Chapter 94 - A Few Notes

In my last chapter I forgot to mention an interesting example of how she views her surroundings. As I often do when we take short overnight trips, on our recent excursion north I had forgotten to pack an extension cord to power my CPAP machine from the usual single power point that one finds located far from the bed in the far corner of a motel room. So I had to reposition my bed for the night and returned it before breakfast the next morning. In doing so, I dislodged her bed at an angle to the wall, maybe 100mm on one side, it wasn't square to the wall. On coming out of the bathroom she realised the crookedness of the bed's position, froze and demanded that I correct it. The same has happened at home with smaller pieces of furniture that I have dislodged while cleaning or whatever. She never used to be bothered by such matters.

This morning as she sat on the side of her bed at home she asked for help to rise. She was not sitting squarely on the bed, her legs were at an angle of maybe 20 degrees to edge. Without assistance she was stranded there.

The reason she was in that position was because she had sat up after I had her lay on the bed for me to place drops in her eyes - well, near her eyes. A few weeks ago the optometrist gave her eye drops because her eyes were very dry; another consequence of PD causing less frequent blinking. The optometrist had commented that her eyes were very "tight". I have to agree; I failed when I attempted to pull back her eyelids to apply the drops, I would have hurt her had I continued pulling at her eyelids. So the only way to overcome the problem is for her to lay on her back, drop drops on her eyelashes and leave her to blink a little. Enough enters the eyes to be helpful.

After her hour & a half of physio each Thursday she walks almost briskly. I only wish we were pain loving people that love to exercise. We both need exercise; she for her PD and me because I feel age creeping into my joints (pretty well everywhere).

Several weeks ago she decided to take extra Inderal, originally prescribed to reduce tremor a long time ago. So in addition to the Inderal she takes with Sinemet CR at 9am & 7pm, she takes another Inderal at 2pm and another around 2am or thereabouts when she wakes. She thinks her tremors are less. I would like to believe that the tremor of her chin has reduced.

I notice that she is stooping more and even when seated in her favourite chair reading. I have thought her asleep at times when her head has been hanging well forward, yet she was reading a book on her lap. At least watching TV keeps her head more erect. Sometimes she totters along with a small toe stepping walk while stooped after rising from her chair.