There is nothing like the crisp crunch of leaves drifted into piles

It has been a long time since I posted. Things are evened out somewhat. Jack spent a week in a Behavioral Center because he had made some statements about seeing his deceased mother, sister, and brother. This scared some nurses and they reported the statements to his primary care doctor who recommended a psych evaluation. At the end of the week I asked what they had discovered. The doctor said, "He has Parkinson's and some dementia that goes with the disease."

Since we have known this for some time, I felt the time had been a waste. However I was wrong. The doctor at the behavioral center and the neurologist, consulted and came up with a medication that smoothed out the emotional problems and didn't do much for the physical. But I had been told that when you work on one area the other will become a problem. Right now he does well enough if the gets all his medications regular and on time. Because the nursing facility hasn't had many Parkinson's patients they have had to be educated on Jack's problems with the legs. If he does not get his medication for Parkinson's at least an hour before Jack wished to transfer to his power chair and go to the dining room or anywhere else, the muscles in his legs freeze and he just can't move the legs. We are finally getting through to some of the staff that thought he was just kidding about being able to move. With several shifts and lots of changes it just seems communication isn't always effective.

Jack has also had a cyst on his right hip for a number of years. Earlier this year a surgeon told him it was not a problem and could be removed or not , he could choose and of course Jack said he would just cope with it. Most of the staff really didn't know about the problem and when he ask to sometime stand and reset in his chair.... they thought he was just being troublesome. Even one of the main nurses didn't know the cyst existed. Until I called her to come help me move Jack and look at the area since he said it felt wet. It began to drain and treatment has began to heal up this area. I am glad it is healing but it is very painful and the treatment also quite painful for Jack.

Just today he said his hands would not do what he wants them to do sometimes and he becomes very frustrated. He is finding these symptoms come and go and last usually less than a day. I quit taking him out because the ability to use his legs, his hands, and the sudden onset of fatigue created a greater problem than I could handle by myself. We miss our outings and I know that I could hire someone to go places with us but I still don't feel safe taking him out of the professional environment.

Jack has been in the nursing facility for almost eight months. It is still difficult for me to stay at home. I have breakfast with Jack almost every day and usually go in at least twice every day. There have been two days I have missed and those were very long for both of us. The professional care has really improved his condition. He had some really bad situations but generally he is so much better.

The cooler weather and the wind gusts that sent the leaves swirling across the lawn and creating piles of color, are both welcome. Maybe the change in the season will bring some new things to look toward.

God's Speed and Blessings.......

I AM STILL HERE!

Sounds like I am shouting. Well, perhaps that is the way I feel. Things are not going well, and I am relying more and more on those who have been through this experience with Parkinson's.

Stages come and go and I keep stumbling over the remains of each day. I understand more about my mother and how she strugged to just get up and go though the basics of sunrise to sunset. I keep looking for something to really replace thinking. I loved the casino with Jack but can't take him now and it is too expensive for regular therapy! lol

He asked for a comfortable rocking chair in his room for me and I find I can take a book to read and fall to sleep quickly. But for Jack that isn't much fun watching me sleep, he says at least I am there with him. I have missed one day since he entered in February and that was because of the flu that I caught right there in the home.

Keep my in your prayers....for us it is just one day at a time.

A busy week..............

Today is fairly open..............Tuesday Bible Study (lead by me) Wednesday take Jack to neurologist and Bible Study in evening, Thursday Audit committee meets to "do" the church's books...Friday take Jack to Wound Clinic (hopefully this is the last visit) When wounds are both completely healed......Dr.Lee says Jack can take a shower....it has been 7 months!!!

Living alone these last 4 months have brought some changes. I am certainly more careful about things that could end in an accident.....like climbing ladders. I carry my cell phone in my pocket and sleep with it. I panic when the phone rings. And I am not as neat and tidy as I thought I might be if I lived alone....thinking oh well who will notice but me and the four legged felines.

