Chapter 545 - I Left It A Little Longer This Time

I began waking before six, listened to the 0600 ABC news. Her legs were vigorously dyskinetic; they had been also at 0345, waking me so I had rolled her onto her LHS to stop the kicking and return her to sleep. About 0610 I rose, to the loo, returned to the bed room with a new Duodopa cassette, fitted it to the pump and replaced the pump's batteries as I always do on Sundays. Changed the flow rate from 3.2 to 7.0, MD of 1.0 and flushed the side port. She remained asleep without dyskinesias. I returned to the bedroom at 0645 after completing my daily Lumosity exercises to find her with mild leg dyskinesias, eyes partly open, blinking occasionally, not responding to my questions, not responding to light pats on her face or hands. Having made sure my video camera had fresh batteries in it following our Xmas Day saga, I grabbed the camera and filmed her for a few seconds. I gave her a 2.0 ml bolus at 0700. her eyes had closed. Telling myself not to become excited I showered and dressed. About 0710 her leg dyskinesias began. I attached my cuff BP monitor to her right then left arm  but was unable to fit the cuff well enough not to be shown error messages. I hunted around for her wrist BP monitor, and finding it discovered its batteries were flat. Replaced the batteries and measured at her left wrist 139/72 77 at 0721, then 142/65 84 a couple of minutes later. Leg dyskinesias, having stopped some short time earlier, began again. Her breathing was regular and quiet; eyes remained closed, she was warm but not sweaty, did not respond to a request to squeeze my hand at 0725. At 0727 I replaced the Exelon patch on her right chest with one onto her right chest, not wishing to forget to do this later on. Dyskinesias continued. At 0733 BP 156/66 112 while leg dyskinesias were vigorous. I videoed her for short bursts. At 0745 she moved her right hand to the bed rail. At 0748 171/78 93. At 0753 moved her arm again. At about 0800 the Wild Dog carer arrived to dress and shower her, which was obviously out of the question. BP 148/71 75. She touched her nose with her right hand. Although her eyelids were shut, her eyes moved beneath them. The carer said she was breathing OK and her colour was good. The carer and I discussed matters until 0830 when she left. BP 141/63 68. At 0834 she rubbed her chin with her right hand. 0845 still asleep with no dyskinesias, eyelids closed but eyes moving, breathing gently, 173/77 72.

At 0900 she woke, saying her legs were "tingling all the way down". She was quite lucid. Did not remember the Wild Dog carer who had been here. 155/115 68. At 0930 I slid her off her bed onto the commode. She said her head felt "huge". I showered her. She stood unaided into the Sara Stedy while I dried her bottom and pulled up her pull-ups and slacks. Then she stood unaided for the transfer between the Sara Stedy and her wheel chair. She had a breakfast of orange juice, diced apricots and a slice of apple and custard roll and by 1025 her head no longer felt "huge" but the crown of her head was tingling.

After cleaning her teeth we left for the Rehab part of the hospital where I can wheel her in to weigh her on their jockey scales. Clothed and with Duodopa pump attached she weighed 64.8kg. So after subtracting 16.6kg for the weight of wheelchair, clothing and pump she weighs 48.2kg, about 0.5kg less than on 15th December 2019, about 3.3kg less than 8th November 2019. On the way to the shopping centre I disposed of the used Duodopa cassettes in the sharps bin at Community Nursing.

We bought a new pair of the usual shoes we buy for her, this time needing to buy size 8 rather than 7 because her left foot  refused to bend, and even then her toes hurt in the larger size. Hopefully her non-cooperative foot may be a side product of this morning's drama and will lessen. Anyway, I had applied my hot glue gun the the velcro straps she almost removed while pulling at loose threads on the shoes yesterday. Then we stocked up with frozen dinners she thought she may wish to eat, for she is becoming bored with "cottage pie" meals. Unfortunately, what we bought today are much the same. I had a brilliant idea to make smoothies out of frozen meals after taking them from the microwave; she doesn't like the idea of a plate of "mush". Yet that is a good way to have her eat the lumpy bits and peas and carrot pieces in these meals. We then spent about an hour at one of the coffee places having a meal, she having potato wedges, sour cream and sweet chili sauce, although she did not eat all of it.

Home again by 1500. She then went to the sewing room to continue "sorting stuff". Last Wednesday while I enjoyed some respite a Wild Dog carer helped her re-arrange the sewing room to leave a wide open area in the middle, much better for her to move her wheel chair in. That area is now covered in boxes, containers and plastic bags with loose stuff in between. I hope that carer does not return soon for she would feel she had wasted her efforts.

The carer of this morning came to put her to bed tonight. She stood quiet well for transfers and sounded reasonably bright after this hectic day. She is reading a Mills & Boon on her reader above her in bed.