Parenting your parents

One of the many things I hate about getting older is that not only am I still parenting my children, all of a sudden I am now having to parent my parent. I realize it comes with the territory, but I don't have to LIKE it! LOL

My 79 yr old mother was hospitalized about 4 weeks ago because she was severely dehydrated and had a massive infection in her intestines. (She has worn a colostomy bag for 7 years.) She was released 3 weeks ago today, but she is still very, very weak, and my brother Ron, who lives with her, isn't making her take care of herself the way she should.

She is not a very good patient (and trust me, that's putting it mildly LOL), so he gets frustrated with her and just gives up. I really do appreciate him living with her, because otherwise I don't know what we'd do. But unfortunately, he's in denial about how sick she is, and I'm worried that she's not going to get better.

My aunt & uncle have called several times over the last few days to let me know they're concerned, but every time I call Ron he says Mom is "just fine" and getting much better. (Which is exactly what he told me in the weeks before our dad passed away from colon cancer...denial, denial, denial, up to and including the last hour of Dad's life.)

I had a dream early this morning that Mom passed away....on the one hand I hope my dream wasn't prophetic, but on the other hand, maybe the Lord is trying to prepare me for what's ahead (I have had several prophetic dreams in the past). I just don't know what to do. They are both soooo resistant to other people's input/suggestions, but I just can't sit back and let her die.

Jaden has a pre-op appt. at the drs office tomorrow morning, so I'm going to ask them when Mom's appt is and be there (if they'll tell me, stupid privacy laws....grrrrrr!). If the office won't give me the appt time info, I'm at least going to tell the PA during Jaden's appt. exactly what's been going on with mom so she can make an informed decision about what to do for her. I'm sure that Ron & mom will sugar-coat what they tell the PA and not be honest about her condition. My aunt & uncle both told me they think Mom should probably be readmitted to the hospital, or at the very least, admitted to the "swing-bed" unit until she regains her strength.

Anyway, if anyone is reading this, please pray that my mom & brother will be receptive to my help/input, and that her doc will figure out why she's still so sick.