And I really am trying to learn to stay at home.........this house is so cold emotionally and lonely that I rush around in the morning to get out and go to the nursing facility and then to do anything that is on my "list" of needs to do. I need to learn to stay here and really do some things about cleaning out closets and emptying out drawers of stuff.

Well, it is almost 7 and I am hurrying to get out of the house....will I ever change?

When part of you is missing................

Created a long blog.......and accidentally hit the wrong key!
Oh well, you only need to know that things change and life changes and yet it is the same.

The Parkinsons progresses....Jack isn't happy in the facility but he is better with the care and the environmental advantages.

I am lonely just like Jack, this isn't easy for either of us.

Those of you who have experienced this understand......those of you who have not as yet.......will some day understand. And yet I hope you do not have to suffer this kind of separation.

The Fourth of July approaches.... HAVE A BLAST!

Each day holds precious minutes.....

Jack is still doing fairly well. Night terrors, confusion, and other problems seem minor to the results of withdrawl from one of the medication he was taking.

We have chosen to make every day special in some way. We go a lot, take walks (me walking=Jack chairing). Shop a lot, eat out, go to church, work with music and just enjoy quiet times together. My daughter calls it our honeymoon again. And perhaps it is the eye of the storm before something else happens.

I really feel it is the lull before the storm but hoping the storm will be not so severe and we can continue to enjoy our lives. Someone said this week that Parkinson's is a cruel disease. What disease isn't cruel in some way.

He enjoys working with his music and getting back to that is like therapy in itself. He walked quite a bit for awhile but his legs because so tired and weak again that he has slowed down again. I understand that the legs don't really return to the former strength. He doesn't know this.

The wounds on the legs are very near a complete healing. We are anxious to have that day arrive because then Jack will be allowed to take showers again. It has been 6 months. His doctor said this week she just didn't realize the difficulty of doing without showers-- that she tells her patients with wounds. She just returned from National Guard Duty and had a week without a shower and she realized anew how difficult her requirement was.

Tomorrow is another special day. We will spend time together. It is Sunday and he will come to church / dinner and music in the afternoon. He has invited people from the home. Some staff has said they plan to come and a resident will come with us. It promises to be a good day. Everyday has to be special now.

HE'S BACK!

He is back! Jack isn't home but his confusion is mostly gone. We put him back on the anti-depression drug and he is doing great!

He is sleeping well most nights and I don't get those scary phone calls in the night from the nursing home.

I have been eating lunch with him in the dining room and he is now going there on his own. Service and food is like a nice restaurant and quite a change from the tray in his room.

I am a much happier camper!

confusion and falls

This has been a difficult week. Jack has fallen a number of times with many bruises, bumps, cuts, and more confusion.

I don't know yet what is causing the problems. I don't know who the strange man is who lives in my husband's body. I have spent many hours during the middle of the night at the nursing home.. Have had all kinds of calls and now I dread the phone ringing.

During a great thunder storm I was called out this week because they thought maybe Jack should go to the emergency room. He had fallen at 2 am the day before and they thought maybe he was more injured than they thought. The pains were all old ones and he just really wanted to see me... see how I have spoiled him!

Sometimes he is perfectly fine and a bit later he is totally confused and talking about things that even I have difficulty putting in context. We take him to the wound center tomorrow. The nursing facility will send someone with me to help...bless them!

Times are difficult.. I know I can't bring him home like this...yet that is his and my greatest wish. But I want him safe and secure until the doctor dismisses him.

Good days and horrible days

I don't know what happened last Wednesday but when I went to get Jack to go to the wound clinic, another person was in his body.

I have never seen Jack so totally "out of it" in the years he has been ill. He could not navigate his power chair without assistance and that made him cross and sometimes down right angry. His eating habits were awful and I was shocked at how he was eating by putting his biscuit in his oatmeal and the butter on top of the oatmeal bowl cover.

That was just the beginning. I had put off his bath, etc. until the morning and he was not able to help me much with all the dressing and things we had to do to get ready. At the clinic he responded so differently they asked him if he knew where he was and he did respond correctly. This really frightened me and we cut part of our morning short so I could get him back to the nursing facility.

