Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Observer and the Observed
Movement for 7/29/08:
- The Hospice RN showed up today just as Mom was ready to head out of the bathroom to the breakfast table. I was pleased that he would be able to see how she "mobilizes" and told him this when he wondered if he should leave and come back later.
"No," I told him, "I want you to see how we live. As time passes I'm sure that you'll see in a variety of stages, naked and clothed. As far as I'm concerned, you're a part of the family. I want you to feel welcome at any time no matter what we're doing."
Thus, he stood by and watched as she and I trekked from the bathroom to the table. He made two comments to me: "I'm watching you're technique," and "That's the way my mother walks."
He asked if she uses the cane, seeing it in the kitchen, and I said, "Yes, like this," and I held it up the way she holds it when she uses it, which is, essentially, useless. He asked about her use of the walker and I demonstrated her wheelbarrow way of using it. I explained that she did, indeed, use it every day to cover areas with no available environmental support but, mostly, she moved in areas with lots of environmental support and, actually, moves much better during these than other times.
He also noted that she was able to talk while she was moving and immediately after she stopped (although she does stop when she talks, during movement, for any length of time). He took her blood oxygen level immediately after she sat. It was 93%. I was under the mistaken impression that this was at 5/lpm. As it happened, I had accidentally dialed the regulator to 6/lpm as I switched her from bedroom oxygen to tank oxygen. Oops!
Still and all, he assessed her as moving well within her limits. My take on this is that she is comfortable with herself and moves as much as she can and wants to, as she is able, thus, she regulates herself well and is so comfortable with her limits that she doesn't consider them limits. - After the nurse left she was up for another episode of Blue Planet, so we headed for the living room. I think she "stayed too long at the fair," though, because she discovered, on her way to the foyer banister in order to take a nap, that her legs (particularly her right) were "giving out" on her. I picked up the slack with the wheelchair at the top of the steps and wheeled her not only into the bathroom but into her bedroom, as well.
- In the evening she had revived. She moved both with the walker and under her own steam as usual. She even "danced" (wiggled her hips in response to a joke I made) at the sink when she was brushing her teeth before bed. Earlier in the day I mentioned "getting out" again, noting that we hadn't done that "today".
Mom sighed. "I know," she said. "I just didn't have it in me today. Maybe later this week."
We'll follow her schedule on this. - During a part of the RN's and my conversation I mentioned the difficulty Mom has getting into our car. We've tried it once since she's returned from the facility. We decided, one day before the rains set it, that it might be nice to go to the park and she assented to the idea of being wheeled around to people watch, although I assured her I'd take her walker with us "just in case". Getting her out of the house with the outside ramp is a breeze, but getting her into the car is not. After a couple of very frustrating tries, we decided to stop. I've had it in the back of my mind to try again...I've even mentioned it to Mom but, of all the things she is capable of forgetting, her difficulty getting into our car (which is a light utility truck) is not one of them.
The nurse expressed surprise that she has trouble with "that little truck". "Can't she just slide in?" he asked.
"Nope," I confirmed, "she's too short to do that anymore without lifting herself up and we discovered that she can't seem to do that anymore [it was a mere three months ago, the last time she negotiated the truck seat in order to go to an EPO appointment]." As well, I'm not at all facile at lifting and pushing her into the seat.
So, I asked him about possible platforms with ramps attached (knowing that MPNP is, at this time, drowning in school and work) that I could use to wheel her to a height almost equal to the floor of the truck then have her stand and sidle in. He suggested another possibility: Dig out a part of the dirt area to the side of our front driveway to create a faux driveway alongside the concrete one that is low enough so that, when I back the truck into it, she can just step from the driveway into the car. This, actually, is a great idea. I scoped out the dirt area beside the driveway this morning and it should work. Now, just to get to it, and all the other yard work that has fallen by the wayside since 5/14/08!
# posted by Gail Rae @ 19:07 email...
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...this post 