Life after Death Sentencing

Closing out of the Practical Aspects of This Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:59:00 +0000

Movement from 12/6/08 - 12/08/08:

As of December 8, 2008 at approximately 0709, my mother stopped moving. Permanently. It seems appropriate to make note of that here since, of course, the reporting of her movement of necessity had to stop at the time of her death. I am write further posts in the future as I review this material, but don't expect those soon or on any type of a schedule; at least not at this time.
From Saturday morning on Mom was mostly bedridden, although she had some hours in the wheelchair Sunday morning. Even though she was no longer able to stand up on her own, she thought she'd like to get up for a bit, so I lifted and swung her into, then out of, the wheelchair for that period. She had significant trouble holding herself up in a sitting position, even in the wheelchair, but it helped to have her "blocked" by the bedside table; she even ate a little and drank quite a bit. Once she was back in bed Sunday, though, she remained bedridden for the rest of her life.
A few posts that more clearly delineate her movement for the last few days of her life are:
1. December 5, 2008 @ 02:23: Written some hours after I first administered morphine to her; the immediately previous post here covers that day.
2. December 6, 2008 @ 18:24 which describes the hell of a day we had on Saturday attempting to adequately manipulate her morphine and how this affected her movement, all of which was in response to devastating pain.
3. December 7, 2008 @ 17:56: Which describes her "up" period in the living room during the first part of her day.
4. December 7, 2008 @ 23:59: Which describes the last part of her Sunday, during which she remained bedridden.
5. December 8, 2008 @ 10:00: Which describes her death. The two posts immediately previous to that post cover a little about med administration during Sunday morning prior to her death and minor reports on her pain level, which, according to her, was nonexistent and her comfort level which, also according to her, was also nonexistent.

I think that spiffily handles the "official" wrap-up for this section of The Mom & Me Journals dot Net, although it's entirely possible that I may add posts as I conduct a review of her life and mine as time rolls on. The main journal, to which the immediately previous link in this post directs, will continue, since, of course, although The Mom part of this adventure is no longer physically evident, the Me part of it certainly is and, I suspect, I will have much to day over the coming months, about the extraordinary evidence of Mom as she continues to exist in my life and, as well, how our last adventure together, these last 15 years, affects my present and future. Stay tuned.

Variation on a Normal Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:08:00 +0000

Movement for 12/05/08:

Mom's day started earlier than usual, at about 0830, with respiratory distress. Once that was addressed with .25 mg morphine sulfate, though, in the three hours it took to settle and evaluate the situation I decided, after the morphine was firmly in her blood stream, to go about bed changing, underwear changing and groin cleaning before she continued her night sleep. My first inclination was to do the personal grooming stuff in the bedroom, but Mom seemed alert and mobile enough, so I decided to wheel her into the bathroom and do it all "the regular way". She had no problems with transfers and no problems with standing and turning during groin bathing. In fact, she actually seemed better balanced and more in control of her body during the actual standing/bathing part, which surprised me. Other than that, movement has been minimal. I will, of course, report back about the rest of the "up" part of Mom's day, no matter when and in how many installments it occurs.
During the second "up" section of Mom's day (1430 - 1730) she decided to walk into the bathroom from the bedroom. Although she was a bit iffy, she was determined and seemed not to notice that she wasn't completely spry on her feet. She considered herself so successful that she chose to walk to the banister and down the steps. She didn't quite make it to the banister befpre the chair looked very good to her, though. I wheeled her into the bathroom for pre-nap prep and to her bedroom for a nap. This is not at all unusual, anymore.
The last "up" part of her day has been wheeling. She's still feeling "coldish" and on the tired side. I'm sure the evening will not change from this.

Surprise Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:25:00 +0000

Movement for 12/04/08:

A thorough movement review for Mom's morning is included in one of today's posts at the main journal. I was expecting some improvement if she recovered from whatever's had her in lock step for over a week, but I didn't expect her to recover as quickly and heartily as she seems to be doing. I'll report back later the after-nap part of her day.
Considering the title of this post, I should entitle this section Surprise Relapse: This evening she was tired and lethargic. We wheeled it all the way. I'll report more over at the main journal and slip back here to put up a link back.

