Saturday, November 15, 2008
High Plateau (almost) Cold Day
Movement for 11/14/08:
- Despite very evident symptoms of a cold, today, Mom's movement profile almost moved into the High Plateau range. She walked, with environmental and me assist everywhere she's been walking except to the bathroom for bedtime prep and to bed. The only reason she didn't walk these paths was because she was overtaken by a couple of sneezing fits as she attempted to rise from the wheelchair at the foyer steps. I made the decision that the wheelchair would be in order and replaced the ramp on the steps. Her spirit was willing and, probably, her body was, too, because she argued my decision, then, halfway down the hall was overcome by yet another sneezing fit. She doesn't hold her position well when she's sneezing.
Still no walker, but my confidence that she might be using it again is higher.
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Little Less, a Little More
Movement for 11/13/08:
- She arose without the confidence to trust herself to walk to the bathroom or the dinette, so we wheeled it for the first part of her morning. After breakfast, though, she was insistent on walking around the table and down the dinette steps the the living room, as usual being transported to the rocker in the wheelchair.
- Evening brought on a lot more energy. She not only walked into the bathroom but felt confident enough to do a good job of walking to the banister and down the foyer steps to the waiting wheelchair, with which I took her to the rocker. I'm almost beginning to feel confident enough to allow her to try to walker, again.
- As has been happening lately, in the evening she is much too tired to want to head to the bathroom using anything but the wheelchair, but once we finished with bedtime prep in the bathroom, she was eager to walk into the bedroom and did a fair job, faltering only once.
- No more nausea, today, thank the gods.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Still Searching Out the New Plateau Level
Movement for 11/12/08:
- Mom's determination allowed her to assume, this morning, that she would be able to walk into the bathroom after awakening. She was surprised to discover that she was a little shaky on her legs, though. When she sat back down on the bed after attempting, unsuccessfully, to take a few steps, rolled the wheelchair over and we did it the streamlined way. She stood very well during groin bathing, which was extended more than usual due to a necessary cleaning after a bowel movement. Stood well after dressing, too, and we both thought there would be no problem with her walking into the dinette. By the time she'd arrived at the door to the bathroom, though, it was obvious that she was continuing to have trouble, primarily with her right knee, so we slipped the wheelchair behind her and took the fast route to the dinette.
- After her nap, once again she started out in fine fettle. I discovered she was awake, in fact, because she had arisen so quietly in her bedroom that I heard nothing unusual over the monitor receiver. She was almost completely down the hall when I heard her shuffling and came to her assist, helping her turn and head back to the bathroom. She and I were both sure that she would be able to walk from the toilet to the banister in the foyer. She also said that she thought she "should". However, once up, she was iffy, again. She was determined though, to continue trying until a slight wave of nausea overtook her and I moved the wheelchair behind her and wheeled her the rest of the way to the living room. I should mention that this nausea upon standing is the second episode she's had in the last two days. I'm not sure what's causing it. I didn't think about it the first time it happened on Monday because I knew she was working up to a cold and she had complained of a very full head and ringing and plugging in her ears, all of which could manifest in slight nausea, as well. I didn't mention it to the Hospice RN on Tuesday because, frankly, I didn't think of it. I think, though, if this continues, I'll definitely be mentioning it next week.
- Everything went fine through the evening until she had an extreme pain episode, which I'll discuss over at the main journal in a bit. It involved her back, a different area than has been affected before and a much higher level of pain than she's experienced for a long, long time. Aside from immediately giving her 500 mg of acetaminophen and calling Hospice, just in case, I also had her stand, thinking it might be a cramp from sitting in her peculiar position. She was able to stand and sit well, even though the pain was bad; and, her standing and sitting back down did not affect the pain at all. However, after addressing the pain to the point where it disappeared, on her way to bed we both opted for the wheelchair without question or discussion. She continued to transfer well throughout.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Cold Day
Movement for 11/11/08:
- Since today included a nurse visit and, as I always do, I reminded her of this when I awoke her at noon after 11.5 hours of sleep, although it can't be said that she charged out of bed, the beginning of her morning was easy, although unusually slow. She wasn't quite out of the bathroom when the nurse arrived. She had indicated to me earlier during her bath that she intended to walk into the dinette, but when the time arrived to do so she opted for the wheelchair. She did, however, walk around the table and down the dinette steps to the waiting wheelchair to be transferred to the living room and her rocker. However, she was reluctant to move from the table and it took a bit of coaxing to do this. I decided, though, to persist, since, even though I knew she felt physically low, despite her reporting to the Hospice RN that she felt "great", it would probably do her good to move around a bit. I don't know if I was right, but I don't think I was dangerously wrong.
