. Sometimes she is not at all responsive; at other times she will converse a little and also eat some of her meals. There doesn't appear to be any consistent reason for the changes.

Vickie has returned to her regular behavior. Less interaction and communication with others. She does seem more calm much of the day.

Vickie is still eating more than she has in recent months. She is communicating a little more at times.

Today Vickie was more alert, talking and responding to others. She also regained some of her appetite.

There is no discernable improvement in Vickie’s condition.

So far Vickie seems to be adjusting to her new surroundings. Her room is slightly larger and is more secure than the previous one.

Vickie successfully moved to her new residence this evening. Besides the change in location, she will also have a change in caregiver attitude and a change in diet.

Vickie kept the appointment with her neurologist this afternoon. No changes will be made with her medications. She was very responsive during the visit, much better than in previous meetings.

At the end of the week Vickie will move to another adult foster home.
A philosophical difference in how best to care for Vickie prompts the change.

Vickie returned to her home for the weekend. It went well.
Due to unusual and unexpected issues with her caregiver, some major changes are going to be occurring concerning where Vickie will reside in the future.

Since the last post there has not been any apparent change in Vickie’s condition.

Vickie has not shown any improvement for the last several days.

Vickie was very alert and interacting this evening. She filled several notebook pages with her shorthand notes. She is the only one who can decipher what she wrote. Much of it seemed to be repetitive but it’s still better than when she stares at the ceiling and refers to unseen people. She made several comments about the program on television so she was paying attention and trying to understand the subject matter. As she grew tired of the activity she returned to her more obsessive behavior.

There was no apparent change or improvement today in Vickie’s condition.

This afternoon Vickie was slightly more alert and responsive. She even commented about a Mattress World commercial airing on TV. It’s unusual for her to show any signs of awareness about such things.

Vickie doesn’t show any noticeable improvement. At times she seems to be better but the duration is short.

Vickie’s obsessive times might be diminishing somewhat. It’s probably still to soon to say with any certainty. The hope is the new medication could help bring her back to the condition she was in nearly a year and a half ago.

Vickie seemed a little more responsive this evening than in recent evening visits. Whether it’s the result of the new medication or just happenstance is unclear.

Vickie kept her appointment with her Neurologist this afternoon. The results from the tests she took in December were inconclusive but indicated she probably wasn’t experiencing seizures on a regular basis.
Vickie will begin a medication, one she started in the spring of 2005 but was stopped abruptly because it was suspect, and incorrectly in the ongoing nausea problems she was having at that time.

It is difficult to provide an accurate assessment of Vickie’s condition when seeing her for a short period of time. It appears that when she is given a pain relief medication it has a calming effect that helps lessen the somewhat obsessive traits she displays. To observe this situation one needs to be present shortly after the medication is administered.

There have not been any improvements in Vickie's condition this last week. She seems to withdraw more into her imaginary world and pays less attention to what is happening around her.

Vickie seems to have recovered from whatever happened last week. Medication for infection has been restarted, not sure if there’s a connection.
Vickie might have been slightly more lucid this afternoon than she has been for some time.