"Coldish" Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:03:00 +0000

Movement for 12/3/08:

Another sluggish day, swollen feet, unusually high BGs regardless of me watching her diet like a hawk; she also complained of feeling "coldish", which she hasn't over the last few days. She was definitely sluggish, but decided to move a bit more than she has in the last few days, saying she felt she "should". Since her movement profile has been so low, lately, it could be said that her movement improved, today, because she walked into the bathroom from the bedroom before breakfast and walked through the dinette and down the dinette steps while heading for her rocker after breakfast. In the evening she gave it the good old college try after her nap when we were due to head into the bathroom but, after standing and trying to take a few steps, she complained that "[her] legs don't feel like [her] own" and I encouraged her to sit back down so we could use the wheelchair. As the evening progressed she had some difficulty standing momentarily for me to remove her pants for her leg rubdown. She transferred fairly well throughout the day, though, with a few blips along the way.

Edema Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Movement for 12/2/08:

The edema in Mom's feet and legs made it very uncomfortable for her to walk, today, although, trooper than she is, she tried several times then, after a few steps, asked for the wheelchair. She became disgusted with this and persevered for the entire walk from the bedroom to the bathroom after her nap. At this point she actually told me, "My feet don't feel like my own." They don't look like her own, either.
I plan to follow a few of strategies:
- No more furosemide after last night, I think
- Restart the rehab exercises, especially the ankle rocking. We've let those slide.
- If this continues, since no other causes seem prominent, I'm going to ask for a CBC next week to see if how severe her anemia is and, possibly, ask for intravenous iron or, if necessary, a transfusion.

Sluggish

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:17:00 +0000

Movement for December 1, 2008:

The only walking she did, today, was from the dinette around the table after breakfast and down the dinette steps to the wheelchair to be wheeled to the rocker. I had decided to insist on wheeling her from the bedroom after sleep sessions, but I didn't need to insist, that was fine with her. She was pretty iffy trekking around the table. I think it's because of the feet and leg edema, which I decided to address, tonight, with 10 mg furosemide after it increased significantly throughout the day. Fluid retention may have been part of the problem with her breathing over the last few days, although she didn't appear to be swollen throughout her belly or in her face until tonight. It will take the fluid off slowly but surely. If necessary, I'll give her another 10 mg tomorrow, sometime.

Doing Some Wondering

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:09:00 +0000

Movement for 11/30/08:

She walked only twice today, both times after having slept. She had significant difficulty with breathlessness and moderate pain in her middle back after walking to the bathroom from the bedroom both times. This happened yesterday, as well. Although I'm not sure if we're having a few more "Bad Cancer Days", nor am I sure if we can expect any "better" days than these two, I'm thinking, at least for the time being, that I'm going to insist on wheeling her just about everywhere and see if I can get approval for boosting her to 6/lpm O₂ when moving; and see how she does, moving, at that rate. It's possible that her days of moving much without the wheelchair are quickly coming to an end.

Visiting Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Movement for 11/29/08:

Except for walking into the bathroom from her bedroom when she awoke for the day, we wheeled it all day. I'll be covering more about visiting day at the main journal and will leave a link when I've posted.

Just Plain Blahs

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:28:00 +0000

Movement for 11/28/08:

Although she was up nine hours and alert, the only times she walked (with environmental and my support) were when she went to the bathroom after arising, when she went to the living room after breakfast and when she went to the bathroom after her nap. Otherwise we wheeled it.