She was, again, tonight, reluctant to rise after her nap, a looong one. By this time it was obvious that all the sneezing she's been doing over the last few days has been her working up to a full fledged cold, so her increased lethargy was easily understood. She's been reporting all day that she felt "coldish" and I not only believed her, I was surprised she didn't indicate this to the RN. At any rate, she's also been on regular strength acetaminophen at constant intervals and has report, once, that her head felt "full". Once up, though, she remained up, of her own accord, in the living room, for a little over five hours, ate a fair dinner, drank plenty of liquids (with plenty of coaching) and looked pretty good, although tired, when she finally went to bed at 0145 this morning. Yes, we wheeled her to bathroom and to bed. But, you know, she did fine with transfers.
Almost a Sleep Day
Movement for 11/10/08:
- Now that I look back on this day from the vantage point of a bit over 24 hours later, I think she was probably coming down with the cold that overtook her on the afternoon and evening of Veteran's Day. On this day, though, the 10th, she started out pretty good: Walked into the bathroom from her bedroom, into the dinette from the bathroom, around the table and down the steps to the wheelchair while moving to her rocker in the livingroom, and, as we've been doing lately, we wheeled her from her rocker into the bathroom for pre-nap prep, then into the bedroom for her nap.
The "trouble" started when she didn't want to get up after her nap. It was clear that she wasn't feeling good, so we fashioned a bedroom night, including dinner served to her as she sat on the edge of her bed. Once she got going, though, she revived. Although movement for the evening involved only two trips to the bathroom, her usual after nap and before bed trips, and the wheelchair was utilized for both, she transferred well and even managed to stay up long enough to put in an 8.5 hour day.
Monday, November 10, 2008
A New, Slightly Lower Plateau
Movement for 11/9/08:
- Today was a mirror image of yesterday. I'm thinking that we may be establishing a new plateau. It is, obviously, a bit lower than our former plateau. Walkering from the dinette steps to the rocker and from the walker to the foyer steps hasn't been reintroduced. Frankly, I'm not sure we will. Neither Mom nor I trusts the walker as we used to, considering Mom's incrementally weakening legs.
I can't say whether we'll reestablish walking up the foyer steps and walking with environmental and my assistance from the foyer to the bathroom. As well, in the evening, she's been opting regularly for wheeling to bed from the bathroom. Lately, she tires more easily than, say, a month ago, even though I doubt that her awake time average has decreased. When she's tired, now, you can see the collapsing in her eyes. I don't push her to movement when I notice that look; and, I'm getting in the habit, now, of looking for it I'm planning on initiating a movement episode.
I should probably mention, we no longer do those exercises once a day. Maybe once every two or three days she'll agree to run through the series. Maybe, of those episodes, one of two includes all the exercises before she decides to stop. Of the exercises we do, we never get beyond 10 reps. The exercises that cause her to balk most often are the sit-marching in place and raising her legs from the knee. The one exercise she is always up for, if she agrees to exercise, are the heel/toe ankle stretches.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
A Little More, A Little Better
Movement for 11/8/08:
- Mom walked (with environmental and my support) more easily than she has been, lately, to the bathroom upon arising, into the dinette and around the table down the dinette steps heading toward the rocker. She was a bit iffy on the steps so I quickly commandeered the wheelchair to get her to the rocker, even though she thought she could use the walker. I wasn't quite so sure.
In the evening she walked to the bathroom then, because she was moving so well, I allowed her insistence on walking, as well, to the banister and down the foyer steps to the waiting wheelchair for a quick ride to the walker. She did well on transfers, for the most part. She wasn't up as much as usual, today, but when she was she walked more and better than she has recently.
