The nursing home called...........Jack had a fall, but he was alright. He is one of the many patients that have a star on their wheel chairs or power chairs because they tend to fall. He had trouble sleeping and had been to the nurses' desk.........back to his room and from his power chair to his lift chair he lost his footing.
I have learned to listen to the nurses and if they say he is alright I take their word for it and he had not called me so I didn't go to the facility. Although I didn't go back to sleep. Later he complained of this hand hurting and today mobile x-ray came out to check out the hand.....all seems to be ok.
Don't we all sleep with one ear for the phone?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
When the phone rings..............
Is it just me... or does everyone who is a caregiver, or has someone in a nursing facility or hospital, just always think the worst?
I still feel like a caregiver because I am constantly monitoring my husband's progress, changes in behavior, reactions to medication, and general well-being.
Sometimes he calls ( and gratefully he can still use the cell phone) and he is just not himself and the next time he is jolly and full of a funny story. Today I just have one of those feelings that things are just not right but can't put a finger on it.
Maybe because it is a full moon and the hottest day we have had this year.........when the heat indext is 112 degrees you just feel different. However, I just wonder how he really is medically. Even doctors don't always understand how a disease progresses in each person.
When the phone rings I always just want to expect a positive call, perhaps that is always the best attitude.
GOODNESS IT IS HOT!
I still feel like a caregiver because I am constantly monitoring my husband's progress, changes in behavior, reactions to medication, and general well-being.
Sometimes he calls ( and gratefully he can still use the cell phone) and he is just not himself and the next time he is jolly and full of a funny story. Today I just have one of those feelings that things are just not right but can't put a finger on it.
Maybe because it is a full moon and the hottest day we have had this year.........when the heat indext is 112 degrees you just feel different. However, I just wonder how he really is medically. Even doctors don't always understand how a disease progresses in each person.
When the phone rings I always just want to expect a positive call, perhaps that is always the best attitude.
GOODNESS IT IS HOT!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Today....right now........that is the time!
Sometimes one begins to wonder about tomorrow........stop right there! Today is all that is important.
There will be good days when I can understand all that Jack is trying to communicate to me. There will be days when I have no clue. But the thing that he has never had trouble with are the words "I love you", and making that very plain.
There are times when we get so caught up in the 'what is' and 'what will' that we forget to just enjoy the 'just now'. A wise person told me once.........grab the moment and hold it close, that is the essence of memories.
I have spent so much time at the nursing facility the past year and a half that I feel I am a part of the building. The staff are good and try to do everything possible to make the residents comfortable. Sometimes we just are so focused on our loved one that forget that the patient needs to just be a part of the whole and not a "me".
I am learning to help Jack wait.........and waiting is difficult, but having every wish and whim immediately granted isn't good either. As the Parkinson's progresses the personality changes and impatience is the first emotional signpost I have been able to make out. Jack is impatient with himself as well when he can't communicate or move the way he wants.
I am also learning to judge what is fact and what is supposed fact. A good example is: Jack has just received his meds........a few minutes later he is complaining that they are late again with his meds.
From time to time I hear about the second story of the building and he has found how to get there. (There is no second story.) Sometimes I get call from Jack about a problem and after I drive 10 miles to the facility, he was mistaken, and greatly embarassed. Helping him through these painful times is just part of loving your spouse.
Most of all I am learning that showing LOVE is understood and communicated without any barriers in the mind. The brain can be a broken machine but the love cells still function.
The Oklahoma Irrigation story that you might have read in Patrict's blog was a reality but he would laugh that the irrigation ditches I dug that year are back and there is a constant drip into a large terricotta bowl and then there is the overflow under the elm trees for the "town cats" to lay in a cool damp place during the days of expreme heat warnings. These cast off animals are the furry things that keep my blood pressure low, my sense of humor in tact, and my cat food budget constantly strained. But my Mother (passed in 2008), and Jack constantly reminded me that these are God's creatures and not to let them starve............or get thirsty ..........or too hot! lol
There will be good days when I can understand all that Jack is trying to communicate to me. There will be days when I have no clue. But the thing that he has never had trouble with are the words "I love you", and making that very plain.
There are times when we get so caught up in the 'what is' and 'what will' that we forget to just enjoy the 'just now'. A wise person told me once.........grab the moment and hold it close, that is the essence of memories.
I have spent so much time at the nursing facility the past year and a half that I feel I am a part of the building. The staff are good and try to do everything possible to make the residents comfortable. Sometimes we just are so focused on our loved one that forget that the patient needs to just be a part of the whole and not a "me".
I am learning to help Jack wait.........and waiting is difficult, but having every wish and whim immediately granted isn't good either. As the Parkinson's progresses the personality changes and impatience is the first emotional signpost I have been able to make out. Jack is impatient with himself as well when he can't communicate or move the way he wants.
I am also learning to judge what is fact and what is supposed fact. A good example is: Jack has just received his meds........a few minutes later he is complaining that they are late again with his meds.
From time to time I hear about the second story of the building and he has found how to get there. (There is no second story.) Sometimes I get call from Jack about a problem and after I drive 10 miles to the facility, he was mistaken, and greatly embarassed. Helping him through these painful times is just part of loving your spouse.
Most of all I am learning that showing LOVE is understood and communicated without any barriers in the mind. The brain can be a broken machine but the love cells still function.
The Oklahoma Irrigation story that you might have read in Patrict's blog was a reality but he would laugh that the irrigation ditches I dug that year are back and there is a constant drip into a large terricotta bowl and then there is the overflow under the elm trees for the "town cats" to lay in a cool damp place during the days of expreme heat warnings. These cast off animals are the furry things that keep my blood pressure low, my sense of humor in tact, and my cat food budget constantly strained. But my Mother (passed in 2008), and Jack constantly reminded me that these are God's creatures and not to let them starve............or get thirsty ..........or too hot! lol
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