Rain Blahs

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:05:00 +0000

Movement for 11/27/08:

When Mom noticed that state of the weather, which was still stormy, this "morning", she grunted, told me she couldn't understand why I like this kind of weather...and, from that point on, opted for the wheelchair. She decided to walk from the dinette table, down the dinette steps to the floor of the living room, but we've been wheeling it ever since. I'm not sure how this evening will go. She was pretty tired when she went down for a nap, but I gave her an ibuprofen, and it's been clearing all afternoon, to my discouragement...snow and rain had been forecast for tonight. But, the clearing will register in her bones and she might be a bit more spritely tonight, so, I guess an early clearing is worth it.
She wasn't keen on walking through the evening, so we wheeled it all the way. Still and all, she was awake, altogether, for 10 hours, so she much have been feeling better.

Climbing Lower

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Movement for 11/26/08:

Because of the way Mom's day pre-started (see today's post over at The Dailies) I thought today was going to be mainly a sleep day but, even though Mom's day started later than usual, she was up for a full 9.5 hours, just about average. Her movement for the day involved her "new" average, as well. Her initial rising involved the wheelchair, completely, from bed to bathroom and back to bed. But, after her "real" arising she chose to walk into the bathroom and performed fairly well. She chose the wheelchair to the dinette. Then chose to walk, as much as she usually does, minus the open space between the bottom of the dinette steps and the rocker, to the living room.
After that it was wheelchair to bed for her nap; walking to the bathroom after her nap, with some hesitation but doing pretty well. Wheelchair the rest of the evening, EXCEPT, and this is notable, she decided she wanted to walk from the bathroom into the bedroom. She faltered a bit but was determined, and was clearly ready to sit when the bed loomed. Good for her.

Cold Excitement

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Movement for 11/25/08:

I pretty much covered Mom's day in detail, including much of the movement portion, which wasn't much, over here at the main journal, so this will be a quick, clean review to make sure I got everything.
Walked (with environmental and my support, as usual) to the bathroom with little trouble after awakening.
Opted for wheelchair out to the dinette.
Walked around the dinette table and down the dinette steps to the wheelchair, awaiting her transfer to her rocker; walked well.
Wheelchair from rocker to bathroom to bedroom for nap.
Wheelchair the rest of the day.
Transferred well in the morning; a bit more iffy in the evening.
She was in very good spirits in the morning, as it was an RN visit day and she was excited, but in the evening she appeared to be coming down with a cold, or, perhaps, slipping back into a "Bad Cancer Cycle" day.

Complicated Variation on a Theme

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:38:00 +0000

Movement for 11/24/08:

The theme was "I don't want to get up", like yesterday's, but she was even more intransigent. I wasn't completely surprised. I discussed with her, last night, that we needed to move her awakening closer to noon in order to be prepared for the probably Hospice RN visit on Tuesday of this week. She agreed, in theory. The practice was another matter entirely. Although I hate to physically raise her up off the bed, now, I did that this morning. It was pleasant for neither of us. Once up, though, treated (with her breathing treatment) chatted up by me and petted up by the kitties, she walked into the bathroom under her own steam, although she opted for the wheelchair into the dinette. She walked around the table and down the dinette steps, though, to enter the living room and, again, later in the day, walked from her bedroom after her nap (I allowed her a nice, long one; she awoke on her own) into the bathroom then continued from the bathroom to the banister and down the foyer steps.
She did well. The woman just needs her sleep. That's all.

An Odd (for my mother) Switch

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:57:00 +0000

Movement for 11/23/08:

And the Odd Switch is: The body was willing, the spirit was not. Normally, if my mother doesn't want to move much, it's because her body isn't cooperating with her spirit. She walked to the bathroom from the bedroom this morning and actually walked better than I've seen her walk in a couple of days. She just wasn't into walking, though, spiritually, even if her body was, so she's opted for the wheelchair the rest of the first part of her day. After her bath I didn't even ask her...I just assumed, from the way she'd performed going in, that she's want to use her feet on the way out. When I took her arms and invited her to "lean way over and stand up" when she was ready to leave the bathroom, she took her arms from my hands and said, "Do I have to?"
No, she doesn't have to.
She's had a recurrent mild lower back ache today...so I gave her a second ibuprofen before her nap. We'll see how she's feeling when I awaken her at 2130.
For the entire second part of her day, Mom was hard to rouse from her nap and opted for the wheelchair all the way. I think her spirit may have been injured a bit in the morning...hopefully, I'll get a chance to explain, soon, over at the main journal. When I do, I'll link to the explanation.

