Chapter 461 - An Organising Week
The soup she made in our new slow cooker was reasonably good; we ate 3 evening meals of it before I threw out the remainder yesterday. Needing storage space for the slow cooker, she rearranged the kitchen cupboards again. I wonder whether we will ever use the slow cooker again.
Last week I registered on MyAgedCare and did the same for her on Monday; much easier experiences than when I attempted to and gave up last year sometime.
On Wednesday, feeling awful on a bleak miserable day, I spent most of my respite time at the club reading one of the New Scientist issues previously ignored. That was after having the right lens of my reading glasses replaced and getting some meds at the chemist. I had intended to supermarket shop but I was not capable of such a chore. On arriving home I found that she and BII from Wild Dog had cleaned out and rearranged the fridge and the hall food cupboard (the one she is unable to disturb from her wheel chair), throwing out "used by" items and "stale" stuff.
On Thursday I rang for an appointment to see our GP next Wednesday (respite day) but since he was unavailable that day was offered a slot in an hour's time. Leaving her with her alarm pendant on her wrist, I raced to the surgery and after a wait of 45 minutes saw him and described what I see as her cognitive problems and my 3 bouts of anger so far with her. He gave me referrals for me to see a clinical psychiatrist for "carer stress" and her for another meting with the geriatrician she saw a year or so ago. My appointment is for next Friday; hers can't be until September.
Since Thursday her bowels have been very loose so I am putting no Movicol in her morning fruit juice.
She has been knitting a square to become part of a blanket; begun a week or two ago. Saturday morning saw her begin a second square with a different "yarn", fuzzy stuff attached to a string. She quickly found that this knitted more thickly than the first, so had the brilliant idea of splitting this second stuff in two since it was made of two strings. I attempted to discourage such an idea, the ball was only worth $7, and we can go and buy some more suitable. She insisted on continuing her task. Of course the result was much fluff and pieces on the floor and numbers of small balls of the yarn because she had to break it every so often. I left her to it and shopped for an hour at Coles, she at home wearing her pendant. Mid afternoon she accepted the challenge of sorting two baskets of washing, deciding that her previous task could be left; I hope not begun again. However sorting washing became a job of re-sorting the linen press, trying to measure and separating the sheets for our differently sized beds. By the time the carer came to put her to bed I needed to stuff clothes and sheets away to be able to move the wheel chair and Sara Stedy into and out of the bedroom.
Last night just before 2200 I changed her Levadopa pump flow rate from 5.4 to 2.2ml/hr, or at least I thought I had. Around 0500 this morning I woke to find her laying across her bed, kicking wildly. The pump setting was still at 5.4!! After changing the setting last night I must not have pressed the Enter button on the pump, the button that registers the change of setting. I stopped and disconnected the pump at 0515, and when the dyskinesia kicking did not slacken by 0615 I gave her two soluble Panadol and a small Turkish Delight bar. Her movements slackened within 15 minutes; she wanted the loo so I transported her on the Sara, then onto the commode and back to the bedroom where she had her feet raised on the bed. The dyskinesia ceased by 0640. I started the pump again at 0645 without giving her the Morning Dose. When the Wild Dog carer arrived a few minutes later, her legs began again and she was somewhat stiff to move for her shower. After breakfast she returned to sorting the linen cupboard again, mild dyskinesia so she administered herself a Bolus.
To one of the clubs soon to have lunch.
Last week I registered on MyAgedCare and did the same for her on Monday; much easier experiences than when I attempted to and gave up last year sometime.
On Wednesday, feeling awful on a bleak miserable day, I spent most of my respite time at the club reading one of the New Scientist issues previously ignored. That was after having the right lens of my reading glasses replaced and getting some meds at the chemist. I had intended to supermarket shop but I was not capable of such a chore. On arriving home I found that she and BII from Wild Dog had cleaned out and rearranged the fridge and the hall food cupboard (the one she is unable to disturb from her wheel chair), throwing out "used by" items and "stale" stuff.
On Thursday I rang for an appointment to see our GP next Wednesday (respite day) but since he was unavailable that day was offered a slot in an hour's time. Leaving her with her alarm pendant on her wrist, I raced to the surgery and after a wait of 45 minutes saw him and described what I see as her cognitive problems and my 3 bouts of anger so far with her. He gave me referrals for me to see a clinical psychiatrist for "carer stress" and her for another meting with the geriatrician she saw a year or so ago. My appointment is for next Friday; hers can't be until September.
Since Thursday her bowels have been very loose so I am putting no Movicol in her morning fruit juice.
She has been knitting a square to become part of a blanket; begun a week or two ago. Saturday morning saw her begin a second square with a different "yarn", fuzzy stuff attached to a string. She quickly found that this knitted more thickly than the first, so had the brilliant idea of splitting this second stuff in two since it was made of two strings. I attempted to discourage such an idea, the ball was only worth $7, and we can go and buy some more suitable. She insisted on continuing her task. Of course the result was much fluff and pieces on the floor and numbers of small balls of the yarn because she had to break it every so often. I left her to it and shopped for an hour at Coles, she at home wearing her pendant. Mid afternoon she accepted the challenge of sorting two baskets of washing, deciding that her previous task could be left; I hope not begun again. However sorting washing became a job of re-sorting the linen press, trying to measure and separating the sheets for our differently sized beds. By the time the carer came to put her to bed I needed to stuff clothes and sheets away to be able to move the wheel chair and Sara Stedy into and out of the bedroom.
Last night just before 2200 I changed her Levadopa pump flow rate from 5.4 to 2.2ml/hr, or at least I thought I had. Around 0500 this morning I woke to find her laying across her bed, kicking wildly. The pump setting was still at 5.4!! After changing the setting last night I must not have pressed the Enter button on the pump, the button that registers the change of setting. I stopped and disconnected the pump at 0515, and when the dyskinesia kicking did not slacken by 0615 I gave her two soluble Panadol and a small Turkish Delight bar. Her movements slackened within 15 minutes; she wanted the loo so I transported her on the Sara, then onto the commode and back to the bedroom where she had her feet raised on the bed. The dyskinesia ceased by 0640. I started the pump again at 0645 without giving her the Morning Dose. When the Wild Dog carer arrived a few minutes later, her legs began again and she was somewhat stiff to move for her shower. After breakfast she returned to sorting the linen cupboard again, mild dyskinesia so she administered herself a Bolus.
To one of the clubs soon to have lunch.
posted by Kilpike | 9:52 am
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