We discussed at the facility what could be wrong and they had changed one med which they said was only a pill he took when needed but they thought they might help him through some discomfort if they gave it to him on a regular basis. I have no idea what was wrong. They said they would contact his doctor and perhaps Jack would be better the next day.

That evening he called me and seemed his old self. He caught me crying and asked me why and I said it was just because I missed him so much. That was true. I missed the real person and Jack himself. This house is cold and empty when I am here alone.

The next morning he was fine and mentioned the previous day a couple of times because he realized something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what it was. I took him out yesterday and he was fine and hasn't shown any of the same actions since. But this is scary and painful to see changes like this.

This was a change that I was not expecting and it has really made me see that he is in a safe place and I could not have handled him alone at home in his condition.

I am beginning to think there are NO GOLDEN YEARS!

SNOW

Those of you in the east often see this white stuff but we don't get so much that we aren't a bit in awe at the clean beauty of snow.

But the darn stuff is cold and then it melts with the sleet and it is slick!

Jack is celebrating one month in the slammer! Or that is how he feels sometimes. I just called and said I would wait until the roads were safe before I came up to see him and he said take care of myself that he was snug as a bug. I asked about snow there and he said he could not see since his windows were frosted over. He has an excellent view of the interior court of the facility. There are birds, cats, people and interesting happenings there.

The resident has a visiting dog. Actually he belongs to the owners and since they are both working there or at least not at home, the dog has picked out a resident with a nice big blanket covered chair and sometimes does an over nighter. Darlene the resident came to the facilitiy with a broken hip and a pronouncement from the doctor that she probably would not walk much again. Well, she not only has recovered with the excellent care and help of the facility but is now helping others there. She has not returned to her home. She hasn't told me but I suspect she gave it up as well as her dogs and other pets. Now the visiting canine is her special friend.

Yesterday we tried a new adventure and visited a local restaurant with a handcap accessible rating...ha ha ha ha! Well we did get in and of course I had to use the suppliment I carry for thresholds that are too high. The place is "SWEET THANGS". No I didn't misspell that word. And it is as rednecked as it sounds. But their coffee, hot tea, and pecan pie are not too bad! And it was an outing, adventure, and we were out when the first rains hit! It hit like a raging storm and you couldn't see across the road. We left when we finished our repast and the rain had let up.

The day before we went to the HOBBY LOBBY. A place where you could spend a day and not see everything. There were having 50% off sale and things looked good. We bought some plastic easter eggs to stuff..... I have now stuffed 10 dozen for our church's Easter Egg Hunt. Of course I have made Jack stuff eggs, too!

The roads seem to be clearing so I am off to rescue the prisoner of Snyder! lol

Time passes.............

Tomorrow will be the first day of spring and Jack's third week at the nursing facility. He knows almost everyone there and their names, their kids' names, and all their life history! I am stretching that a bit but he has become well acquainted with many. He is like the father confessor and place to stop and chat. He has containers of sweets and anyone who has a sweet tooth can help themselves.

The staff have been very helpful. He became confused one night this week and ended up slipping out of his chair and onto the floor. He said three or four of the female staff grabbed him stood him up and put him right back in his chair. This man weighs 300 pounds and that was no small task. At home I would have had to call out emergency personnel.

We went to the wound clinic and took the "ride along" neighbor to drive. She was well compensated with $ as well as a good lunch at the Santa Fe Cattle Company Steak House. This restaurant has been so accommodating. Of course we try to plan our arrivals at a not quite as busy time if possible but the staff are quick to find a place where Jack is comfortable. And the food is really great. We have had opportunity to try a variety of the offerings on the menu.

Today we are going for a consultation with a surgeon for a fatty cyst. How big and how deep to see how to take it off of Jack's posterior. This will be the next big thing we have to do.

