Chapter 381 - A Scare
I'm still not making notes on a regular basis, I know I'm forgetting things that should be recorded. She has a mania for sorting the contents of cupboards, leaving piles of stuff on tables, chairs, the floor. She seems driven to clean the house before she under goes the Duodopa experience at West Beer, about 2 weeks away. Perhaps she fears not surviving the operation, which I understand to be simple and routine; I hope so anyway. I have booked a motel close by so there will be no need for me to brave queueing for access for the hospital's lousy car park. Unfortunately motel charges far out way the parking fees.
I noted she began by cleaning the cupboard in which we keep additional pills and such on Thursday 19th March; only noting that because her left leg began to throb, which was eased by wrapping it in an elastic bandage, and for a few days afterwards.
Friday 20th March we saw our GP Dr I. Her allergy blood test indicated she was very intolerant to grass pollen. We failed to remember where she may have been close to grass recently to cause the rash on her legs. Back home that day she had breathing problems, worsened by laying down. Her BP was 156/90 66.
The following morning we discovered I had not removed the previous Apomine needle the night before. No sign of infection. Naughty of me though. I'm finding getting ready for bed quite a drag. I feel quite weary and run down as evening falls, my hips hurt, I'm irritable, most nights fit a fresh syringe and pump to her around 8PM then try to remain awake to help her to the loo about the time of her 10PM meds. Even though she wears incontinence pants plus an extra pad to bed she wakes up once between 0200 and 0400 needing to piddle; I can't deny her assistance, I myself would find piddling my pants distressing, so I help her onto the commode and wheel her to the loo. The anti-depression pill Dr I. gave each of seems not to be very effective this last week.
Two or three times each morning and afternoon she needs the loo; she has a lot of flatulence, confusing this with needing to poop. Since she spends all her waking hours in the wheel chair now, she calls me (on rare occasions she doesn't need assistance), I push her to the loo, lock the wheel chair (or commode) brakes, swing foot rests out of the way, move an armrest out of the way, help her rise while she grabs the fireman's pole with one hand and the grab rail on the wall. Sometimes I need to lift her by grabbing the rear of her slacks and incontinence pants and lifting her sufficiently (I believe this is called "giving her a wedgie") for her to support herself long enough for me to lower her pants, which is often a two step process, first to lower her slacks, second to lower her incontinence pants (which sometimes tear). Getting her off the loo and back onto the wheel chair or commode is nearly always a three step process , usually she needs to sit on the loo seat after raising each pair of pants, before the final transfer to wheel chair or commode. Usually there is some bidet water spotted about. I tend to flinch each time she calls me on the CB radio.
On Tuesday 24th another trip back to West Beer to speak to the gastroenterologist about fitting the PEG. WE only just made the appointment on time then had to wait because there was nowhere for the doctor to speak to us. He had to speak to us in the central area of a 4 bed ward, this gave her bad feelings about staying in a public hospital for about 10 days. I'm unsure who benefited from this short chat after we had to make a 5 hour round trip; fortunately Wild Dog provided the transport, budgeted for by the Carers organisation.
Then the following day, 25th March we saw Dr M, neurosurgeon, in Hot Air City hospital, at first contact a very good doctor, about her "severe lumbar canal stenosis" which is evident on the MRI scans made last September. The night before I tore our house apart trying to locate those scans; the last we remember seeing them was in Dr F's hands at the appointment with him last October. Hopefully Dr F has them filed away or else the scans were digitised. Anyway, it was agreed that nothing spinal is to be done until after the Duodopa is fitted. Our Wild Dog driver got us to the hospital a few minutes late, partly due to having to fill the fuel tank on leaving town, so at the hospital we went to the end of the 1 1/2 hour queue.
That evening on getting her to bed I noticed a rash on her leg. It was not itchy and took a number of days to disappear. We are sure no rash was their when Dr M examined her legs in the morning. Only a variation in the brand of skin lotion Wild Dog carers rub on her legs is the only suspect change we can remember, so once this Easter holiday season is over I will test that lotion on her legs.
The last time she saw GP Dr I he had received a note from DR F asking for her to have an abdomen Xray to find evidence of bowel compaction. That was done on 30th March with no signs of compaction but comments that "There is lumar scoliosis with marked degenerative change involving the lower lumbar spine."
This morning, Sunday 5th April she was seeing double; had breathing discomfort, I checked her blood pressure as 176/87 61 while laying in bed. She doesn't trust my Imron recording machine so asked for her small wrist monitor (it needed new batteries to be able to pump up to the pressure required) which showed 179/95 61. Her temperature was 36.8. At 0724 155/78 60 (Imron) still in bed; 0745 116/70 58 (Imron) while sitting on the loo, at which point the day became a normal sunny one.
