Chapter 98 - How Unpredictable It Is!

I would not call yesterday a "bad" day for her; just her normal swill of symptoms. Last night she went to bed after me, I was asleep. I can't recall whether she called me or whether I woke to her struggles at 1am. She had been in & out of bed 3 times attempting to position herself, for this is how she gets into a comfortable position to sleep. And the more attempts, the greater the tension, the stronger the tremors, the more rigid her legs. "I can't keep my feet in bed" she says when I ask about her problems. I leave my bed, grasp her legs, which are straight & stiff, swing them like poles over the edge of the bed. I have her link her arms around my neck then tilt her into a sitting position. I loop the lifting belt over her shoulders and haul her to her feet. I need to stand there holding her while she "finds" her feet. I tap her feet with mine. Gradually I feel her body adjust to balance itself. She then shuffles about six steps to turn half a circle to face her bed; says "I'll try facing the other way", meaning she needs to face the window. I'm squatting on my haunches to lift her left foot which won't move. Suddenly it lifts, I grasp her ankle thus lifting her knee over the edge of the bed, push her foot forward so that her knee slides on the satin overlay toward the middle of the bed. She topples forward, too quickly, her face dives into the pillow, I say I'm sorry, trying not to laugh. I ask whether that's OK as I position her legs stiff as poles again and pull the doona over her. "It will do" she replies although I'm aware she won't be comfortable. I want to return under my own bedclothes. It's cold. I just settle under my cooling bedclothes as she calls out "It's no good!" We go through the same dance steps, although this time her right knee goes first so that she lays on her right side. She nose dives again. That usually doesn't happen. I return to my bed. Drifting away I hear her say "No, I must get up & sit outside." I help her into her dressing gown and to her favourite chair. The "My Bid Fat Greek Wedding" DVD is started; light entertainment when she doesn't wish for entertainment.

In the morning she tells me she came to bed at 2:30am. I help her up to the loo and then she takes her 6am meds. Then into bed again. We wake at 9am, takes her meds, I help her into bed twice. Her legs are "glued" together, tremors, stressed, so out to the chair again and takes 2 Panomax. She skips breakfast. At 11am she says she is very tired when I find her still in her chair with her legs straight out in front yet with both feet not resting on the floor.

When I check at noon she is sound asleep in bed. Again at 1pm. At 2pm she appeared looking somewhat refreshed. Yet from 4:30 - 5:30 she was asleep in her chair. I cooked a large meal of fish (since she had missed lunch) which she ate without problems. She is now watching "You've Got Mail" while waiting for her exotic Asian cooking programme to begin. She is still in her dressing gown.

The type of night & day we have just experienced is tending to make us fearful of making commitments to visit or have friends in. Although I still accept invitations to visit ad hoc when I realise I shouldn't. A week or so ago we were intent of going to Hot Air City one morning but I turned around for home before we left our town.

I always attempt to rationalise our behavior to seek the causes for a night & day as we have just experienced. Last week I spent a lot of time troubleshooting a neighbour's wireless network to convince our ISP that the neighbour needed a replacement router. Yesterday afternoon the neighbour gave me a quality box of chocolates in gratitude (not a bottle of Merlot since such delicacies are eschewed in that household). So after the evening meal last night we tucked into these lovely chocolates with cream centres, at least half a dozen each. Other than the chocolates, our food and activities were as normal as they can be yesterday. Chocolates, do you think? I now face the dilemma, experiment with another chocfest for 2 tomorrow night or eat the remainder myself? It will be cruel to put her through the same trauma again. Merlot would have been so much simpler.