Chapter 304 - Is Life Getting Harder?
Some mornings I have returned to the bedroom to find her standing at her bedside crying in pain. Her legs and feet.
She has stopped taking Metamusil in fruit juice each evening but there seems little change in her nocturnal frequency. For instance last night, 4 times on the commode after going to bed at 11pm.
Last night I was very tired so went to bed just before 10pm. She needed to stay up until her 10pm meds kicked in enough so she would not be too uncomfortable in bed an hour later. She only woke me for help once, but see below.
Lately she does not wake me very often at night to assist her onto the commode. Partly because she has been unable to wake me I suppose; she told me a few mornings ago that she called out to me for half an hour one night; unsuccessfully. You will understand her plight when I say that I use a CPAP, I take out the hearing aid from my left ear while I'm in bed, and I frequently have an ear bud in my right ear to listen to the BBC news to stop my mind re-circulating thoughts while attempting to return to sleep following a disturbance. Perhaps I need to rig up some sort of alarm for her to wake me.
Around 4am this morning she woke me unintentionally, yelling at the top of her voice for 5-10 seconds, I think perhaps about a car accident, the words were distinct yet I don't remember them. Then at odd intervals she muttered indistinctly. Lately the words she speaks during these episodes are more distinct. In the morning she remembered a dream (strangely, she usually does not remember her dreams) about driving her "little yellow car" (her pride and joy of years ago, a VW Beetle), our kids in the back seat and a fox terrier dog running amok inside, her yelling at the kids to keep the dog under control. Perhaps.
Next week we need to be in Hot Air City for her double appointment on Thursday to see her neuro and PD nurse (the bureaucracy brought the first appointment forward by 3/4 or so and the second by a week; too early and too much stress all in one day) and co-incidentally, I am experiencing additional cataract problems in my left eye following macular "peal" and cataract problems about 2 years ago so have an appointment Wednesday morning at the Eye Hospital; expecting to result in laser treatment, hopefully that same day. I was prepared to drive back and forth the 100+ kms each day but she decided we should stay at the hospital where her appointments are. They have over night accommodation. I usually leave her to arrange our accommodation arrangements. So she made arrangements for us to stay 3 nights. When I checked with her whether the facilities were "disabled" or not, I learned that she had been told by the hospital staff that the rooms had twin beds and since "disabled" facilities were required, we would be given a room close to the toilets down the hall. I'm afraid we had a minor domestic while I pointed out at home she needs the commode at least 4 times a night, usually urgently, often requiring help to get on it, yet she was prepared to walk down a passage to get to shared toilets, possibly occupied, without even contemplating shower arrangements. I told her to ring a friend, who had used the hospital accommodation, to be told "the facilities are rather basic and yes, the toilets are down the hallway". So I printed out a Google map to show the proximity of the motel where we usually stay to the Eye Hospital and the General Hospital, pointed out the "3 nights for the price of 2" offer and burdened her with the chore to make the bookings there. Well the "3 for 2" offer was only for normal rooms, not "disabled" rooms and such only have queen sized beds, not singles, so she handed me the phone to sort it out. By this time I was spitting chips so the motel person, possibly to pacify me, offered me a discount from $160 to $120 per night, which I accepted.
She wanted to stay in the hospital accommodation because she would be able to walk to her neuro appointment, thus reducing her stress by saving on travel time in traffic. I think I need to organise away from home accommodation in future. I must remember to pack her collapsible wheel chair and collapsible commode.
She flatly refuses to return to our honeymoon coastal town to reminisce about 50 years ago, and she is far from keen to travel south to our grand daughter's wedding in November. Memories of panic attacks during return trips down there come to my mind. There will have to be ways around such events, at least the trip is 4 lanes all the way now.
Yesterday at our PD Group meeting I had hoped that the person who thought a visit to speak to someone using apomorphine was not mentioned. And I didn't bother to ask the person; just talk I suspect.
She has stopped taking Metamusil in fruit juice each evening but there seems little change in her nocturnal frequency. For instance last night, 4 times on the commode after going to bed at 11pm.
Last night I was very tired so went to bed just before 10pm. She needed to stay up until her 10pm meds kicked in enough so she would not be too uncomfortable in bed an hour later. She only woke me for help once, but see below.
Lately she does not wake me very often at night to assist her onto the commode. Partly because she has been unable to wake me I suppose; she told me a few mornings ago that she called out to me for half an hour one night; unsuccessfully. You will understand her plight when I say that I use a CPAP, I take out the hearing aid from my left ear while I'm in bed, and I frequently have an ear bud in my right ear to listen to the BBC news to stop my mind re-circulating thoughts while attempting to return to sleep following a disturbance. Perhaps I need to rig up some sort of alarm for her to wake me.
Around 4am this morning she woke me unintentionally, yelling at the top of her voice for 5-10 seconds, I think perhaps about a car accident, the words were distinct yet I don't remember them. Then at odd intervals she muttered indistinctly. Lately the words she speaks during these episodes are more distinct. In the morning she remembered a dream (strangely, she usually does not remember her dreams) about driving her "little yellow car" (her pride and joy of years ago, a VW Beetle), our kids in the back seat and a fox terrier dog running amok inside, her yelling at the kids to keep the dog under control. Perhaps.
Next week we need to be in Hot Air City for her double appointment on Thursday to see her neuro and PD nurse (the bureaucracy brought the first appointment forward by 3/4 or so and the second by a week; too early and too much stress all in one day) and co-incidentally, I am experiencing additional cataract problems in my left eye following macular "peal" and cataract problems about 2 years ago so have an appointment Wednesday morning at the Eye Hospital; expecting to result in laser treatment, hopefully that same day. I was prepared to drive back and forth the 100+ kms each day but she decided we should stay at the hospital where her appointments are. They have over night accommodation. I usually leave her to arrange our accommodation arrangements. So she made arrangements for us to stay 3 nights. When I checked with her whether the facilities were "disabled" or not, I learned that she had been told by the hospital staff that the rooms had twin beds and since "disabled" facilities were required, we would be given a room close to the toilets down the hall. I'm afraid we had a minor domestic while I pointed out at home she needs the commode at least 4 times a night, usually urgently, often requiring help to get on it, yet she was prepared to walk down a passage to get to shared toilets, possibly occupied, without even contemplating shower arrangements. I told her to ring a friend, who had used the hospital accommodation, to be told "the facilities are rather basic and yes, the toilets are down the hallway". So I printed out a Google map to show the proximity of the motel where we usually stay to the Eye Hospital and the General Hospital, pointed out the "3 nights for the price of 2" offer and burdened her with the chore to make the bookings there. Well the "3 for 2" offer was only for normal rooms, not "disabled" rooms and such only have queen sized beds, not singles, so she handed me the phone to sort it out. By this time I was spitting chips so the motel person, possibly to pacify me, offered me a discount from $160 to $120 per night, which I accepted.
She wanted to stay in the hospital accommodation because she would be able to walk to her neuro appointment, thus reducing her stress by saving on travel time in traffic. I think I need to organise away from home accommodation in future. I must remember to pack her collapsible wheel chair and collapsible commode.
She flatly refuses to return to our honeymoon coastal town to reminisce about 50 years ago, and she is far from keen to travel south to our grand daughter's wedding in November. Memories of panic attacks during return trips down there come to my mind. There will have to be ways around such events, at least the trip is 4 lanes all the way now.
Yesterday at our PD Group meeting I had hoped that the person who thought a visit to speak to someone using apomorphine was not mentioned. And I didn't bother to ask the person; just talk I suspect.
posted by Kilpike | 12:20 pm
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