Chapter 245 - A Short Fall
A few weeks ago she visited her neurologist in Hot Air City. He gave her the usual cursory check up, suggesting she try Sifrol ER 4.5 once a day each morning rather than the three Sifrol 1.0 because she has been having problems with OFF times and diskynesia. She was not keen on the change even though there may have been a benefit with the slow release (ER) version. Our local chemist had to order the Sifrol ER. Almost immediately she complained that the Sifrol was "not working". It's hard to determine what she means by "not working". Outwardly, there were no noticeable changes. She worked almost continuously on a double bed quilt for one of the Ugly Sisters, having to do the quilting by hand because there was too much volume to fit the quilt beneath the sewing machine. She attended her weekly physio sessions at the hospital and her weekly "Sheltered Workshop" (others refer to it by its correct title "Day Respite") to which she goes with examples of her sewing and makes repairs to teddy bears etc. while there. She has been involved in Tai-Chi exercises there, an activity she has tried before & rejected because she feels too unstable, yet has found the exercises done to a DVD presentation to be worthwhile, so we ordered the DVD's on line, they arrived, she is yet to use them at home.
Yesterday, needing some bias binding for the double bed quilt, I suggested she come with me to buy some after I paid my garage service bill. She was somewhat out of sorts. In her favourite local junk shop to buy the bias binding & some fabric she found she needed to be seated while the fabric was cut (I had forgotten to put her walker in the truck). The considerate shop attendant went looking for a chair for her, didn't find one, so just delayed the whole transaction. She was relieved to return home.
I was in my sewing room a short time after arriving home. I heard a thump noise and took no notice. Then a neighbour, who was visiting for a chat with her, came to my door "She's had a fall!". She was on the floor, on her side, blood down the front of her blouse, blood drops scattered across the ant-static mat beneath her desk, blood flowing from the back of her head. While still on the floor, a handful of tissues to her head, I changed her blouse, she wiped up the blood on the floor. There were no pains, her head did not ache, through the blood matted hair I could not see how bad the wound was. I rang the Procedures Room at our local clinic and was advised to take her to the hospital emergency. Although a little shaky, she was able to stand & walk OK.
At Emergency the triage nurse saw her almost immediately, wrapped bandage around her head, which was hardly bleeding by then. She seems to remember that her blood pressure was 80-something over 50! Within a few minutes she was seen by a doctor, a sports doctor he told us, first time in our town, earning extra funds after returning from several years overseas to discover he was no longer registered to practice in Oz so had been unemployed for 3 months while the bureaucrats processed his paper work. He knew nothing about PD, from his query whether Sifrol ER was for blood pressure. However, he suggested that since she had not been doing well on the Sifrol ER, and since she had only been taking it for a couple of weeks, perhaps she should return to the ordinary Sifrol three times a day until the next time she saw the neurologist. He put 3 stitches in the wound.
Only yesterday she had decided to discontinue Sifrol ER anyway, so I printed out a table for her to record on-off times for one day to show to the neurologist. That won't happen now for Sifrol ER. A shame, because I'm sure showing a documented list of observations is much better than verbalising vague memories weeks later at the next appointment.
At home after Emergency she seemed OK, eating a normal meal. She spent an uncomfortable night, propped up with pillows, partly because she feared disturbing the wound. The only head pain she has had was some stinging after the local anaesthetic wore off. This morning she mentioned an ache in her left hip, although there are no signs of bruising anywhere. As she sat on the side of her bed I noticed her spit some phlegm into a tissue. When asked what she was doing she replied "Just spitting out a bit of blood." I began to freak! She says it comes from the back of her nose, although then when she blew her nose there was no sign of blood. It has happened before; she thinks it nothing to be concerned about. We need to make appointments for 'flu shots so that unusual behaviour will be mentioned to the doctor.
Last Saturday I took her with me to a talk about bee keeping (just interesting, not that we are interested in bee keeping). A woman noticed me serving her with some afternoon tea nibbles; then later when the woman noticed her serving herself, the woman approached me to check whether it was OK for her to do so!! Then the woman sat with her, discussing PD and relating how at least one of her forbears died of it. There is a continuum between concern, thoughtfulness, caring & ignorance.
I almost forgot. Several weeks ago she mentioned that a blemish on her left leg diametrically opposite the melanoma crater had turned black. Immediately off to see the stand in for our normal doctor (overloaded with other people's appointments) we were told that it didn't look serious. We were adamant to be referred to the surgeon who had removed the previous melanoma. A week later, by which time the blackness had disappeared leaving the usual brown colour behind, she was able to see him. He did not think it serious but decided to take a biopsy. So a few days later she had 3 holes dug in the blemish. A week later the verdict was given in 3 or 4 multi-syllabled words including "pre-cancerous" (I imagine that may apply to our whole physical bodies?) so she will return once the biopsy damage has healed whereupon the entire blemish will be frozen to death.
