Fall came to us with a blast of brutal reality ....... The temps have been hovering in the 80's forever...... than yesterday it turned on us..... in the middle of the day.....the old north wind brought some pretty cold stuff pushing the warmth of the summer out of here. The big old dark clouds of fall rolled around in the sky like tumbleweeds blowing in the dessert........
Tom sits in his chair at the table... leaning forward to rest his belly in his lap.... cup of coffee freshly made sits to the side of his ashtray where a cigarette rests burning while Tom tells someone on the phone in his gruff excited voice..... "yah and it's suppose to snow tomorrow too!
AHHH Geeze.... he neglected to tell "ME" so I can put the lawn mowers away and dig out the snow shovels and blower...... Tom seems to go for "drama" these days... as I listen sometimes to him talking into this newly attached appendage on his ear.
He mostly calls everybody to see "what are you doing?" But he also loves it if he has some drama to tell... like it's going to snow!!!! He neglected to say the weather man used the word "flake" with the word snow.
Toms health has improved some since he finally decided to listen to me some.....
"coffee is not a fluid.... there is Gatorade in the fridge. ( he won't drink water...juice..)
You have Charley Horses because your potassium is low (tested at the hospital" )DRINK !!!!! "
"Your feet are swollen because you don't walk...... Tom... sitting in your chair is not an exercise..... nor is riding the 4-wheeler. YOU NEED TO WALK!"
His phone conversations go like this..... "I've only eaten a few green beans and a little piece of chicken..... NOPE... that's all.... I have to loose all this weight the pills put on me...... yep!.... I drank some Gatorade and ate some raisins... they are suppose to be good for you..... I've been working in the garage all day... I just came in for a cup of coffee....." OH MAN... I have way more energy since I quit taking them pills and my back and legs are getting better every day...."
I got the wires run in the garage... I had an electrician friend stop in and tell me what to do.... The day I run them Tom came out to the garage... yes he walked..... took "his position" in the garage..... he has a table and chair out there.
I ran the wires as Tom sat at the foreman's table... "Now mark the wire that goes to the breaker box with the word HOT"..... I let out a sigh of relief when I heard snoring behind me.....
So that is pretty much how the inside of the garage is going.... when I get close to being done with something he will say he needs to go take a little five and heads for the house.... later he informs everyone he calls of the progress HE has made on the garage.
I do chuckle to myself as the snoring is a dead give away behind me when he is trying to look like he is coaching me. I have tried to get him to cut a board or hold something in place for me but he says "take a brake" and the break never gets over so I go back to work and he goes back to sleep.
I have adjusted (AS HIS CAREGIVER) to the way he has become.... others still hang onto the hope of what he tells them to be true..... I have had to let go of trying to convince them that the disease is taking him down this path NOT me doing everything for him..... nor the "pills" .......
Tom sits in his chair at the table... leaning forward to rest his belly in his lap.... cup of coffee freshly made sits to the side of his ashtray where a cigarette rests burning while Tom tells someone on the phone in his gruff excited voice..... "yah and it's suppose to snow tomorrow too!
AHHH Geeze.... he neglected to tell "ME" so I can put the lawn mowers away and dig out the snow shovels and blower...... Tom seems to go for "drama" these days... as I listen sometimes to him talking into this newly attached appendage on his ear.
He mostly calls everybody to see "what are you doing?" But he also loves it if he has some drama to tell... like it's going to snow!!!! He neglected to say the weather man used the word "flake" with the word snow.
Toms health has improved some since he finally decided to listen to me some.....
"coffee is not a fluid.... there is Gatorade in the fridge. ( he won't drink water...juice..)
You have Charley Horses because your potassium is low (tested at the hospital" )DRINK !!!!! "
"Your feet are swollen because you don't walk...... Tom... sitting in your chair is not an exercise..... nor is riding the 4-wheeler. YOU NEED TO WALK!"
His phone conversations go like this..... "I've only eaten a few green beans and a little piece of chicken..... NOPE... that's all.... I have to loose all this weight the pills put on me...... yep!.... I drank some Gatorade and ate some raisins... they are suppose to be good for you..... I've been working in the garage all day... I just came in for a cup of coffee....." OH MAN... I have way more energy since I quit taking them pills and my back and legs are getting better every day...."
I got the wires run in the garage... I had an electrician friend stop in and tell me what to do.... The day I run them Tom came out to the garage... yes he walked..... took "his position" in the garage..... he has a table and chair out there.
I ran the wires as Tom sat at the foreman's table... "Now mark the wire that goes to the breaker box with the word HOT"..... I let out a sigh of relief when I heard snoring behind me.....
So that is pretty much how the inside of the garage is going.... when I get close to being done with something he will say he needs to go take a little five and heads for the house.... later he informs everyone he calls of the progress HE has made on the garage.
I do chuckle to myself as the snoring is a dead give away behind me when he is trying to look like he is coaching me. I have tried to get him to cut a board or hold something in place for me but he says "take a brake" and the break never gets over so I go back to work and he goes back to sleep.
I have adjusted (AS HIS CAREGIVER) to the way he has become.... others still hang onto the hope of what he tells them to be true..... I have had to let go of trying to convince them that the disease is taking him down this path NOT me doing everything for him..... nor the "pills" .......
***********************************************
9-18-11
Tom had a follow up visit with his own Dr. from his Hospital visit...... I had the hospital fax the records from that stay to Tom's Dr..... and because I have to watch what I say I sent a report to his Dr. ahead of his visit......
It really helps to do this as the Dr. can cut through the bull and I don't get my head bit off..... OKAY... I DID! ....... get my head bit off.
I SAID..." Tom struggles for air when he sleeps at night and has periods of not breathing." hence a sleep study test. It went down hill from there..... starting with a nice word " LIAR! "
Tom IS doing fine.... all his physical/health problems stem from his inability to get off his butt........ smoking, lack of fluids, exercise and sodium intake......
Tom IS doing his best to help himself BUT the disease limits his ability to follow through.
Tom has a stress test coming up to see the heart is fine.... the Dr. doesn't think we will find anything there but we must make sure........
There are times in life when everything you attempt will seem to go wrong. Your faith may be strong and your commitment deep, yet adversity will come knocking on your door. The power of prayer will strengthen and stabilize you. But you can't pray away life's seasons. God has a purpose for not allowing you to be fruitful all the time. Real growth requires seasons of struggle as well as seasons of success
|
ANONYMOUS
No comments:
Post a Comment