Hospital visiting

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

My mother is in hospital at the moment.  This is her second round as an in-patient this year.  In January she broke her wrist.  In June she broke her hip.  At 95 years of age it is disorientating for her to adjust to changing environments and circumstances.  The ward she is on at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, Cardiff, is a friendly place with an optimistic atmosphere.  I try to visit her every day and it can be difficult to know what to talk about.  She has little occurring in her present, and her future is uncertain.  Talking of the past can sometimes become distressing.  She likes to hear what is happening with the family and sometimes I take in photograph albums for us to look at.  We also talk about what we can see: noticing the lovely sky blue colour of the window curtains, the texture of the blanket over her knees, the sky - my mother still has a great capacity to appreciate through her sense fields if prompted to have this awareness.  She is a remarkable person in many ways.