I took Jack a fan yesterday evening because it had turned so warm and his room had a breeze but a hot one. The fan did help as well as a cold drink and a pleasant visit! lol

Must begin the day, the list is long and and there is much to accomplish. When I am at home the phone rings and then the doorbell rings. I may be to go somewhere else to rest.

Cold Front

We have enjoyed such beautiful spring weather and now we have a bit of winter again. Still no rain. We are so desperate for some of that wet stuff.

The cold wind is blowing and I am by myself except for my 2 feline friends. One of our household went out Saturday morning and did not return and as well as he enjoy good food he must have met with foul play. We miss Herkie our youngest feline member. There are lots of playmates for him in Kitty Heaven.

Jack has had his touch of the flu bug... as I did since we have been at the nursing facility. It is almost impossible to miss it with so many sick. If we didn't get it there we certainly picked it up at a doctor's office. LOL This morning I had quite a job waiting for me when I arrived at the home. A good bath and took everything to the laundry to clean every blanket or pillow in the room.

We are not going to the wound clinic this week. The nurses at the home will change his dressings on the legs. Next week we will take a ride along with us to the clinic. I want to go to get the car tuned up tomorrow if possible and get Jack's phone checked. It keeps talking about the voice mail box not activitied and hangs up! LOL Jack is missing some calls.

This is such a change in my life. It is taking awhile to adjust just as it is taking Jack time to adjust. Both of us are learning to take one day at a time.

Caregiving never ceases

In the last 5 days I have been home only to sleep or feed the animals. Hope this evens out because I am really getting behind on so many things. For the first time I have lost a bill and have no idea where this has gone.. It is like the sox in the dryer. No clues!

Yesterday I had the car serviced...the first time since August. This has been my life for the last 6 months. I purchased Jack a cell phone and found that it works great but we have to figure out how to answer it... at least he didn't answer it last night! More inservice. Jack has never used a cell phone. I have always done this.

We went to Lawton and signed the guest book for a neighbor's grandmother. Won't even be able to go to the funeral. We are taking( at least that is our plan) Jack to the wound clinic. With both of us maybe we can do this. We have to find out what happens if we can't get him to those appointments until he is stronger.

I have done the bathing and pouch changing during the last 5 days. Until there is an inservice this is being done by me and in an emergency by a nurse only who is supposed to know how. The aides have pleaded no knowledge. Why not if you can get away with it! lol It has been fine with us but when I am not there... they will be in charge.

Jack's daughter has been here to stay with him during the days and that has been a big help in the transition. It will be really lonesome when she goes but he will have lots of people around him. Everyone has been great and so helpful. So far...so good. Jack's daughter is ok with where he is... that means a great deal also.

Well the day started at 4 so guess I am awake by now...have a pleasant day.

Caregiving in a care facility

My husband entered a care facility on Friday. Friends and neighbors helped move his personal furniture to the facility. Electric lift chair which he lives in (sleeps as well). Wheel chair, power chair, potty chair, things we thought he would want/need. This was not easy because as I find each day there are the little things that we take for granted to be at our finger tips at home.... are not there somewhere else. Well it has taken a couple of days but most wants are there. I am not lonesome here alone.....because I have been here so little of the time. Helping to transfer has really been a big time consumer on the road and at the facility.

Jack's daughter will arrive tomorrow and I hope her being with him all day will help me have time to do some things that have been pending for quite a while, like income tax, Mom's estate, my stepfather's estate, etc., etc., etc.

This is a difficult time for both of us. Thanks for your comments and encouragements.

Another milestone

Today Jack was taken to emergency room after a fall.
From the emergency room he went to a nursing facility. This is not a happy day.

continued...guess who hit the wrong key!

Saturdays are really great! People with jobs love the weekends.... if you are retired it is just like most other days! For us they are catch up days. I can never really get caught up but it means that there will probably be traffic through and the coffee pot is already on and the biscotti (chocolate collection) is ready. So I need to pick up and put away all the stuff that seems to be left out over night. We must have bad fairies that scatter our belongings during the dark hours.

Happy weekend to all of you.

Too much catnip!