The Power of Positive Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:18:00 +0000

Movement for 11/22/08:

Mom's confidence in her legs was a little shaky this morning; she wanted to use the wheelchair to travel from her bed to the bathroom for bathing. Normally I'd allow her sway but this morning she just looked, and had been acting, as she raised herself to a sitting position, took her breathing treatment on the edge of the bed and joked an chatted with me and the cats, as though she could probably hoof it to the bathroom; slow, maybe, haltingly, even, but I thought she could make it. I was right. She was slow, she halted fairly often, but she wasn't really iffy on her feet. Her steps were solid. She just wasn't used to doing this.
After her bath I didn't give her mode of mobility another thought. Without realizing it, I assumed that she'd, of course, be able to hoof it into the dinette. She did. I also assumed she'd be able to hoof it around the table through the dinette and down the dinette steps. She did. Her transfers with the chair, when we used it, were a little wobbly, but other than that she appeared to be in movement recovery. She was up for a long time (for her) before her nap and had already started to lapse into nap relaxation so we used the wheelchair from the living room to the bedroom by way of the bathroom. Again, her transfers were iffy but they always are when she's overstayed her up time.
Looks like we're on the upswing again. Perhaps we have a few "Good Cancer Cycle" days ahead of us. Here's hoping. I'll, of course, report back, later, on her evening.
She hoofed it into the bathroom, again, from the bedroom after her nap, but wasn't feeling good about it, halfway through. So, we opted for the wheelchair the rest of the night. She was much more comfortable with that. She transferred much better during the second half of her day than the first.

Probably in a "Bad Cancer Days" Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:46:00 +0000

Movement for 11/21/08:

So far it's been a slow day in the wheelchair. She reported that she felt "good", just "tired", and has been choosing the wheelchair from destination to destination. Even though she'd been "up and down" (meaning she'd awakened and called me from her bedroom) a couple of times this morning, at her 12-hour-sleep mark, 1245, she asked for "more time". I gave her until 1400 and she was ready to rouse by then. I'm hoping for an in-the-living-room night but we'll see.
Mom's choice from the bedroom to the bathroom, this evening, was, "I'd better walk."
"Good idea," I said. "Considering that you've been using the wheelchair a lot, lately, maybe we should give your legs some exercise."
Mom grinned. "Oh, they get plenty of exercise, all right."
Oh. All right.
She was slow, and iffy on her feet, so much so that I opted, on her behalf, for the wheelchair from the bathroom to the banister. She was disappointed, which surprised me, but agreed. "That walking tuckered me out," she said. I promised that if we thought she was up to it she could walk to the bedroom from the bathroom for bed, maybe even from the foyer steps to the bathroom. Imagine, promising my mother a chance to move!
Turns out, after a full evening, she decided on the wheelchair all the way to bed, but that was fine. She does, after all, by her own admission, get, "plenty of exercise"!

Day of the Tired

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Movement for 11/20/08:

