Chapter 341 - Going Downhill

The direction we are heading is not good; am I becoming depressed? Hard to tell, being within myself looking outwards life is becoming a chore, always tired, reduced sleep, feel exhilaration after friends visit releasing us from the daily grind. I have done no thread painting since September last year and my new interest, 3D printed lithophanes, has quickly become of little challenge, not so much a challenge anymore although I seem to be losing the desire to be creative. Every  once in a while I am challenged by a technical matter, a feeling of interest in resolving a problem that quickly becomes annoying with little satisfaction once solved.

Writing this blog is tending toward a chore. So what follows are some edited emails (I do so detest that word "redacted" but then I'm modifying or deleting words rather than hiding them behind black bars of felt tip pen).

"I dropped off a mid-stream sample yesterday afternoon, in the mean time Dr I. provided a script for Cefaclor, which I collected from the chemist this morning. Girly pink fluid because the PWP has had a hell of a job swallowing BIG pills or gelatin capsules; D. the RN organised that, since I assumed antibiotics were, well, pills.

Dr I's receptionist will Fax a 50/5 Apo to the Hospital Pharmacy sometime today so I had better double check that. We have enough on hand to last until next Tuesday.

I have been drawing up two x 1ml every second night, placing one aside, after expelling any air from the syringe, for the following night, and then topping up with 5 x 2ml ampoules. So I will do the same with 50/5 but fill both syringes up to 11ml then add saline. And dispose of the remainder of the Apo. Will our Prime Minister's Thought Police punish me for such waste? ;-)

By the way, is it better to store the 11ml of Apo in the fridge with/without the saline added?

By the way, I left [her] at home alone for 20 minutes, with strict instructions not to do anything, while I collected the antibiotic and when I returned she was cleaning out our kitchen's tea/coffee cupboard (I know I leave it in a mess). Five minutes later her left leg began to "burn" with more tingling, what she refers to as a "hole" in the outside of her left leg felt "funny", and her left foot felt as if it was leaving the floor. The foot wasn't and she had to lean against the bench top to support herself. She needed help to her Rotary chair where she wanted an iron and the small ironing board to iron some fabric she wishes to cut up.

I am becoming less skilled at fitting these all night sauna bloomers on her; last night's effort leaking, so a load of washing this morning. Yesterday I ordered the largest size.

Just another day :-( "

"Recently [she] has been forgetting names, worse than I usually do. L., a recent acquaintance, has been visiting [her] lately. We first met L. and her PWP at our PD group. L. is a hospital visitor and since [her] stay in rehab, visits [her] every so often. L. arrived spot on 2pm today ([her] meds time). As she was leaving at 3pm [she] first called her "Barbara", realised her error , then called L. "Patricia". We made light of the matter. [She] then needed the loo and suddenly at 3.20pm [she] remembered she had missed her 2pm meds,distracted by L's. arrival.  Also [she] told me when she was speaking to L. about grandchildren that she "muddled up" the names of ours. [She] commented that her speech has been slurred, to be expected I suppose.

I hope the name forgetting is just a matter of missed meds."

"No panic (yet) although this morning she woke at 4am (I was already awake - bad night) then switched her light on & when I asked why, she said (half asleep) that she needed to take meds at 5am and shower at 6am. I was unable to figure out where such ideas came from. Then at 5.30 her bloomers leaked when she rolled onto her side. The damned things were not overly full because its the weight  was much less than on another morning so although these larger ones fit her better I may have left too much slack. (yes, I know, anal retentive ;-) Experience dictates I will perfect this business to minimise the washing!!

I note that a side effect of this liquid antibiotic can be delusions. We have to get out of this antibiotic cycle. The uro at [Highlands Town] said that catheters are a last resort and the GP says most women live with a mild UTI.

Dr I. faxed a script for 50/5 Apo to the Hospital (I like the way this bloke and his staff are so helpful). When I checked with the hospital's pharmacy that the script had arrived OK, I was told that quite unexpectedly some 20 packets of 20/2 Apo had arrived out of the blue. "

Our time with the TACP people is coming to an an end so that we can accept a "Level 2 Package" of care even though she has been assessed for level 4 of which there are no spare slots at the moment. Level 2 means we have 6 hours of assistance from the care provider. For a few we dabbled having the visiting carer complete other tasks, such as hanging clothes etc rather than showering her, which she can largely do herself. But the other tasks are just "make work" whereas bathroom activities are potentially dangerous so I decided to have the assistance shower her at the earlier time of 7am by which time she has had her 6am meds, I have helped her out of her night "bloomers", packed the Apo pump in its sarcophagus and applied tape around it for water proofing and then showered myself . When the assistance arrives I make our breakfast. Half an hour a day for showering and dressing consumes 3 1/2 hours of the 6 hour allowance, leaving only 2 1/2 hours for other things such as being driven to appointments, which is not much. Even though being driven to the Hot Air City hospital entrance for Parky nurse appointments is quite enjoyable, I must drive, park and push her in her walker from now on, since the round trip plus appointment lasts about 4 hours, not counting a rest stop for lunch. Perhaps I will use the time for a movie should something reasonable be showing; usually not. We believe only 3 showers per week are the norm in institutions; and that I don't consider satisfactory for anyone wearing soaker bloomers all night every night and is very prone to UTI's.

She now makes lace bordered pillows for the Sheltered Workshop so the kitchen table continues as a work bench. Perhaps she may attend for respite there another day should the other participants be able to provide a degree of social stimulation for her.