New scratching board...lots of catnip on board....too much I am thinking! My computer mouse just hit the floor!

This is a brisk morning and the temperatures are in the 30's. Everyone is either still under the warm covers or running around bundled up. We are having enough wind to blow the chairs from the front porch. I had to go get them (still in the yard) but a distance to replace them stacked this time. Last night I decided to give the shop/barn/cat house a sweep, litter box cleaning,etc. Found a fairly large possum in one of the boxes taking his daily snooze. Interesting enough the cats didn't seem bothered but didn't bother him either!

St.Valentine's Day

This morning the to do list is long!
The first problem was giving the cat her capsule. Yesterday a neighbor insisted she could do it, but Goldie did not want that thing in her mouth!

This morning I had a capsule/pill thing that would work, hee hee was not designed for Goldie. Since he is better he can reject that capsule with more strength. Well, it took an expensive packet of tuna ,but Goldie ate all of her portion with medicine out of the capsule... and the others thought this was a real valentine treat!

There is a Valentine Dinner tonight that I have to cook for: 2 side dishes and dessert. Prescriptions from a nearby town and time to rest I hope. Didn't sleep very well last night. Some nights are better than others. We caregivers also always have lots of laundry!

If you know of a substitute for a telephone please advise. I want something that only lets those that I want to talk to get through...but to read my mind so to speak and decide which someones I want to talk to that day~ Today I have already had phone calls about people who want to come visit....yea! they called before they came.... more about the dinner tonight at the church...pepole asking me questions like why is the storm siren going off today, I had not heard it, called someone who is probably the one to ring it... don't know what those people heard but it wasn't the storm whistle! Guess the severe storms we have had... they are getting nervous and hearing things! Information about people in the hospital...etc. STOP PLEASE! I have work to do!

Busy weekend.. have a happy one!

All in a day's headache!

After calling three calls to the company Jack's prescription insurance decided to recognise him! Of course there was no problem in January but in February he was an unknown! Well, we become agressive phoners when there isn't any response! Again is this my job to keep these big companies on their toes?

My first cup of coffee and my computer mail hit me hard! A dear cousin of mine and niece of my mother's passed away this week. She was a very special person and we will all miss her. It has been four months but I had a lot of grief still stored up in me. Mom and I would have shared coffee and thoughts of her together.

Then I decided to take Goldie to the vet. He is the most affectionate of our house felines and has moped around and not eaten for a couple of days. Doctor found a probable infection and administered shot and antibiotics and an amazing amount of love and cuddling. And someone is always telling me to go to a cheaper vet. Well that is like taking your kids to a doctor that they don't like. Goldie is still moping but had some chicken broth and milk. Isn't chicken soup supposed to cure everything?

The wound clinic called and want Jack to have a complete battery of blood tests.......so at the crack of dawn we will head for the hospital and then out to breakfast at the 'CRACKER BARREL'. Haven't been there in years...but Jack wants to look at a large rocking chair. They display lots of rocking chairs on the porch of the restaurant.

Well, the day draws to a close.......heat goes on.............doors close and the world rests, sometimes.

And then there were the goats!

What an interesting morning to look out and see cats running in every direction. I could only imagine a pack of dogs that roam around town often. Nope these were goats. Not wild goats. Nope pets that wanted me to pet them, scratch their ears,etc. I wanted to get them out of the yard and home where ever they belonged. They were cute but a bit playful with their little horns and sharp hooves! I found someone who knew who they belonged to. When those little critters heard that familiar voice they took off before I saw anyone around. Well they had such a good time that they came back! But this time I knew if I called "Annie" the mommie goat the others would follow and of course they did right home and to the door of the owner! Now really is this my job?

Jack saw his cardiologist this week. A good report and took away the Plavix. It is so dangerous if there is a need for emergency surgery or an accident. So glad that is off the list of prescriptions.

