Chapter 309 - I Was All One Piece
Leaving the bedroom this morning, pushing her walker, she replied ""I was all one piece at 6am" to my query about her condition.
Yesterday lunchtime we returned from 5 days at the Hot Air City Hospital where she was admitted Monday afternoon for a short drug holiday and tested with Apomorphine Tuesday morning. Her fears of entering a drugged sleep state as a result of a similar trial over in the West about 13 years ago were unfounded; this time there were no adverse reactions so she was placed on an Apo pump. On both Wednesday and Thursday mornings, supervised by Polly the PD Nurse, I set up the Apo pump and attached the needle to her abdomen. The needle type used was the Neria brand, no more than 1cm long protruding from a circular adhesive film, which is gently pressed against the abdomen, the patient/victim sensing neither pain nor sting. So the part of the procedure I most feared was the simplest. Although there is another type needle I wish to avoid using. Other than that, a syringe is filled with Apomorphine and saline solution before attaching it to a small pump attached to an elastic band around the waist. Because I came top in my class of one, she was allowed to leave hospital on Thursday to stay with me at the motel overnight. So I removed the pump Thursday night then reinstalled it Friday morning. The emergency procedures arranged by the hospital in case something went wrong were not needed and we returned to the hospital Friday morning. A busy day seeing the Neuro, PD Nurse and collecting a swag of medications at the hospital pharmacy. That included 70 ampoules of Apomorphine for the coming month. On Wednesday I ordered on-line a kit of consumables which I really hope will arrive by Monday before I need to resort to using the other type of needle.
Below is her current schedule.
I noticed last night that her incontinence pants show greater than usual leakage stains. She says she is passing more urine and the quantity in the commode was more than I expected for her using it three times last night - 0115, 0315, 0545. She needed help to pivot onto the commode at 0315 but not at 0545, although a few minutes later she was too frozen to sit up without assistance to have her meds. Dr Carer has decreed that she is to take a pain killer every time she has PD meds. Just after taking 0600 meds she seemed slightly confused and lost her train of thought. However, she was in pain across her shoulders, down both legs and her lower back. We applied Ice Gel to those areas then about 20 minutes on the Circulation Booster followed by 10 minutes active pedalling. By 0700 her pains were easing to a tingle, as was her head, except for her lower back remaining painful. After a shower seated on a chair then the Apo was inserted by 0715 then she dressed. It was 15 minutes later that she said "I was all one piece at 6am", a comment she has not made before that I thought conveyed the idea of frozen, rigidity, stiffness more than adequately.
By 0900 this morning she was stumbling around without her walker and half an hour later almost fell because of "a lack of feeling in my left foot" caused her leg to fold. In discussing this she said her left foot tingles first, soon followed by the right which then switches to feeling "hot". The left continues to tingle. The tingling then develops into pain and if she exercise her legs too much there is a burning sensation in the outsides of both. I think I have this sequence correct.
When I asked whether she was up to having lunch at the club she readily agreed, so we did and she was eager to leave at 1330, 1/2 hour before her next meds. I went super market shopping without her; she waited in the truck, I had instructions to buy some exotic ingredients for some cakes she has decided to bake. After returning home she had a long chat to her friend down in Batman City then came out here to the dungeon to see whether I was still awake (I was typing this waffle) when she stumbled and bumped the sliding door.
She had a lot of bother with bowel activity while we were away so yesterday afternoon, well before evening I prepared a glass of grape juice and a largeish quantity of Metamusil; had satisfactory results when we returned from shopping. I had been instructed to buy licorice which may be unnecessary just now.
This afternoon I verified that our local chemist is unable to source/sell the Apomorphine ampoules; he suggested that our local hospital may be able to and that will save us monthly trips to Hot Air City.
I hear sounds of small items falling in the kitchen so I must see what she is doing, probably without her walker nearby.
Yesterday lunchtime we returned from 5 days at the Hot Air City Hospital where she was admitted Monday afternoon for a short drug holiday and tested with Apomorphine Tuesday morning. Her fears of entering a drugged sleep state as a result of a similar trial over in the West about 13 years ago were unfounded; this time there were no adverse reactions so she was placed on an Apo pump. On both Wednesday and Thursday mornings, supervised by Polly the PD Nurse, I set up the Apo pump and attached the needle to her abdomen. The needle type used was the Neria brand, no more than 1cm long protruding from a circular adhesive film, which is gently pressed against the abdomen, the patient/victim sensing neither pain nor sting. So the part of the procedure I most feared was the simplest. Although there is another type needle I wish to avoid using. Other than that, a syringe is filled with Apomorphine and saline solution before attaching it to a small pump attached to an elastic band around the waist. Because I came top in my class of one, she was allowed to leave hospital on Thursday to stay with me at the motel overnight. So I removed the pump Thursday night then reinstalled it Friday morning. The emergency procedures arranged by the hospital in case something went wrong were not needed and we returned to the hospital Friday morning. A busy day seeing the Neuro, PD Nurse and collecting a swag of medications at the hospital pharmacy. That included 70 ampoules of Apomorphine for the coming month. On Wednesday I ordered on-line a kit of consumables which I really hope will arrive by Monday before I need to resort to using the other type of needle.
Below is her current schedule.
I noticed last night that her incontinence pants show greater than usual leakage stains. She says she is passing more urine and the quantity in the commode was more than I expected for her using it three times last night - 0115, 0315, 0545. She needed help to pivot onto the commode at 0315 but not at 0545, although a few minutes later she was too frozen to sit up without assistance to have her meds. Dr Carer has decreed that she is to take a pain killer every time she has PD meds. Just after taking 0600 meds she seemed slightly confused and lost her train of thought. However, she was in pain across her shoulders, down both legs and her lower back. We applied Ice Gel to those areas then about 20 minutes on the Circulation Booster followed by 10 minutes active pedalling. By 0700 her pains were easing to a tingle, as was her head, except for her lower back remaining painful. After a shower seated on a chair then the Apo was inserted by 0715 then she dressed. It was 15 minutes later that she said "I was all one piece at 6am", a comment she has not made before that I thought conveyed the idea of frozen, rigidity, stiffness more than adequately.
By 0900 this morning she was stumbling around without her walker and half an hour later almost fell because of "a lack of feeling in my left foot" caused her leg to fold. In discussing this she said her left foot tingles first, soon followed by the right which then switches to feeling "hot". The left continues to tingle. The tingling then develops into pain and if she exercise her legs too much there is a burning sensation in the outsides of both. I think I have this sequence correct.
When I asked whether she was up to having lunch at the club she readily agreed, so we did and she was eager to leave at 1330, 1/2 hour before her next meds. I went super market shopping without her; she waited in the truck, I had instructions to buy some exotic ingredients for some cakes she has decided to bake. After returning home she had a long chat to her friend down in Batman City then came out here to the dungeon to see whether I was still awake (I was typing this waffle) when she stumbled and bumped the sliding door.
She had a lot of bother with bowel activity while we were away so yesterday afternoon, well before evening I prepared a glass of grape juice and a largeish quantity of Metamusil; had satisfactory results when we returned from shopping. I had been instructed to buy licorice which may be unnecessary just now.
This afternoon I verified that our local chemist is unable to source/sell the Apomorphine ampoules; he suggested that our local hospital may be able to and that will save us monthly trips to Hot Air City.
I hear sounds of small items falling in the kitchen so I must see what she is doing, probably without her walker nearby.
posted by Kilpike | 4:16 pm
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