Chapter 163 - Just a Game
Days flow by with little need for comment. One notices and remembers the bad times yet not the good. She has commented occasionally about back pain. She sleeps well. The blood blister that formed on the blemish on her leg has faded away. Our GP sent her for an ultra-sound of her kidney area (for that is what detected the problem with her right kidney some years ago) and that was clear according to the report, although she has not yet spoken to the GP about it. She continues to produce embroidery pieces most days. We have not been anywhere, local friends have called occasionally, her sister & co called in the other day on the way home from holiday & on Saturday we visited them & others at the caravan park where they all go religiously each Easter. Yesterday she did 4 loads of washing, on her own she reminded me. She has occasionally ventured forth with her walker to visit neighbours in our village. So at the moment, her increased dose of Sifrol must be about the ideal for her.
Strangely though, whenever I suggest we contact the government organisation that vets people for various degrees of community assistance, she freaks. She becomes visibly upset. Says she doesn't wish to go into respite. Well over a year ago we were interviewed by a couple of ladies who assessed us as being entitled to emergency low level care. I wanted some confidence that she would have some care if I were to be called north to my octogenarian mother or was laid up in hospital. I discovered recently that the assessment only lasted 12 months so we need to renew it yet she won't have a bar of it. I accept this as a sign that she feels better in herself than a year or so ago. I probably mentioned earlier that I cancelled the trip to Cane Toad country where we were to attend a convention and then decided not to go to a trade show up there as well when her melanoma wound was healing and she was obviously not in a holidaying travelling condition.
She continues her weekly physio sessions at the hospital. She has even enticed a friend as well as a new member to our PD Support Group to go along as well. Although, since the melanoma job, she has not done as much exercising at home as she had prior.
Hearing that our daughter's family bought a Nintendo Wii console, with Sports and Fit, then hearing about an academic on the north coast (he didn't answer my phone call that we were interested in joining his research project) researching the benefits of this form of exercise for PWP's I decided to buy the toys for ourselves. After I researched the meanings of all the silly words. I ordered it on line where the price was cheaper but took ages to be delivered because the Fit board has limited availability to this my favourite on-line outlet. Anyway, that's another long, non-PD story. We have had the Wii for 12 days now, using it each evening. I hope the novelty does not fade. We were offended that the rotten machine declared both of us "obese" and that our physical ages were quite a few years into the future! She is bothered by the "fail" statements when she does not perform well and the expressions of defeat on the faces of her Mii. I suppose the comments, the expressions of failure and the ranking of scores are meant to inspire players to greater levels of skill but overall they are depressive and upsetting to someone striving against a disability.
She avoids some Wii exercises too likely to cause her to lose her balance. She was very frustrated that she is unable to swivel her hips for the hoola hoop exercise and is now somewhat comforted to learn that both her sisters are hoola hoop incompetents as well. Genetics or childhood training? Her balance, according to her Wii scores, is improving. We usually play a couple of games of 10 pin bowling each session. At first she was unable to swing her arm appropriately to be accepted by the Wii so she became quite upset as the machine ruled her swing out of order. Strangely though, in those early games when she found it almost impossible to release the "ball" correctly, when she did bowl correctly she frequently bowled strikes, in one game 6 in a row!!! Now that she has become competent in swinging her arm, she rarely gains a strike. From frustration to frustration, since in our last few games I have beaten her by a handful of points. I have noticed that as she swings her right arm she steps forward with her right leg - most strange.
For the past week she has been disturbed that we have a mouse in the house, one that is able to eat large quantities of Ratsak, not trip a mechanical trap and avoids my "patented" mouse electrocution box. I must go down the street and buy several better conventional traps this morning to kill the thing before she has an accident whenever she jumps in fear whenever she notices the animal zipping behind the furniture. May our problems be no greater than this.
Strangely though, whenever I suggest we contact the government organisation that vets people for various degrees of community assistance, she freaks. She becomes visibly upset. Says she doesn't wish to go into respite. Well over a year ago we were interviewed by a couple of ladies who assessed us as being entitled to emergency low level care. I wanted some confidence that she would have some care if I were to be called north to my octogenarian mother or was laid up in hospital. I discovered recently that the assessment only lasted 12 months so we need to renew it yet she won't have a bar of it. I accept this as a sign that she feels better in herself than a year or so ago. I probably mentioned earlier that I cancelled the trip to Cane Toad country where we were to attend a convention and then decided not to go to a trade show up there as well when her melanoma wound was healing and she was obviously not in a holidaying travelling condition.
She continues her weekly physio sessions at the hospital. She has even enticed a friend as well as a new member to our PD Support Group to go along as well. Although, since the melanoma job, she has not done as much exercising at home as she had prior.
Hearing that our daughter's family bought a Nintendo Wii console, with Sports and Fit, then hearing about an academic on the north coast (he didn't answer my phone call that we were interested in joining his research project) researching the benefits of this form of exercise for PWP's I decided to buy the toys for ourselves. After I researched the meanings of all the silly words. I ordered it on line where the price was cheaper but took ages to be delivered because the Fit board has limited availability to this my favourite on-line outlet. Anyway, that's another long, non-PD story. We have had the Wii for 12 days now, using it each evening. I hope the novelty does not fade. We were offended that the rotten machine declared both of us "obese" and that our physical ages were quite a few years into the future! She is bothered by the "fail" statements when she does not perform well and the expressions of defeat on the faces of her Mii. I suppose the comments, the expressions of failure and the ranking of scores are meant to inspire players to greater levels of skill but overall they are depressive and upsetting to someone striving against a disability.
She avoids some Wii exercises too likely to cause her to lose her balance. She was very frustrated that she is unable to swivel her hips for the hoola hoop exercise and is now somewhat comforted to learn that both her sisters are hoola hoop incompetents as well. Genetics or childhood training? Her balance, according to her Wii scores, is improving. We usually play a couple of games of 10 pin bowling each session. At first she was unable to swing her arm appropriately to be accepted by the Wii so she became quite upset as the machine ruled her swing out of order. Strangely though, in those early games when she found it almost impossible to release the "ball" correctly, when she did bowl correctly she frequently bowled strikes, in one game 6 in a row!!! Now that she has become competent in swinging her arm, she rarely gains a strike. From frustration to frustration, since in our last few games I have beaten her by a handful of points. I have noticed that as she swings her right arm she steps forward with her right leg - most strange.
For the past week she has been disturbed that we have a mouse in the house, one that is able to eat large quantities of Ratsak, not trip a mechanical trap and avoids my "patented" mouse electrocution box. I must go down the street and buy several better conventional traps this morning to kill the thing before she has an accident whenever she jumps in fear whenever she notices the animal zipping behind the furniture. May our problems be no greater than this.
posted by Kilpike | 6:25 am
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