Thursday, July 21, 2005
We performed therapy exercises again, today.
Mom resisted and I insisted and we did it. Afterwards I announced that we were going to do them everyday, to whatever extent we could, from now on. As well, tomorrow we'll begin practicing walkering, again. It's very humid and muggy and hot outside so I told her we'd practice in here: Back and forth in the living room and the hall, including practice approaching stairs, having her think about what to do with her walker when she gets to the stairs in order to negotiate them then I'd carry the walker up the steps and we'd continue. "Five to ten minutes, tomorrow morning, after breakfast, before you get involved with anything else."
Her face showed mild disapproval but I told her, "Look, woman. When you were falling all over your left side at the Skilled Nursing Facility and as weak as a kitten you were doing two exercise therapy sessions a day, including Sunday, one walkering session, and in a week you were getting out of bed and wandering the halls on your own [much to the attendant's consternation]. You are nowhere near as weak as you were then. You can do this."
I made this decision primarily because of the recent scary episodes of CHF we've endured. It makes sense to me that if I get her moving the episodes of feet and abdominal edema should subside. Sure enough, after tonight's exercise session, her feet didn't even swell as much as they normally do in the evening.
"Mom," I said, "do you agree with me that if there's a way to fix or avoid something without medicine, that's the better way?"
"Well, yes. Of course."
"Well, I think this is the way we can avoid your episodes of CHF. They've been alarmingly frequent, lately, and I'm not interested in pilling you up and anxiously trying to make sure you don't have a blood pressure crash or that I don't fill you so full of fluids that I precipitate a CHF episode. Does that make sense to you?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"Look at it this way. We've got nothing better to do, so let's try this."
"I suppose you're right."
All her wily little language escape pods lined up to take her out of the fray but I brushed all of them aside. So, we're going to try it again. Yet again.
Sometimes, it's not just the Ancient One who takes two steps forward and one back, it's the caregiver, too.
Anyway, if you're interested, here's how today's session went:
Today's Exercise Session
Anyway, it's getting late. Mom went to bed at 2300 so tomorrow I'll be getting her up no later than 1100. However, considering what usually happens when she starts moving, it's entirely possible she'll be up earlier. That would be nice.
Later.
Her face showed mild disapproval but I told her, "Look, woman. When you were falling all over your left side at the Skilled Nursing Facility and as weak as a kitten you were doing two exercise therapy sessions a day, including Sunday, one walkering session, and in a week you were getting out of bed and wandering the halls on your own [much to the attendant's consternation]. You are nowhere near as weak as you were then. You can do this."
I made this decision primarily because of the recent scary episodes of CHF we've endured. It makes sense to me that if I get her moving the episodes of feet and abdominal edema should subside. Sure enough, after tonight's exercise session, her feet didn't even swell as much as they normally do in the evening.
"Mom," I said, "do you agree with me that if there's a way to fix or avoid something without medicine, that's the better way?"
"Well, yes. Of course."
"Well, I think this is the way we can avoid your episodes of CHF. They've been alarmingly frequent, lately, and I'm not interested in pilling you up and anxiously trying to make sure you don't have a blood pressure crash or that I don't fill you so full of fluids that I precipitate a CHF episode. Does that make sense to you?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"Look at it this way. We've got nothing better to do, so let's try this."
"I suppose you're right."
All her wily little language escape pods lined up to take her out of the fray but I brushed all of them aside. So, we're going to try it again. Yet again.
Sometimes, it's not just the Ancient One who takes two steps forward and one back, it's the caregiver, too.
Anyway, if you're interested, here's how today's session went:
Today's Exercise Session
Anyway, it's getting late. Mom went to bed at 2300 so tomorrow I'll be getting her up no later than 1100. However, considering what usually happens when she starts moving, it's entirely possible she'll be up earlier. That would be nice.
Later.
