Saturday, June 18, 2005
My concern about Mom's right side injury...
...remains neither heightened nor lessened. At 0845 this morning, when I checked on her as she was sleeping and awoke her to reattach her oxygen before I headed on an early trip to Costco and to do some faxing, I asked her if her side hurt and she said, while laying on her bed on her left side, groggy with sleep just exited and about to be reentered, that it was "bothering" her "a little". When I returned and she was sitting on the toilet, having just had a bowel movement, she reported that it was "fine". However, as we were bathing her she experienced a few mild twinges while washing her arms and one sharp twinge when she bent over to retrieve a dropped wash cloth. We again discussed the possibility of a cracked rib. I consider this more of a possibility than I did yesterday but still not a certainty. She experiences no discomfort when standing, walking or getting into and out of her rocker (which is set pretty low to the ground). She did have a little discomfort getting off the toilet (which has an extension on it and is set about 5 inches higher than her rocker). She also experienced a sharp twinge once when sneezing while sitting on the toilet, but sneezed a couple of times later in her rocker before receiving acetaminophen and experienced discomfort. Once the acetaminophen kicked in she was pain free. Overall, when she does experience pain, she reports it is "less than yesterday".
I'm not sure whether the PCP will recommend x-rays on Tuesday. I expect it will depend on how much pain she's still experiencing. I will, of course, question her assiduously before we go and while we're traveling. She has a marked tendency to minimize the reporting of pain, discomfort or any type of dis-ease symptoms when she is in a medical office but is much less shy with me and, anyway, I know how to interpret her disavowals of discomfort when she is experiencing some. At any rate, if x-rays are recommended that's not a problem. The imaging office is just a couple of blocks down a parallel street and is an efficiently run center; rarely is there much of a wait.
She continues to have no pain when breathing nor difficulty breathing. Since last night I've been monitoring her temperature arterially on the forehead in case internal infection develops from a severe bruising or possible puncturing of an organ. She does not appear any paler than normal, though, no unusual lethargy or resistance to movement. If she did crack a rib it's probably a slight fracture, leaving the rib intact.
As a precaution I'm continuing the moratorium on therapy exercises and exercise walkering, much to her delight. I think by the time Tuesday rolls around I'll have a better idea of whether this injury will require any more treatment than I'm already administering. I consider the fact that she was up early and moving around to close windows and doors to cut down on the breeze through the house a good sign.
Her resilience never fails to amaze me. This morning, after the twinge during sneezing, I said to her, "Damn, it's hell to get old, isn't it?"
"Oh," she said, smiling, and in contrast to what she sometimes says when she's fine but "feeling old", "you get used to it. It's better than the alternative."
Considering that I think she still resists believing in her mortality, I wonder what she considers to be "the alternative"! I probably should have asked.
As for me, I got a very good, restful sleep last night, finally. The Little Girl was sleeping with me this morning, which is a good sign. She hasn't slept with me for awhile and I know it's because I've been too restless in sleep for her to put up with. I'm feeling better about the work involved in our trip to the doctor but still not quite up to the possibility of visiting friends, especially if our visit to the doctor involves getting x-rays.
I'm not sure whether the PCP will recommend x-rays on Tuesday. I expect it will depend on how much pain she's still experiencing. I will, of course, question her assiduously before we go and while we're traveling. She has a marked tendency to minimize the reporting of pain, discomfort or any type of dis-ease symptoms when she is in a medical office but is much less shy with me and, anyway, I know how to interpret her disavowals of discomfort when she is experiencing some. At any rate, if x-rays are recommended that's not a problem. The imaging office is just a couple of blocks down a parallel street and is an efficiently run center; rarely is there much of a wait.
She continues to have no pain when breathing nor difficulty breathing. Since last night I've been monitoring her temperature arterially on the forehead in case internal infection develops from a severe bruising or possible puncturing of an organ. She does not appear any paler than normal, though, no unusual lethargy or resistance to movement. If she did crack a rib it's probably a slight fracture, leaving the rib intact.
As a precaution I'm continuing the moratorium on therapy exercises and exercise walkering, much to her delight. I think by the time Tuesday rolls around I'll have a better idea of whether this injury will require any more treatment than I'm already administering. I consider the fact that she was up early and moving around to close windows and doors to cut down on the breeze through the house a good sign.
Her resilience never fails to amaze me. This morning, after the twinge during sneezing, I said to her, "Damn, it's hell to get old, isn't it?"
"Oh," she said, smiling, and in contrast to what she sometimes says when she's fine but "feeling old", "you get used to it. It's better than the alternative."
Considering that I think she still resists believing in her mortality, I wonder what she considers to be "the alternative"! I probably should have asked.
As for me, I got a very good, restful sleep last night, finally. The Little Girl was sleeping with me this morning, which is a good sign. She hasn't slept with me for awhile and I know it's because I've been too restless in sleep for her to put up with. I'm feeling better about the work involved in our trip to the doctor but still not quite up to the possibility of visiting friends, especially if our visit to the doctor involves getting x-rays.
