Chapter 199 - A New Toy

My intention was to regularly record her subjective levels of leg pain to show to our GP last Tuesday (the appointment had been for Thursday but the surgery brought it forward) but she was haphazard in making notes in the diary and I tended to forget and when I did remember to ask I felt I was causing her stress.

She had seen an advertisement from one of our local chemists for a device called a "Circulation Booster"; the sort of title that suggests quackery to me. On investigation, the device was seen to be a TENS machine designed for the feet. The chemist offered free demonstrations. So on Thursday before last we went to the chemist for her to try it out. The patient, while seated, places both bare feet on foot pads and controls the settings by a small remote control. As always happens, her problems were not bothering her at the time but all the same, what in my words was tension disappeared and she thought some swelling in her ankles eased. The chemist was very eager to sell us the device for $399 but she resisted (I was tempted to buy it on the spot, partly because I wanted to relieve her suffering but also because I feel guilty rejecting a concerted sales pitch). She had already found an on-line chemist selling the device for $299! She rang Medibank Private to learn that the cost would be covered by the Package Bonus scheme. To be certain though we asked the GP on Tuesday for a letter saying that the device will be beneficial for her. So I on-line ordered it from YourChemistShop, free postage, although I added $6 for insurance. Ordered on Wednesday, arrived Friday morning early. They even included the correct invoices to claim on Medibank Private. Fortunately she is more observant than I and after I had completed the claim form and sealed the envelope, she said "Medibank will reject that because it is all in your name and you don't have any Package Bonus left." Damn! An email to YourChemistShop for help - they are mailing invoices in her name.

Anyway, she has used the device each morning since, Friday, Saturday and today, Sunday. There was only minor pain each time she began a session and she says she has not had pain later each day. The only objective measure that I have is that she has not asked to use the treadmill. And she has not been shuffling about in pain.

Last Tuesday I had intended travelling to Big Smoke to visit a telecommunications museum. We debated my catching a train, driving, both of us staying overnight. Leaving her on her own for the day or taking her with me for a painful uncomfortable day were neither acceptable so I decided not to go. As it turned out, the GP's appointment was changed to Tuesday and was more important anyway.

After she told our GP of her problems since beginning Madopar HBS he gave her a prescription for Stalevo to see whether that will be better for her. She began Stalevo yesterday morning, replacing the 6am Madopar HBS. The GP said to replace each Madopar dose at a 3 day interval until she is entirely on Stalevo. Some years ago the neurologist in Hot Air City placed her on Stalevo which she stopped after having strange side effects, including tingling, creepy feelings in her scalp.

This week she has been busy making pot holders from embroidered squares she stitched over a couple of days. Yesterday afternoon she did not feel up to socialising at a small musical event at our local hall, although earlier in the week she seemed keen to go.

Chapter 198 - A Cruel Morning

I don't write much any more. Don't know why. She continues to have good days, bad days, some in between.

For several days now I have tried to encourage her to write in the desk diary kept on the kitchen bench top a subjective measure of her leg pains; 0 for no pain through to 10 for extreme. She has shown little enthusiasm for doing this. Yet this morning, hunted from bed by pain, she immediately wrote "10" against 08:30am and wanted to use the treadmill. We both shuffled into my sewing room (where the treadmill is kept); me shuffling backwards leading her by hand as she shuffles forward. I noted that on foot did not pass the other, her knees did not bend, her feet never left the floor. I thought she was not going to be able to lift her foot onto the track of the treadmill. Commencing at 0.1 KM/hr and gradually increasing to 3.5, I wondered what the difference was between her shuffling her feet painful and almost striding, still painfully on the treadmill. After about 5 minutes she was able to step off the treadmill, and walk, if short of striding, away.

The highest pain level she recorded on previous days was 7.

She made herself some micro-waved rolled oats for breakfast and returned to a baby's quilt she has been making. She decided against taking a shower just then. At 10:00am she recorded a pain level of 8 and wanted to treadmill again. I always help her on and off, and stand close while she is on the machine.

At 11:00 she took the Madopar HBS and soon after thought she should shower. Pain level was 4 but she was very stiff. She called me on the CB to help her after showering. I needed to dry her in the bathroom. Sitting on the side of her bed she was unable to lift her feet off the floor to place them in her incontinence bloomers while holding them. So I had to kneel down to hold the bloomers so her feet would work. She needed help even then pulling up bloomers & slacks and some help with bra & top.

She rang for an appointment with our doctor, but there are none available until next Wednesday week. She needs new meds prescriptions and to discuss the ineffectiveness of Madopar HBS and the resulting leg pain.

By 12:00 noon her pain level was 0 but she was very stiff and shuffled her way to the toilet, from which she had difficulty rising and needed my help to pull up her bloomers and slacks.

Sometime mid-morning I on-line ordered some batteries and hardware for my metal detector. I went out to speak to her, saying, "I shouldn't have postponed doing that", meaning that I should have ordered the parts earlier in the week. She jumped to the conclusion that I was inferring that I had not used the metal detector in a long time (years actually) because she was not in a condition to travel with me to use the metal detector. She sobbed "I am sorry for being a burden to you."

Well, a shit of a morning can only improve.