Chapter 487 - Mundane Stuff
Evening meals have been difficult recently. Any firm, granular or tough food is rejected, often spat into tissues. Even the skins of seedless grapes. I peel tomatoes and slice them until she found the centres of the firm ones I bought too "tough", so now they are peeled then diced. For a long time, pasta (spaghetti etc) must be cut into short segments. Even slices of salmon grilled in a George Foreman often feel too "tough" for her. Acceptable frozen dinners are the answer. I keep her well stocked with chocolates (she needs some little pleasures) and any containing nuts or coconut are either spat out or rejected.
Breakfast consists of a small tub of yogurt or custard, a small tub of diced fruit, a slice of apple bun, a glass of pear juice with 4 teaspoons of Benefiber.
Lunch is often nothing more than a mug of Sustagen with strawberry flavouring.
Again to Dance for PD this past week. There will only be another two classes unless the group obtains more funding. Her usual exercise sessions by Wild Dog are cancelled on these Tuesdays and our house cleaner has to be delayed as well, so should the Dance for PD continue I will need to make permanent arrangements. Sometimes I feel like a secretary.
I have mentioned that Wild Dog carers look after her for 5 hours each Wednesday and Saturday; "respite" for me if, on those days, shopping and other routine tasks are ignored. Recently phone calls from Wild Dog ask whether the hours can be changed a little, say, 1100 to 1600 rather than 0930 to 1430 and I usually agree. Yesterday at 1100 was my monthly appointment to have my monthly chat with my clinical psychologist. When Wild Dog had not arrived by 1000, ie 30 minutes late by then, I rang the emergency mobile number on which I was asked to leave a message. Some minutes later I was called back to be told I had agreed to a start time of 1045, although I had no recollection of being asked for such an odd time and I had not marked such on our fridge calendar where I had noted my appointment at 1100. Fortunately, the carer, who had been attending to the woman next door to us, arrived by 1030, so I had plenty of time to get to my appointment.
During the week she spent a number of hours sorting coins so I bought a box of 1000 Leggo like blocks thinking these may interest her but so far the blocks were unpacked and placed in a plastic container. She is no longer attracted to crossword puzzles on her PC and has returned to doing a little sewing. One evening I played "Groundhog Day" from NetFlix for her while in bed. The daily time replay confused her, she was unable to follow the plot and about 10 minutes before the end she had violent dyskinesias so I had to turn it off. Last weekend she spent re-organising the CD & DVD cases onto book shelves along with folders and books so now we have several CD/DVD towers spare. On Wednesday I attended the local Dementia Carer's group and although she has not been diagnosed with dementia, the comments of other carers about their loved ones sounded very familiar to me. Recently I bought a new coffee percolator; she retrieved the cardboard packing from within the box and when I asked why the cardboard was needed she replied that she wanted it for patchwork, templates I suppose.
Breakfast consists of a small tub of yogurt or custard, a small tub of diced fruit, a slice of apple bun, a glass of pear juice with 4 teaspoons of Benefiber.
Lunch is often nothing more than a mug of Sustagen with strawberry flavouring.
Again to Dance for PD this past week. There will only be another two classes unless the group obtains more funding. Her usual exercise sessions by Wild Dog are cancelled on these Tuesdays and our house cleaner has to be delayed as well, so should the Dance for PD continue I will need to make permanent arrangements. Sometimes I feel like a secretary.
I have mentioned that Wild Dog carers look after her for 5 hours each Wednesday and Saturday; "respite" for me if, on those days, shopping and other routine tasks are ignored. Recently phone calls from Wild Dog ask whether the hours can be changed a little, say, 1100 to 1600 rather than 0930 to 1430 and I usually agree. Yesterday at 1100 was my monthly appointment to have my monthly chat with my clinical psychologist. When Wild Dog had not arrived by 1000, ie 30 minutes late by then, I rang the emergency mobile number on which I was asked to leave a message. Some minutes later I was called back to be told I had agreed to a start time of 1045, although I had no recollection of being asked for such an odd time and I had not marked such on our fridge calendar where I had noted my appointment at 1100. Fortunately, the carer, who had been attending to the woman next door to us, arrived by 1030, so I had plenty of time to get to my appointment.
During the week she spent a number of hours sorting coins so I bought a box of 1000 Leggo like blocks thinking these may interest her but so far the blocks were unpacked and placed in a plastic container. She is no longer attracted to crossword puzzles on her PC and has returned to doing a little sewing. One evening I played "Groundhog Day" from NetFlix for her while in bed. The daily time replay confused her, she was unable to follow the plot and about 10 minutes before the end she had violent dyskinesias so I had to turn it off. Last weekend she spent re-organising the CD & DVD cases onto book shelves along with folders and books so now we have several CD/DVD towers spare. On Wednesday I attended the local Dementia Carer's group and although she has not been diagnosed with dementia, the comments of other carers about their loved ones sounded very familiar to me. Recently I bought a new coffee percolator; she retrieved the cardboard packing from within the box and when I asked why the cardboard was needed she replied that she wanted it for patchwork, templates I suppose.
posted by Kilpike | 11:56 am
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