Mom & Me Three Archive

...which I fax to the doctor every month. This time I posted it for the date of her Blood Draw. You can access it here. I also decided to include it as one of the Special Posts that is listed at the top of the links section at the main journal. Each time a new health review becomes available the link will be changed to take you to the most current version.
    Because I posted yesterday's meals and stats at Mom's Daily Tests and Meds a few hours before she retired, her retirement information for yesterday is as follows: She retired at 2330; light went out at 2345.
    I'll check back...
    ...later.

...to the title This Isn't Your Mother's Caregiving contained in my December 18th post?
    Blood Draw results are up for Mom's 12/21/05 blood draw. Her hemoglobin is heading back up, as are some of her other indicators. She continues to hold her own. I was concerned about her sodium and potassium and relieved to see that those are remaining within normal range.
    I had a very touchy day, yesterday, due to yet more "breathe through your nose, not your mouth" problems in the car on our way to and from the lab. I finally figured out that the only time she consistently refuses to do this to my terrible distraction is when she's in the car. I considered that it might have something to do with car seats but in the last several months she's spent a lot of time in a variety of car seats, thanks to me renting cars for our Valley trips. Of all those car seats only two have been uncomfortable for her or put her in a position that might (and this is a big "might") compromise her ability to breathe normally: Our truck seat and the Monte Carlo seat. The seat she occupied during the Thanksgiving Trip was a very comfortable one for her. So, that's not it.
    A couple of nights ago Mom awoke about an hour into her night sleep, came out to the living room, settled into her rocker with the intention of discussing what one does when one has lost one's driver's license. For some reason she suddenly remembered that she "couldn't find" her driver's license. I explained to her that she no longer has a driver's license and hasn't had one since she drove into the side of our Mesa house in the spring of 2000. We had a conversation about why she no longer drives, including me reminding her that previous to her final car accident she was having trouble remembering how to drive, anyway, would only drive to and from the beauty shop across the street and that I probably should have revoked her license long before I did. I also reminded her of the 92 year old woman in Glendale, AZ, who, the same year Mom drove into our house, mistook the gas for the brakes while at a Park and Swap, demolished a couple of kiosks and killed a couple of people.
    "We were lucky, Mom. All you did was damage our utility room."
    "I suppose so," she responded, "but I think I should have a license."
    "Mom," I told her, "if you want an Arizona ID we can do that. We haven't gotten you one because you have your military ID and that suffices just fine here in Arizona. But, if you want a state ID we'll get you one. Let's wait 'till after the New Year, though."
    "Will I be able to use it as a driver's license?"
    "No, but, Mom, even if you could, I wouldn't let you use it as a driver's license anymore. You haven't driven for almost six years, now, and I'm not about to let you get behind the wheel of a car ever again."
    "Well, I don't know why. I'm perfectly capable of driving."
    "No, Mom, you're not. And, anyway, you never liked driving, anyway!"
    "That doesn't matter! I think I should have a driver's license!"
    "Well, I can guarantee you that the State of Arizona would be in agreement with me, not you. And, anyway, what do you need a license for? I drive you everywhere you want to go."
    "What if something happened to you?"
    "There are perfectly competent ambulance drivers would could take me to the hospital if something happened to me."
    "And what about me?!? How would I get around if you were in the hospital?"
    "Mom, if I were in the hospital you'd either stay with MCS or MFS, I'm sure, until I was able to be with you, again. If I wasn't able to ever be with you again, one of your other daughters would step in." I didn't mention that there's a possibility that she'd be in a nursing home for awhile. No reason to upset her out of turn.
    "I hope nothing happens to you."
    "So do I, Mom. And, frankly, I don't think it will. I think we'll be just fine, you and me, and I'll be able to take you anywhere you want to go as long as you're around."
    "Good. That's settled. I think I'll head for bed."
    Whew.

    I've some more reporting I want to do, but I'm behind on compiling Mom's blood pressure, blood glucose and health reviews for her doctor. I want to get those out tomorrow. Suffice it to say, I've been experiencing a couple of bad days: So difficult that I've been indulging myself in "What if I just decided to abandon my post?" fantasies. Not that I will. The fantasies seem to take the edge off. I'll explain...
    ...later.

Faxed to Doctor: 12/23/05

Blood Pressure:
    See attached chart. I finally figured out that taking her blood pressure every time she turned around was part of the reason it was running high. Even though it was hard for me, I took your advice to monitor it much less often. I slowly worked myself back to once a day in the evening every other day. Since I’ve been doing this her blood pressure has been very even, no episodes of high blood pressure and no extra lisinopril has been needed. Maybe I was the cause of some of her high blood pressure episodes because I just wouldn’t leave her alone! What a lesson to learn! Thank you, doctor, for encouraging me to pull back in monitoring her. She and I are both much better off for it!

Blood Sugar:
    Very good control. See attached numbers.

Urinary Issues:
    No change. Macrodantin continues to keep her UTI free.

Hydration:
    No change from last month.

