Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Mom needed a sleep day today...
...January 16th, that is, and I didn't have the energy to fight it so she slept a lot. She only got in 12 hours, exactly, last night, then decided to take a nap three hours after awakening and slept for just about three hours. We did manage to watch two Apes movies, though. It occurred to me, about halfway through the second, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, that this little festival of ours was ironically appropriate considering that it is the MLK holiday weekend. One more to go, the last in the series, Battle of the Planet of the Apes. I imagine we'll get that in sometime tomorrow. Mom is really into this, more than I can remember seeing her into anything, lately.
I forgot to mention: Last week I stopped by our oxygen supplier and asked about masks instead of cannulae. I was told that this was a horrible idea. Masks cause the client to continually breathe in their own exhaust and can severely deter the effectiveness of oxygen therapy.
Needless to say, over the last few days she hasn't been using much oxygen since she's been fairly immobile. I'm hoping to get her moving around tomorrow but it's brrrr-cold out there. I'm loving it but Mom is not a happy camper. The cold isn't friendly with a touch of spring or fall, anymore. It's a frigid cold. Because we don't have a central air system (thank the gods, actually, on this one) I always have at least one window partially if not fully open. Over the last few months she hasn't noticed when she strolls by that window (it's usually the kitchen window). Today, after bathing, she shuffled through the kitchen, stopped dead in her tracks and said, "There's a window open. I can feel it. I don't know where, but I'm going to find it and close it."
I told her it was the kitchen window, explained why it had to be open, showed her that it was just "cracked" and assured her nothing else was open.
"Well, I don't think it's necessary."
"In that case, Mom, go on into the dinette and you won't feel it."
Which is exactly what happened.
She had a Bowel Movement again today at 1520: Fairly good volume; excellent consistency; very easy elimination; very easy clean-up. It surprises me every time I find myself boosting her Benefiber® and discovering that the newly adjusted dose is exactly what she needs. I'm wondering what dose she'll be taking when she plateaus.
For dinner I gave her a choice of chicken/Parmesan ravioli with tomato/basil marinara or Canadian ham and Jarlsburg Swiss cheese sandwiches on sourdough with mustard and V-8 juice. She chose the latter. I was pleased. It was my yen for Jarlsburg and Canadian ham that led to this sandwich interlude in our diet. I'm considering a Cobb Salad tomorrow with both ingredients. Every once in awhile I just have to have Jarlsburg Swiss and after awhile of Mom's favorite hams, all sweet, I have to remind myself of what merely smoked ham tastes like.
I've got lots of business to handle tomorrow morning out of the house before Mom arises. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get her moving. The temperature is supposed to be in the mid 50's downtown, which means high 40's here. I'm thinking, if the cool weather continues for awhile, she might go back into hibernation mode. If that happens I'll absolutely create a modified exercise program for in the house and maybe even have her walker up and down the hall. But, as always, we'll see...
...later.
I forgot to mention: Last week I stopped by our oxygen supplier and asked about masks instead of cannulae. I was told that this was a horrible idea. Masks cause the client to continually breathe in their own exhaust and can severely deter the effectiveness of oxygen therapy.
Needless to say, over the last few days she hasn't been using much oxygen since she's been fairly immobile. I'm hoping to get her moving around tomorrow but it's brrrr-cold out there. I'm loving it but Mom is not a happy camper. The cold isn't friendly with a touch of spring or fall, anymore. It's a frigid cold. Because we don't have a central air system (thank the gods, actually, on this one) I always have at least one window partially if not fully open. Over the last few months she hasn't noticed when she strolls by that window (it's usually the kitchen window). Today, after bathing, she shuffled through the kitchen, stopped dead in her tracks and said, "There's a window open. I can feel it. I don't know where, but I'm going to find it and close it."
I told her it was the kitchen window, explained why it had to be open, showed her that it was just "cracked" and assured her nothing else was open.
"Well, I don't think it's necessary."
"In that case, Mom, go on into the dinette and you won't feel it."
Which is exactly what happened.
She had a Bowel Movement again today at 1520: Fairly good volume; excellent consistency; very easy elimination; very easy clean-up. It surprises me every time I find myself boosting her Benefiber® and discovering that the newly adjusted dose is exactly what she needs. I'm wondering what dose she'll be taking when she plateaus.
For dinner I gave her a choice of chicken/Parmesan ravioli with tomato/basil marinara or Canadian ham and Jarlsburg Swiss cheese sandwiches on sourdough with mustard and V-8 juice. She chose the latter. I was pleased. It was my yen for Jarlsburg and Canadian ham that led to this sandwich interlude in our diet. I'm considering a Cobb Salad tomorrow with both ingredients. Every once in awhile I just have to have Jarlsburg Swiss and after awhile of Mom's favorite hams, all sweet, I have to remind myself of what merely smoked ham tastes like.
I've got lots of business to handle tomorrow morning out of the house before Mom arises. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get her moving. The temperature is supposed to be in the mid 50's downtown, which means high 40's here. I'm thinking, if the cool weather continues for awhile, she might go back into hibernation mode. If that happens I'll absolutely create a modified exercise program for in the house and maybe even have her walker up and down the hall. But, as always, we'll see...
...later.
