Day 4: "Don't leave me."

Today there were more conversations that seemed to be based on dreams or hallucinations. The easiest hypothesis is that Ma Schmidt slides from dreaming to waking without noticing the change. But that doesn't cover all the cases.

At one point she saw some exotic birds on television, and thought they were in the house. She asked me to open the door to let them out.

Another time she turned to me out of the blue and said she thought Schmidt and I were hatching some kind of complex plan. Then she asked, "Who's she?" when there was no woman around.

Ma's doctor prescribed some anti-anxiety medication, to be used as needed. With this medicine, she is sleeping more. Yesterday she told me several times "I need to go to the hospital," and I told her that the hospital can't help her. Last night, Schmidt told me, "If she says that, it's an anxiety attack. So give her the anti-anxiety medicine." She hasn't said it today, but we've been using the medicine in advance, prophylactically.

Mostly she slept through the day, though she was grateful to have someone nearby when she woke. Also there were fewer trips to the bathroom, and less output per trip. Schmidt drove into town for groceries, and got some more work done on his current work order.

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Ma (to Hosea): Don't leave me. Stay with me. I love you. 

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Ma: That was loud.

Hosea: What was?

Ma: That last announcement. [There was none.] I think it was out of your mouth. [Nope.]

Hosea: I think you were dreaming.

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Schmidt and I watched Mel Brooks's "Spaceballs" after dinner.