Energy Level:
    She’s staying up more than last month. Although awaking later, she’s retiring much later. Her naps are shorter than last month, too. She’s not getting out much more but at least she’s not in bed as much.

Skin & Circulation:
    Both continue to be excellent. No changes.

Appetite & Diet:
    Both remain excellent. No changes.

Dementia:
    Remains unchanged.

Will & Spirit:
    Remain strong and high, respectively.

Medication & Supplements:
    I’ve boosted her, yet again, to 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Benefiber a day.
    She’s had two 200 mg ibuprofen pills in the last two weeks for temporary knee and back aches.
    I’ve given her 20 mg furosemide twice in the last month for torso and feet swelling that wouldn’t go subside any other way. These are noted on her BP report.
    I’ve boosted her lisinopril 7 times in the last month. These are noted on her BP report. All of these boosts happened before I cut back on measuring her BP. Since then, no boosts have been necessary. She seems to be doing well on 10/mg per day administered at 5 mg in the morning and at night.

CHF:
    Only two mild CHF episodes since last report, both involving the administration of furosemide.

COPD:
    No changes from last report.

Bowel Movements:
    One episode of diarrhea after ODing on some diabetic candy. Continues to eliminate every 24-72 hrs; usually every 48 hrs. Fecal consistency, volume and ease of elimination remain excellent overall.

Additional Notes:

1. I still haven’t found an available flu shot up here but she seems to be doing fine without it, probably because she isn’t getting out much and although I do get out, I managed to get a flu shot before the shortage took hold.
2. You will notice that a copy of her test results for her 12/21/05 draw are attached (CBC & BMP). Once again, the lab did not delete [Shiny New Doctor's] order from their system and printed the report to be faxed to him. This time, when I picked up my copy and noticed the error, I stood by the computer person and watched as she deleted the order, then had her pull up your order to confirm that they had your new fax number, not your old one. She said she’d fax you a copy of the report but, just in case she didn’t, I’m faxing you a copy with all this other stuff.
3. Again, just for fun, I did her BP averages for 11/22/05-12/21/05:
   pre-breakfast:  133/66       pre-dinner:  127/63
   Chances are, now that I’ve slowed down on monitoring, next month the averages will only be for pre-dinner readings. I might, occasionally, do a run of pre-breakfast or pre-lunch readings but the truth is, she is more likely to get irritated when I take her BP prior to breakfast or lunch so I may stick with just pre-dinner readings.
4. Also, regarding the slow down on BP monitoring, if I notice more CHF episodes than usual and/or her BP seems to run awfully high during a particular reading, I’ll step up the monitoring (a little) to see if anything significant is happening.

    I've got a few moments (which haven't been plentiful, lately). Following is a list of topics upon which I've been meaning to write, but I haven't had much time to get back here; over the next few days, I hope to complete those I don't get a chance to complete at this writing; check back for links to further material on those that are barely more than a title:

1. I think I have a type of Seasonal Affective Disorder but it's different than the usual.
2. Happier Holidays than Usual:  I've been doing much better at the holidays this year than in years past but not as good as I intended. Once I went to the shed and viewed the work involved in simply dragging a 75 lb box stuck in the back and surrounded by other boxes out and into the truck, not to mention finding all the boxes marked "X-mas" and hauling those out, as well, I decided, nah, I'm not into that this year, we'll use the small fiber optic tree; which, as of this writing, I haven't yet displayed. Maybe tonight.
3. This Isn't Your Mother's Caregiving:  I overheard a conversation at Walmart about a week ago that's been haunting me since. The chattier of the two participants was the married-with-children sister of a woman who, according to the conversation, is taking care of her the two siblings' mother. The conversation involved the listener commenting to Ms. Chatty that, despite not knowing her, she admired Ms. Chatty's sister for "taking on" the care of their shared mother. Ms. Chatty responded, "I don't know if she deserves to be admired. She's not doing anything more than our mother ever did for us when she was raising us." This reminded me of something I read on a website set up by another caregiver who admonished ALL caregivers to consider themselves "heroes", with which I initially took issue and still do but with modifications since overhearing this particular conversation. I'll write on this later.
       Linked to essay on December 21, 2005.

    For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the minor detail of our lives over at Mom's Daily Tests & Meds, in brief:

• We're both doing well;
• Holiday baking has dwindled but is picking up again, now that the weather is more to my liking;
• Mom still isn't getting out much but it would be inaccurate to say that she's hibernating;
• We'll be going in for her December blood draw tomorrow, which will include a BMP and a CBC, both of which I expect to be within her normal ranges;
• I've definitely decided, no traveling over the holidays. Despite the promises of felicitous get-togethers, I simply can't face another intense up-and-down trip, right now and don't even want to try;
• Our yard is tucked in for a winter that I despair may not appear this year;
• My networking effort has been only partially successful but I'm still working on it and hoping for the best;
• The TOC is languishing while I spend most of my "free" time on the details of networking the way I want to network.

    I'll try to check in a bit more often than I've been doing, lately.
    Later.