I'm writing this while Mom is taking her evening nap. It's been a wheelchair day all day today, Mom's choice. I always ask; I never know whether one length's use the the wheelchair is going to spill over into another. Today, it is, so far. She's been pretty tired. I'm not convinced that it's air hunger. It could just be one of "those bad days". At any rate, I'm not going to predict how her post-nap evening will go. She was having some back pain before her nap. It was hard to determine the area but the degree clearly indicated it was not one of her "incredible pain" episodes, although it was back pain, and she had been uncomfortable for awhile although reluctant to call the discomfort "pain"; so I gave her 500 mg acetaminophen before she went down for her nap. She's been flying below radar all day today, though. I'm expecting her to take a relatively long nap. I'm thinking we might have a Bedside Evening, tonight, although I'm not sure. Could just end up being a light meal and another American Girl movie. Whatever. It's a very low key, just wheelin' around day.
The evening part of Mom's day turned into a Bedside Evening, even though it extended for three hours. I was anticipating this; oh, yeah, I see that I mentioned my anticipation above. It did involve some movement but only transfers from bedroom to bathroom and back. Mom sat in the wheelchair throughout our "Bedside Evening", which was more comfortable than sitting on the bed because she was experiencing some upper back pain which probably wasn't cancer related and didn't involve "air hunger" for any reason. She was in good spirits and animated while she was up. I even asked her a couple of times, because she felt so good, if she wanted to be wheeled into the living room to watch more American Girl movies but, much to my pleased surprise, she preferred us continuing an intimate Bedside Evening in her room. At one point she even said, "I like doing this." So do I.

Slight Downturn

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Movement for 11/19/08:

The day was mostly a wheelchair day, at Mom's request, although she did insist on walking with environmental and me support from the bathroom after bathing into the dinette for breakfast and from the dinette into the living room after the Social Worker visit, using the wheelchair from the bottom of the dinette steps to the wheelchair. I was, frankly, expecting better in the evening but after a respiratory distress episode which, luckily, I caught before the pain began, she was pretty tired and we finished off the day wheeling it.

Oomphing Along

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:39:00 +0000

Movement for 11/18/08:

Although she seemed more tired and iffy, to me, than she was yesterday, and was certainly slower, she gave it "the old college try", under her own motivation, and, so far, the day has proceeded exactly like yesterday movement-wise; it just is taking her a little longer to get where she is going, today, and she is pausing, a lot, as she works her way to her destination. Her more-tired-than-usual state, in fact, led to what I would consider an early nap: At 1545, just a smidgen beyond three hours after her awake time. Not that she doesn't often take "early" naps; it's just that she hasn't, lately. Once she was abed, I told her that I wouldn't start to "worry" about how much she was sleeping until about 1930. More...
...later.
She chose the wheelchair for her entire post-nap evening. She remained tired, but attentive, throughout the evening and retired exactly 12 hours after she awoke earlier today. It was just one of those days for her.

A Little More Oomph

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:00:00 +0000

Movement for 11/17/08:

Mom actually did some walking today, by choice, which was a relief for me. When we have a whole wheelchair day by her choice for no reason that I can clearly see, I always wonder if that means she's walked her last. Apparently, yesterday, she had not. We pretty much did a regular Medium Plateau day: Walking (with environmental and my assist) to the bathroom after awakening; walking to the dinette; walking around the table and down the steps to the wheelchair, waiting to whisk her around to her rocker; wheelchair to the bathroom pre-nap and to the bed for a nap; walking to the bathroom after nap; walking to the banister and down the foyer steps; wheelchair the rest of the night. Good risings, good transfers, good sittings.

Easy Does It Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Movement for 11/16/08:

Except for walking (with environmental and my assist) to the bathroom after awakening and after her nap, she opted for the wheelchair all day. I can't actually say that she was particularly iffy on her feet. She may have been, but she wasn't up on them enough for me to tell. She used them normally (for her) on her way to the bathroom, rose and transferred well. She could have just been having a low day. Not a problem. We can do that.

Holding Below High Plateau

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Movement for 11/15/08:

Mom's "morning" proceeded as usual. When she awoke from her nap she walked into the bathroom, but there was something about the way she was negotiating the hall that led me to believe that the wheelchair was in order for the rest of the evening. When I brought it in, after post-nap prep, she settled into it and said, "Ah, that's nice," so I guess I was right.
Last night and tonight she was not interested in standing so I could pull her slacks down for her evening full leg rub, so I did my best underneath her slacks on her lower legs.
Today, when she awoke for the day, she complained of her shoulders being unusually tight. I tried massage, which didn't seem to work, but scratching her entire back lightly for about 10 minutes did. I think we'll be incorporating this into her routine, now.