Today we went to the wound clinic. The doctor asked why Jack's toes were all messed up. One with a blood blister and the other big toe loosing the nail... We said this is the parking lot here. The blacktop is so rough that Jack often hits his toes on the rough piles of blacktop where is itsn't smooth or at the entrance and exits of the ramps! He can't wear regular shoes to protect his toes because of the bandages and his toes just scrape the roadway often. Now again the medical field is the last to know how to prepare for the handicapped!

But the second graft of "baby foreskin" is doing well and the wounds are looking much better! Yea for some things!

Protesting.....writing letters..... complaining.... all these things are so slow to get results especially when a doctor owns the offices where the wound clinic is located. You would think they had better hearing for these problems. In fact the director of the wound clinic said Please do everything you can..... we have tried to get things done here!

Happy Valentines' Day!

When the cats are smarter than I am!

Last Friday Jack and I discussed the bales of hay I had in the yard and the fire danger. I agreed that they really needed to be removed but I was concerned because the Mama cat and the kittens were missing and when they came back their home would be gone... the other cats were adults and could fend for themselves, but it had to be done.

The neighbor boy wasn't home from school yet so I went to the shop/barn to get the old flyer wagon that mom had and there was the mama cat and the babies! Her look said it all.... how come it took you so long to find us! Well needless to say the 6 bales of hay... patio furniture and cat table created by the neighbors a couple of years ago were all moved to the barn/shop and all by this lady. My plan was not to leave anything that would encourage a cat to spend any time on the patio.

Of course I had plenty of help and the four legged inspectors checked each item, it's placement, the blankets, old pillows, boxes of hay, and compartments made by the bales, everything. All the feed containers and pans were placed around the room. The 10 litter boxes were cleaned and new litter added...... you know the bad weather hit that weekend.

Monday was so bad but we had a doctor's appointment so we started and two miles out of town our windshield was a sheet of ice.........time to turn around. We cancelled and made a new appointment. Schools are cancelled. Tuesday is so bad we called and cancelled the Wednesday appointment to only find the doctor's office would be closed and they would not have any patients that day. Schools are stilled closed. We tried for an appointment on Wednesday afternoon but roads are still bad. Finally we got an appointment for Thursday afternoon at 3:30.

I hired a ride along neighbor who really likes to drive so I let her! (smiles) The roads are fine but the parking lot where the clinic is located is filled with deep ice and snow. In fact the sidewalks in most places are not cleared and we were in a quandry about how to get Jack's motor chair into the clinic...our driver bless her goes in and gets people to move.... helps the laundry truck load and clear the way to use the handicap ramp....we down loaded Jack and had to help him because his chair was really beginning to skid and slide in the ice....but we made it... coming out at 5+ it is again frozen and icy... but the parking lot is cleared of cars and we pull the van right up to the sidewalk and onload Jack from there. Our driver was surprised to see the ramp was so versitile. Stopping for fast food was a real hazzard! And getting home at 7 was a nightmare of ice and slippery walking. But these vans are great.... I can outload Jack on the sidewalk at our door and then drive directly into the garage.

I had fed the felines extra at noon before we left and told them see you in the morning! LOL They were really waiting with eager appetites this morning....These strays and discards are really spoiled! I wonder if I could get a government grant to take care of these mouse, rat, and bird eaters...but then I probably would get in trouble because what they were catching and eating might be protected or endangered.... yeah, any of the above are endangered in this neighborhood.

Sunshine in the middle of winter.........

When you think of sunshine......I immediately think of the warm rays of the sun warming the chair where I sit or making patterns on the carpet.

To the handicapped it might mean an opportunity to get out without the frigid wind and cold temperatures. To the caregiver it means all an opportunity to just walk around the yard and inhale the freshness of the day.

Sunshine is also one of the best medicines to push away depression and heartache. My husband is often depressed because of the inability to do what he has always done and the lack of mobility to move where he would like to go. This morning I asked if he would like to go out into the sunshine for awhile. To move around in the yard and watch the feline residents at play.