At this time of writing, she has progressed to dusting my sorely depleted wine cabinet. All the dusting, cleaning and re-arranging is being done while seated in her wheel chair; I'm sometimes called upon to help.
I noted she began by cleaning the cupboard in which we keep additional pills and such on Thursday 19th March; only noting that because her left leg began to throb, which was eased by wrapping it in an elastic bandage, and for a few days afterwards.
Friday 20th March we saw our GP Dr I. Her allergy blood test indicated she was very intolerant to grass pollen. We failed to remember where she may have been close to grass recently to cause the rash on her legs. Back home that day she had breathing problems, worsened by laying down. Her BP was 156/90 66.
The following morning we discovered I had not removed the previous Apomine needle the night before. No sign of infection. Naughty of me though. I'm finding getting ready for bed quite a drag. I feel quite weary and run down as evening falls, my hips hurt, I'm irritable, most nights fit a fresh syringe and pump to her around 8PM then try to remain awake to help her to the loo about the time of her 10PM meds. Even though she wears incontinence pants plus an extra pad to bed she wakes up once between 0200 and 0400 needing to piddle; I can't deny her assistance, I myself would find piddling my pants distressing, so I help her onto the commode and wheel her to the loo. The anti-depression pill Dr I. gave each of seems not to be very effective this last week.
Two or three times each morning and afternoon she needs the loo; she has a lot of flatulence, confusing this with needing to poop. Since she spends all her waking hours in the wheel chair now, she calls me (on rare occasions she doesn't need assistance), I push her to the loo, lock the wheel chair (or commode) brakes, swing foot rests out of the way, move an armrest out of the way, help her rise while she grabs the fireman's pole with one hand and the grab rail on the wall. Sometimes I need to lift her by grabbing the rear of her slacks and incontinence pants and lifting her sufficiently (I believe this is called "giving her a wedgie") for her to support herself long enough for me to lower her pants, which is often a two step process, first to lower her slacks, second to lower her incontinence pants (which sometimes tear). Getting her off the loo and back onto the wheel chair or commode is nearly always a three step process , usually she needs to sit on the loo seat after raising each pair of pants, before the final transfer to wheel chair or commode. Usually there is some bidet water spotted about. I tend to flinch each time she calls me on the CB radio.
On Tuesday 24th another trip back to West Beer to speak to the gastroenterologist about fitting the PEG. WE only just made the appointment on time then had to wait because there was nowhere for the doctor to speak to us. He had to speak to us in the central area of a 4 bed ward, this gave her bad feelings about staying in a public hospital for about 10 days. I'm unsure who benefited from this short chat after we had to make a 5 hour round trip; fortunately Wild Dog provided the transport, budgeted for by the Carers organisation.
Then the following day, 25th March we saw Dr M, neurosurgeon, in Hot Air City hospital, at first contact a very good doctor, about her "severe lumbar canal stenosis" which is evident on the MRI scans made last September. The night before I tore our house apart trying to locate those scans; the last we remember seeing them was in Dr F's hands at the appointment with him last October. Hopefully Dr F has them filed away or else the scans were digitised. Anyway, it was agreed that nothing spinal is to be done until after the Duodopa is fitted. Our Wild Dog driver got us to the hospital a few minutes late, partly due to having to fill the fuel tank on leaving town, so at the hospital we went to the end of the 1 1/2 hour queue.
That evening on getting her to bed I noticed a rash on her leg. It was not itchy and took a number of days to disappear. We are sure no rash was their when Dr M examined her legs in the morning. Only a variation in the brand of skin lotion Wild Dog carers rub on her legs is the only suspect change we can remember, so once this Easter holiday season is over I will test that lotion on her legs.
The last time she saw GP Dr I he had received a note from DR F asking for her to have an abdomen Xray to find evidence of bowel compaction. That was done on 30th March with no signs of compaction but comments that "There is lumar scoliosis with marked degenerative change involving the lower lumbar spine."
This morning, Sunday 5th April she was seeing double; had breathing discomfort, I checked her blood pressure as 176/87 61 while laying in bed. She doesn't trust my Imron recording machine so asked for her small wrist monitor (it needed new batteries to be able to pump up to the pressure required) which showed 179/95 61. Her temperature was 36.8. At 0724 155/78 60 (Imron) still in bed; 0745 116/70 58 (Imron) while sitting on the loo, at which point the day became a normal sunny one.
At this time of writing, she has progressed to dusting my sorely depleted wine cabinet. All the dusting, cleaning and re-arranging is being done while seated in her wheel chair; I'm sometimes called upon to help.
posted by Kilpike | 11:52 am
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