At our PD meeting last week a friend mentioned that she was trialling Lumosity, an on-line brain-training programme. The friend has a family history of dementia & alzheimer’s. I investigated the site so we are now both subscribed for a year, each day doing mental exercises that tend to cause a scalp tightening feeling in my head. The stress must be doing me good. She does not comment much, not needing encouragement to exercise.
Yesterday, needing some bias binding for the double bed quilt, I suggested she come with me to buy some after I paid my garage service bill. She was somewhat out of sorts. In her favourite local junk shop to buy the bias binding & some fabric she found she needed to be seated while the fabric was cut (I had forgotten to put her walker in the truck). The considerate shop attendant went looking for a chair for her, didn't find one, so just delayed the whole transaction. She was relieved to return home.
I was in my sewing room a short time after arriving home. I heard a thump noise and took no notice. Then a neighbour, who was visiting for a chat with her, came to my door "She's had a fall!". She was on the floor, on her side, blood down the front of her blouse, blood drops scattered across the ant-static mat beneath her desk, blood flowing from the back of her head. While still on the floor, a handful of tissues to her head, I changed her blouse, she wiped up the blood on the floor. There were no pains, her head did not ache, through the blood matted hair I could not see how bad the wound was. I rang the Procedures Room at our local clinic and was advised to take her to the hospital emergency. Although a little shaky, she was able to stand & walk OK.
At Emergency the triage nurse saw her almost immediately, wrapped bandage around her head, which was hardly bleeding by then. She seems to remember that her blood pressure was 80-something over 50! Within a few minutes she was seen by a doctor, a sports doctor he told us, first time in our town, earning extra funds after returning from several years overseas to discover he was no longer registered to practice in Oz so had been unemployed for 3 months while the bureaucrats processed his paper work. He knew nothing about PD, from his query whether Sifrol ER was for blood pressure. However, he suggested that since she had not been doing well on the Sifrol ER, and since she had only been taking it for a couple of weeks, perhaps she should return to the ordinary Sifrol three times a day until the next time she saw the neurologist. He put 3 stitches in the wound.
Only yesterday she had decided to discontinue Sifrol ER anyway, so I printed out a table for her to record on-off times for one day to show to the neurologist. That won't happen now for Sifrol ER. A shame, because I'm sure showing a documented list of observations is much better than verbalising vague memories weeks later at the next appointment.
At home after Emergency she seemed OK, eating a normal meal. She spent an uncomfortable night, propped up with pillows, partly because she feared disturbing the wound. The only head pain she has had was some stinging after the local anaesthetic wore off. This morning she mentioned an ache in her left hip, although there are no signs of bruising anywhere. As she sat on the side of her bed I noticed her spit some phlegm into a tissue. When asked what she was doing she replied "Just spitting out a bit of blood." I began to freak! She says it comes from the back of her nose, although then when she blew her nose there was no sign of blood. It has happened before; she thinks it nothing to be concerned about. We need to make appointments for 'flu shots so that unusual behaviour will be mentioned to the doctor.
Last Saturday I took her with me to a talk about bee keeping (just interesting, not that we are interested in bee keeping). A woman noticed me serving her with some afternoon tea nibbles; then later when the woman noticed her serving herself, the woman approached me to check whether it was OK for her to do so!! Then the woman sat with her, discussing PD and relating how at least one of her forbears died of it. There is a continuum between concern, thoughtfulness, caring & ignorance.
I almost forgot. Several weeks ago she mentioned that a blemish on her left leg diametrically opposite the melanoma crater had turned black. Immediately off to see the stand in for our normal doctor (overloaded with other people's appointments) we were told that it didn't look serious. We were adamant to be referred to the surgeon who had removed the previous melanoma. A week later, by which time the blackness had disappeared leaving the usual brown colour behind, she was able to see him. He did not think it serious but decided to take a biopsy. So a few days later she had 3 holes dug in the blemish. A week later the verdict was given in 3 or 4 multi-syllabled words including "pre-cancerous" (I imagine that may apply to our whole physical bodies?) so she will return once the biopsy damage has healed whereupon the entire blemish will be frozen to death.
At our PD meeting last week a friend mentioned that she was trialling Lumosity, an on-line brain-training programme. The friend has a family history of dementia & alzheimer’s. I investigated the site so we are now both subscribed for a year, each day doing mental exercises that tend to cause a scalp tightening feeling in my head. The stress must be doing me good. She does not comment much, not needing encouragement to exercise.
posted by Kilpike | 9:44 am
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