He declined the invitation because of pain and general discomfort. Perhaps later in the day another opportunity will arise. A caregiver may feel such awakening and infusion of energy and strength in the sunshine but a patient doesn't always respond in the same manner. We have to wait and try again and hope for a change in emotional wellness.

Sunshine awakens the plants and brings new life upward and we all want the same thing for the patient. That feeling of renewal of life in the patient would be rewarding for both the caregiver and the patient. Just watching the felines that inhabit our yard you would think spring had arrived on the morning sunrise. The small kittens at play and the adults resting on the bales of hay that I have added to the yard in special places for windbreaks gives your heart a surge of good feeling.

Yes, you read that correctly. I have added bales of hay in places in the yard to provide windbreaks. Later this spring those bales of hay will retreat to the barn/shop and some will be broken up to add mulch to the flower beds. This is the first time I have purchased hay for the windbreaks but it seemed a good idea. I even like to go out and perch on a bale of hay and hold a cat or rub the back on another feline that is sitting beside me.

Just to keep the record straight. These are not my cats. They are the refuse of the unthinking people who give their children kittens and later abandon them to starvation or the wild animals. All I provide is an opening into the shop/barn so they can get away from dogs or other wild things, plenty of water (ice broken in the winter) and food (dry, canned, and table scraps). I have also constructed temperary shelters behind the trash cans and behind the hay and under benches so they are generally out of the wind and worst of the chill.

Yes, it is costly but the enjoyment and entertainment that is provided for my husband has far exceeded the cost in my estimation. We have had 2 males fixed! This I didn't know... that the males are the most affectionate of the sexes and make excellent house cats. My mother had a house cat that now lives mostly in the car garage because of her/his nasty attitude toward all others, sometimes even humans. That cats plenty of petting and attention when the other cats are not around. There is a young kitten that may also get to the vet soon because he has lived well with the other two. He came in originally because he was sick and has stayed a lot of time inside.

It has been a beautiful day. These are rare in the middle of winter. The sunshine has been warm and full bodied not thin and unfulfilling. Hope your sunshine has made you happy as well.

why visit the handicapped/NOT without a call first

Too often the doorbell rings or some knocks and the patient is in the middle of a bath or isn't feeling very well. For a while I used signs on the door and still do but people who just drop in have to realize some of these times are not good times.

The caregiver has to balance hospitality against patient welfare and at times this is difficult. I just love it when someone says," just go ahead with what you are doing I will set here and talk to you. Sure I am doing medications for the week and making mistakes are not the best for the patient. I always check each day to be sure the medications are correct. But it is inconvenient to always go get the med bag and redo a days medications.

"Just go ahead with what you are doing".... giving the patient a bath? No it isn't possible. We need space and sometimes we need things from the room where you are sitting and opening doors reduces privacy for the patient.

" Just go ahead with what you are doing", fixing the meal for the patient and his eating in front of you isn't always pleasant. Sometimes there are spills or other mishaps that are embarrassing. Besides I like to sit down and eat or have coffee with Jack when he is eating.

" Just go ahead with what you are doing." Taking a nap that you just woke me up from so I can be more alert tonight. Now I won't be able to finish the nap and the patient might have a cranky caregiver when awakened in the night! LOL

" Just go ahead with what you are doing". Well we were getting ready to go to the doctor and your sitting here talking to us makes the check list of things NOT to forget a little less effective. Besides we take about 10 minutes to finish up things and get into the car.... you are sitting in the way and I hate to say please leave so we can because we are on a tight schedule.

Is this only at our house? Sunday mornings are getting hectic. We have a drop in guest most Sundays who come for coffee and chat. This means I have to rush to get the house ready.. the coffee on... myself dressed for church.... Jack ready for the day....etc. Jack sometimes has a drop in guest that sits with him while I go to church, I need the coffee fresh and ready and something like coffee cake ready.

If people would just call ahead and ask how Jack is feeling and if it is convenient for them to drop by for coffee and chat.... I would be thrilled and I would seldom say no but I do wish people would respect our lifestyle. It is different from theirs and one day they may have the same frustrations.