Chapter 280 - Sweaty Times
A hot month since I last wrote. Frequently have I made mental notes worth recording yet they are now forgotten, encouraged by my hesitation to write, not wishing to pick at soreness.
For most days and nights she has sat in the draft of a fan. Everywhere she may sit or work a fan can be directed at her to cool her upper body. Especially when her tremors are bad. Her hair becomes stringy and dark as if she has been under a shower. She repeatedly mops her face with tissues before one day asking for a damp face washer, items we tend not to use in our house. Her clothes are damp all day; when she takes them off at night I dislike touching, holding them as I take them to the clothes basket in the bathroom. Whether she has odour I am unable to tell; my smelling ability is very poor, unlike hers which for a Parky is excellent.
She has continual leg ache and pains; much due to cramping, although we are both confused about how to describe it. She repeatedly applies Ice Gel but when I massage her legs I prefer Tiger Balm oil and the small hand held vibrator. The round feet of the vibrator required glueing back on because the plastic attachments had broken off; I was unable to by another. A few days ago after seeing her in tears and hobbling ..............
Interrupted by a call on the CD "Help! I'm in trouble!!" She was stooped at right angles, holding one of the vertical rails at the side of the shower, still in her nightie, standing on the bath mat "I need the shower chair" which I positioned for her, helped her out of the nighties onto the chair then handed her the shower head on its flexible hose. When she finished washing herself I helped her dry, then to her trolley, then into the bedroom and before she sat down, into her incontinence pants, her bottom wobbling all the while, then quickly before she had to sit down, into her slacks. She put on her bra and blouse. Before I left her she needed two firm pillows placed under her feet to reduce the tremors, needed her trolley with all her stuff, meds & water close by, as she said "I may need to sit here for half an hour."
.......................... and mentioning cramps I wondered whether her excessive sweating and almost constant leg tremors, her head and shoulders are usually rhythmically wobbling as well, may reduce her salt levels excessively, since we eat no added salt with meals. So when we last went shopping I asked at the chemist and bought some pills to be added to water. She began taking it several days ago but I'm unsure whether she is getting any relief. Last night she used the commode a number of times and between 6AM & 7AM she went 3 (or was it 4?) while I massaged her legs - she thought the vibrations encouraged the urge.
Yesterday was a cool day, and friends asked us to join them at lunch at the club, and she went in a blouse, whereas I wore a jacket, not that I felt cold, yet it was cool. Her sweating was reduced as well. While we were seated at the table I could not help but notice that three of us were quite still, slight facial movement as we spoke but her head and shoulders were in continual slow motion, no one else noticed.
She is now involved in dressing baskets for sale at her "sheltered workshop". I enquired of the manager last Tuesday whether she may attend on other days should I need to be involved with our Curmudgeons Computer Club and was told "That's not a problem, anytime" yet I am yet to speak to her.
Several times (not today) a shower chair with wheels would have helped her shower and return to the bedroom, rather than transfer her onto and from the shower chair to her walker or wheel chair.
Lately she has called me maybe 4 or 5 times during the day to assist her get out of an awkward position to go to the loo, get to a more comfortable chair. Just now she again called me for help. She was seated at the kitchen table "I had to make it to here (from the bedroom) to call you because we had left the CB radio looped (on its lanyard) on a shower rail.". She needed a full bottle of water and the security of the CB to be able to call me easily.
I had mentioned placing duct tape zebra crossing wise on the floor to help her movement forward. She sometimes had difficulty seeing the grey tape. In Coles one day I saw rolls of bright yellow tape, bought a few and extended her zebra crossings which she saw much more clearly. So I bought more rolls and replaced all the grey duct tape on both carpet and timber floors. I had wondered how effective the tape was for her until the other day I was leading her around the kitchen table by walking backwards guiding her trolley, when she said "Can you move out of the way, I'm unable to see the yellow lines." I now know the lines are useful to her.
For most days and nights she has sat in the draft of a fan. Everywhere she may sit or work a fan can be directed at her to cool her upper body. Especially when her tremors are bad. Her hair becomes stringy and dark as if she has been under a shower. She repeatedly mops her face with tissues before one day asking for a damp face washer, items we tend not to use in our house. Her clothes are damp all day; when she takes them off at night I dislike touching, holding them as I take them to the clothes basket in the bathroom. Whether she has odour I am unable to tell; my smelling ability is very poor, unlike hers which for a Parky is excellent.
She has continual leg ache and pains; much due to cramping, although we are both confused about how to describe it. She repeatedly applies Ice Gel but when I massage her legs I prefer Tiger Balm oil and the small hand held vibrator. The round feet of the vibrator required glueing back on because the plastic attachments had broken off; I was unable to by another. A few days ago after seeing her in tears and hobbling ..............
Interrupted by a call on the CD "Help! I'm in trouble!!" She was stooped at right angles, holding one of the vertical rails at the side of the shower, still in her nightie, standing on the bath mat "I need the shower chair" which I positioned for her, helped her out of the nighties onto the chair then handed her the shower head on its flexible hose. When she finished washing herself I helped her dry, then to her trolley, then into the bedroom and before she sat down, into her incontinence pants, her bottom wobbling all the while, then quickly before she had to sit down, into her slacks. She put on her bra and blouse. Before I left her she needed two firm pillows placed under her feet to reduce the tremors, needed her trolley with all her stuff, meds & water close by, as she said "I may need to sit here for half an hour."
.......................... and mentioning cramps I wondered whether her excessive sweating and almost constant leg tremors, her head and shoulders are usually rhythmically wobbling as well, may reduce her salt levels excessively, since we eat no added salt with meals. So when we last went shopping I asked at the chemist and bought some pills to be added to water. She began taking it several days ago but I'm unsure whether she is getting any relief. Last night she used the commode a number of times and between 6AM & 7AM she went 3 (or was it 4?) while I massaged her legs - she thought the vibrations encouraged the urge.
Yesterday was a cool day, and friends asked us to join them at lunch at the club, and she went in a blouse, whereas I wore a jacket, not that I felt cold, yet it was cool. Her sweating was reduced as well. While we were seated at the table I could not help but notice that three of us were quite still, slight facial movement as we spoke but her head and shoulders were in continual slow motion, no one else noticed.
She is now involved in dressing baskets for sale at her "sheltered workshop". I enquired of the manager last Tuesday whether she may attend on other days should I need to be involved with our Curmudgeons Computer Club and was told "That's not a problem, anytime" yet I am yet to speak to her.
Several times (not today) a shower chair with wheels would have helped her shower and return to the bedroom, rather than transfer her onto and from the shower chair to her walker or wheel chair.
Lately she has called me maybe 4 or 5 times during the day to assist her get out of an awkward position to go to the loo, get to a more comfortable chair. Just now she again called me for help. She was seated at the kitchen table "I had to make it to here (from the bedroom) to call you because we had left the CB radio looped (on its lanyard) on a shower rail.". She needed a full bottle of water and the security of the CB to be able to call me easily.
I had mentioned placing duct tape zebra crossing wise on the floor to help her movement forward. She sometimes had difficulty seeing the grey tape. In Coles one day I saw rolls of bright yellow tape, bought a few and extended her zebra crossings which she saw much more clearly. So I bought more rolls and replaced all the grey duct tape on both carpet and timber floors. I had wondered how effective the tape was for her until the other day I was leading her around the kitchen table by walking backwards guiding her trolley, when she said "Can you move out of the way, I'm unable to see the yellow lines." I now know the lines are useful to her.
posted by Kilpike | 10:05 am
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