Sunday, January 30, 2005
Health Class
Administering to my mother has taught me that health is not a definition of a static state. Rather, it is the attempt to define the state of one's balance with one's environment, including but not exclusive of one's body and including the psyche of the health challenged and the primary healthcare provider, which, in most cases, is the primary caregiver. Promoting health is the attempt to find the most comfortable balance. This balance, I believe, promotes maximum healing.
This has not been an easy lesson to learn. It bears on my new interpretation of my mother's latest statistics. It also adds an historical perspective. My mother, for instance, has been "running high" on the BUN/Creatinine scale for at least 5 years, possibly longer; yet her doctors continue to say that her kidney functions are "fine". They are, considering that her kidneys, although they have not been abused, are now Ancient, functioning within Ancient systems and subsystems.
She no longer smokes, which has probably prolonged her life. Certainly it's made her, thus me, more comfortable. I think it's her lack of smoking that is part of the reason she hasn't contracted the flu this year despite not having yet had a flu shot. As well, of course, she hasn't been out much, thus constricting her health environment. For that matter, neither have I, so I haven't been bringing many bugs in. Being at the lab is touchy; there's an environment rife with opportunistic flora and fauna. We're never there long, though, although her skin is broken at least once while we're there.
I think if one has a "condition" or two, then the yardstick upon which to measure "health" changes. The FNP mentioned that, considering Mom's profile, there is no reason to launch an aggressive attack against her diabetes although this doesn't also mean I can be lax. If she were 55 aggression would be called for. At 87, having only been diagnosed since 1999, considering that her blood sugar management is excellent, she is not a candidate for Advanced Chronic Diabetic Disorders; everything is just old. Her kidney's probably aren't even being mortally affected by her diabetes. A diet high in anti-oxidants (since she takes so much iron) is an excellent precautionary measure as long as my mother continues to eat a healthy diet. Her kidneys will probably give out long before her heart, especially now that her excellent but Ancient cardio-pulmonary system is no longer unusually challenged by smoking. The important aspects of her care will be to monitor her anemia against her iron intake and make sure her bowel movements are regular; I am to take heed when these become a difficult goals to achieve. I'm not anticipating many transfusions as long as iron supplementation remains auspicious.
I'm disappointed about the UTI's. I was hoping to not have to keep my mother on fairly frequent courses of antibiotics. But, you know, she's 87. It's not going to affect her 40 years down the line. We've discovered the drug and dosage of minimum tolerance and maximum benefit, which is good.
At this point I'm thinking at least another 5 years, all of them comfortable. But, of course, at any particular time I've always thought at least five more years, except when she's been severely anemic. Then I was thinking maybe another year if luck is behind our sail.
Hmmmm...I believe she's up.
Later.
This has not been an easy lesson to learn. It bears on my new interpretation of my mother's latest statistics. It also adds an historical perspective. My mother, for instance, has been "running high" on the BUN/Creatinine scale for at least 5 years, possibly longer; yet her doctors continue to say that her kidney functions are "fine". They are, considering that her kidneys, although they have not been abused, are now Ancient, functioning within Ancient systems and subsystems.
She no longer smokes, which has probably prolonged her life. Certainly it's made her, thus me, more comfortable. I think it's her lack of smoking that is part of the reason she hasn't contracted the flu this year despite not having yet had a flu shot. As well, of course, she hasn't been out much, thus constricting her health environment. For that matter, neither have I, so I haven't been bringing many bugs in. Being at the lab is touchy; there's an environment rife with opportunistic flora and fauna. We're never there long, though, although her skin is broken at least once while we're there.
I think if one has a "condition" or two, then the yardstick upon which to measure "health" changes. The FNP mentioned that, considering Mom's profile, there is no reason to launch an aggressive attack against her diabetes although this doesn't also mean I can be lax. If she were 55 aggression would be called for. At 87, having only been diagnosed since 1999, considering that her blood sugar management is excellent, she is not a candidate for Advanced Chronic Diabetic Disorders; everything is just old. Her kidney's probably aren't even being mortally affected by her diabetes. A diet high in anti-oxidants (since she takes so much iron) is an excellent precautionary measure as long as my mother continues to eat a healthy diet. Her kidneys will probably give out long before her heart, especially now that her excellent but Ancient cardio-pulmonary system is no longer unusually challenged by smoking. The important aspects of her care will be to monitor her anemia against her iron intake and make sure her bowel movements are regular; I am to take heed when these become a difficult goals to achieve. I'm not anticipating many transfusions as long as iron supplementation remains auspicious.
I'm disappointed about the UTI's. I was hoping to not have to keep my mother on fairly frequent courses of antibiotics. But, you know, she's 87. It's not going to affect her 40 years down the line. We've discovered the drug and dosage of minimum tolerance and maximum benefit, which is good.
At this point I'm thinking at least another 5 years, all of them comfortable. But, of course, at any particular time I've always thought at least five more years, except when she's been severely anemic. Then I was thinking maybe another year if luck is behind our sail.
Hmmmm...I believe she's up.
Later.
