Chapter 275 - Not Very Motivated
My motivation for recording information wanes. I procrastinate. I forget events, details.
Over a week ago we drove to Big Smoke for an early Xmas get-together with the Ugly Sisters and also to visit her aunt further north. Then on the Sunday we visited our grandchildren then stayed overnight in a motel, recommended by a friend, at which we will stay again because of a disabled parking space right at the door of the room, large double bed (its only defect, will ask for singles next time), large bathroom with all the correct grab rails in the correct places. She was even able to take her walker into the bathroom!! Such a relief after being in conventional homes for a couple of days, people have no idea how congested their bathrooms/toilet rooms are.
At long last the reason for her horror of travelling has been exposed. She fears being in an accident and trapped in the vehicle, unable to extricate herself due to her PD. She felt the same way seated in the rear seat as her brother-in-law drove us to see her aunt. She told me this while on the return trip home.
All in all, the trip was OK, the weather not too hot or humid for her, although she did a lot of tabbing of her face with tissues. Very happy with the motel room we decided to stay an extra day to wander the shops, but on Monday morning the thought of filling in the remainder of the day & evening after shopping changed our minds. After completing an hour's worth of shopping we headed home. I bought her two monitors to attach to her main laptop so she can see text better; and the original extra monitor on that laptop has been moved to her laptop attached to her embroidery machine.
Her feet & legs are freezing more often. As yesterday, she was unable to rise from doing patchwork even though her walker was within her reach. I attempted to assist her but even my help was unsatisfactory because she feared falling as she turned to move away from the chair. Difficult to describe, impossible to imagine that standing from a hard chair, twisting the body slightly, stepping one foot to move forward can be so difficult and dangerous - until one notices that her feet do not move even so slightly to assist with balance, heel does not rise, toes do not bend, knees remain in place in space.
Earlier in the week she sat on the shower chair for 40 minutes after she was able to move herself sideways off the toilet. She had not taken a CB with her, did not think to press the door bell mounted near the toilet, I suspect she yelled out a few times because something woke me.
As the bursitis in her left hip faded we did less massaging with Tiger Balm and a vibrator, until a few nights ago when she lay on her left side in bed too long, so her hip pain returned. Last night the left hip was massaged. She has not mentioned pain this morning.
The warm weather, her constant sweating ( she is usually sitting in front of a fan) has encouraged skin rash and itchiness on her left wrist whenever she wears the watch we bought a year or two ago. The old one that once belonged to her mother seems not to affect her, although its battery is flat, I can't open it ; the last time I did the battery was difficult to buy. So yesterday I browsed for information about the problem and was surprised to learn that it is usually caused by small percentages of nickel (even in "gold" and "stainless steel" bands) and I suppose aggravated by the corrosiveness of sweat. Today we will look for an all plastic banded watch, although I learned that even some plastics can cause the problem. What's so important about a watch? Just that it helps her take her meds on time, and other forms of time keeping such as a pinned on nurse's watch (she has one), mobile phone (she has one), tablet (she has one) are not nearly as convenient as a wrist watch. We were supposed to receive a meds alarm box from our PD group.
Two events may have an impact on her; her friend around the corner moved away north last week and the old bloke in PD denial who lives next door froze on the toilet for an hour or so, could not be moved by his wife and our village warden so was taken to hospital by ambulance and remains there. Not good for her to learn this.
Over a week ago we drove to Big Smoke for an early Xmas get-together with the Ugly Sisters and also to visit her aunt further north. Then on the Sunday we visited our grandchildren then stayed overnight in a motel, recommended by a friend, at which we will stay again because of a disabled parking space right at the door of the room, large double bed (its only defect, will ask for singles next time), large bathroom with all the correct grab rails in the correct places. She was even able to take her walker into the bathroom!! Such a relief after being in conventional homes for a couple of days, people have no idea how congested their bathrooms/toilet rooms are.
At long last the reason for her horror of travelling has been exposed. She fears being in an accident and trapped in the vehicle, unable to extricate herself due to her PD. She felt the same way seated in the rear seat as her brother-in-law drove us to see her aunt. She told me this while on the return trip home.
All in all, the trip was OK, the weather not too hot or humid for her, although she did a lot of tabbing of her face with tissues. Very happy with the motel room we decided to stay an extra day to wander the shops, but on Monday morning the thought of filling in the remainder of the day & evening after shopping changed our minds. After completing an hour's worth of shopping we headed home. I bought her two monitors to attach to her main laptop so she can see text better; and the original extra monitor on that laptop has been moved to her laptop attached to her embroidery machine.
Her feet & legs are freezing more often. As yesterday, she was unable to rise from doing patchwork even though her walker was within her reach. I attempted to assist her but even my help was unsatisfactory because she feared falling as she turned to move away from the chair. Difficult to describe, impossible to imagine that standing from a hard chair, twisting the body slightly, stepping one foot to move forward can be so difficult and dangerous - until one notices that her feet do not move even so slightly to assist with balance, heel does not rise, toes do not bend, knees remain in place in space.
Earlier in the week she sat on the shower chair for 40 minutes after she was able to move herself sideways off the toilet. She had not taken a CB with her, did not think to press the door bell mounted near the toilet, I suspect she yelled out a few times because something woke me.
As the bursitis in her left hip faded we did less massaging with Tiger Balm and a vibrator, until a few nights ago when she lay on her left side in bed too long, so her hip pain returned. Last night the left hip was massaged. She has not mentioned pain this morning.
The warm weather, her constant sweating ( she is usually sitting in front of a fan) has encouraged skin rash and itchiness on her left wrist whenever she wears the watch we bought a year or two ago. The old one that once belonged to her mother seems not to affect her, although its battery is flat, I can't open it ; the last time I did the battery was difficult to buy. So yesterday I browsed for information about the problem and was surprised to learn that it is usually caused by small percentages of nickel (even in "gold" and "stainless steel" bands) and I suppose aggravated by the corrosiveness of sweat. Today we will look for an all plastic banded watch, although I learned that even some plastics can cause the problem. What's so important about a watch? Just that it helps her take her meds on time, and other forms of time keeping such as a pinned on nurse's watch (she has one), mobile phone (she has one), tablet (she has one) are not nearly as convenient as a wrist watch. We were supposed to receive a meds alarm box from our PD group.
Two events may have an impact on her; her friend around the corner moved away north last week and the old bloke in PD denial who lives next door froze on the toilet for an hour or so, could not be moved by his wife and our village warden so was taken to hospital by ambulance and remains there. Not good for her to learn this.
posted by Kilpike | 9:12 am
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