High Plateau (almost) Cold Day

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Movement for 11/14/08:

Despite very evident symptoms of a cold, today, Mom's movement profile almost moved into the High Plateau range. She walked, with environmental and me assist everywhere she's been walking except to the bathroom for bedtime prep and to bed. The only reason she didn't walk these paths was because she was overtaken by a couple of sneezing fits as she attempted to rise from the wheelchair at the foyer steps. I made the decision that the wheelchair would be in order and replaced the ramp on the steps. Her spirit was willing and, probably, her body was, too, because she argued my decision, then, halfway down the hall was overcome by yet another sneezing fit. She doesn't hold her position well when she's sneezing.
Still no walker, but my confidence that she might be using it again is higher.

A Little Less, a Little More

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Movement for 11/13/08:

She arose without the confidence to trust herself to walk to the bathroom or the dinette, so we wheeled it for the first part of her morning. After breakfast, though, she was insistent on walking around the table and down the dinette steps the the living room, as usual being transported to the rocker in the wheelchair.
Evening brought on a lot more energy. She not only walked into the bathroom but felt confident enough to do a good job of walking to the banister and down the foyer steps to the waiting wheelchair, with which I took her to the rocker. I'm almost beginning to feel confident enough to allow her to try to walker, again.
As has been happening lately, in the evening she is much too tired to want to head to the bathroom using anything but the wheelchair, but once we finished with bedtime prep in the bathroom, she was eager to walk into the bedroom and did a fair job, faltering only once.
No more nausea, today, thank the gods.

Still Searching Out the New Plateau Level

noreply@blogger.com (Gail Rae) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:49:00 +0000

Movement for 11/12/08:

Mom's determination allowed her to assume, this morning, that she would be able to walk into the bathroom after awakening. She was surprised to discover that she was a little shaky on her legs, though. When she sat back down on the bed after attempting, unsuccessfully, to take a few steps, rolled the wheelchair over and we did it the streamlined way. She stood very well during groin bathing, which was extended more than usual due to a necessary cleaning after a bowel movement. Stood well after dressing, too, and we both thought there would be no problem with her walking into the dinette. By the time she'd arrived at the door to the bathroom, though, it was obvious that she was continuing to have trouble, primarily with her right knee, so we slipped the wheelchair behind her and took the fast route to the dinette.
After her nap, once again she started out in fine fettle. I discovered she was awake, in fact, because she had arisen so quietly in her bedroom that I heard nothing unusual over the monitor receiver. She was almost completely down the hall when I heard her shuffling and came to her assist, helping her turn and head back to the bathroom. She and I were both sure that she would be able to walk from the toilet to the banister in the foyer. She also said that she thought she "should". However, once up, she was iffy, again. She was determined though, to continue trying until a slight wave of nausea overtook her and I moved the wheelchair behind her and wheeled her the rest of the way to the living room. I should mention that this nausea upon standing is the second episode she's had in the last two days. I'm not sure what's causing it. I didn't think about it the first time it happened on Monday because I knew she was working up to a cold and she had complained of a very full head and ringing and plugging in her ears, all of which could manifest in slight nausea, as well. I didn't mention it to the Hospice RN on Tuesday because, frankly, I didn't think of it. I think, though, if this continues, I'll definitely be mentioning it next week.
Everything went fine through the evening until she had an extreme pain episode, which I'll discuss over at the main journal in a bit. It involved her back, a different area than has been affected before and a much higher level of pain than she's experienced for a long, long time. Aside from immediately giving her 500 mg of acetaminophen and calling Hospice, just in case, I also had her stand, thinking it might be a cramp from sitting in her peculiar position. She was able to stand and sit well, even though the pain was bad; and, her standing and sitting back down did not affect the pain at all. However, after addressing the pain to the point where it disappeared, on her way to bed we both opted for the wheelchair without question or discussion. She continued to transfer well throughout.