Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Power of Positive Thinking
Movement for 11/22/08:
- Mom's confidence in her legs was a little shaky this morning; she wanted to use the wheelchair to travel from her bed to the bathroom for bathing. Normally I'd allow her sway but this morning she just looked, and had been acting, as she raised herself to a sitting position, took her breathing treatment on the edge of the bed and joked an chatted with me and the cats, as though she could probably hoof it to the bathroom; slow, maybe, haltingly, even, but I thought she could make it. I was right. She was slow, she halted fairly often, but she wasn't really iffy on her feet. Her steps were solid. She just wasn't used to doing this.
After her bath I didn't give her mode of mobility another thought. Without realizing it, I assumed that she'd, of course, be able to hoof it into the dinette. She did. I also assumed she'd be able to hoof it around the table through the dinette and down the dinette steps. She did. Her transfers with the chair, when we used it, were a little wobbly, but other than that she appeared to be in movement recovery. She was up for a long time (for her) before her nap and had already started to lapse into nap relaxation so we used the wheelchair from the living room to the bedroom by way of the bathroom. Again, her transfers were iffy but they always are when she's overstayed her up time.
Looks like we're on the upswing again. Perhaps we have a few "Good Cancer Cycle" days ahead of us. Here's hoping. I'll, of course, report back, later, on her evening. - She hoofed it into the bathroom, again, from the bedroom after her nap, but wasn't feeling good about it, halfway through. So, we opted for the wheelchair the rest of the night. She was much more comfortable with that. She transferred much better during the second half of her day than the first.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Probably in a "Bad Cancer Days" Cycle
Movement for 11/21/08:
- So far it's been a slow day in the wheelchair. She reported that she felt "good", just "tired", and has been choosing the wheelchair from destination to destination. Even though she'd been "up and down" (meaning she'd awakened and called me from her bedroom) a couple of times this morning, at her 12-hour-sleep mark, 1245, she asked for "more time". I gave her until 1400 and she was ready to rouse by then. I'm hoping for an in-the-living-room night but we'll see.
- Mom's choice from the bedroom to the bathroom, this evening, was, "I'd better walk."
"Good idea," I said. "Considering that you've been using the wheelchair a lot, lately, maybe we should give your legs some exercise."
Mom grinned. "Oh, they get plenty of exercise, all right."
Oh. All right.
She was slow, and iffy on her feet, so much so that I opted, on her behalf, for the wheelchair from the bathroom to the banister. She was disappointed, which surprised me, but agreed. "That walking tuckered me out," she said. I promised that if we thought she was up to it she could walk to the bedroom from the bathroom for bed, maybe even from the foyer steps to the bathroom. Imagine, promising my mother a chance to move!
Turns out, after a full evening, she decided on the wheelchair all the way to bed, but that was fine. She does, after all, by her own admission, get, "plenty of exercise"!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Day of the Tired
Movement for 11/20/08:
- I'm writing this while Mom is taking her evening nap. It's been a wheelchair day all day today, Mom's choice. I always ask; I never know whether one length's use the the wheelchair is going to spill over into another. Today, it is, so far. She's been pretty tired. I'm not convinced that it's air hunger. It could just be one of "those bad days". At any rate, I'm not going to predict how her post-nap evening will go. She was having some back pain before her nap. It was hard to determine the area but the degree clearly indicated it was not one of her "incredible pain" episodes, although it was back pain, and she had been uncomfortable for awhile although reluctant to call the discomfort "pain"; so I gave her 500 mg acetaminophen before she went down for her nap. She's been flying below radar all day today, though. I'm expecting her to take a relatively long nap. I'm thinking we might have a Bedside Evening, tonight, although I'm not sure. Could just end up being a light meal and another American Girl movie. Whatever. It's a very low key, just wheelin' around day.
- The evening part of Mom's day turned into a Bedside Evening, even though it extended for three hours. I was anticipating this; oh, yeah, I see that I mentioned my anticipation above. It did involve some movement but only transfers from bedroom to bathroom and back. Mom sat in the wheelchair throughout our "Bedside Evening", which was more comfortable than sitting on the bed because she was experiencing some upper back pain which probably wasn't cancer related and didn't involve "air hunger" for any reason. She was in good spirits and animated while she was up. I even asked her a couple of times, because she felt so good, if she wanted to be wheeled into the living room to watch more American Girl movies but, much to my pleased surprise, she preferred us continuing an intimate Bedside Evening in her room. At one point she even said, "I like doing this." So do I.
Slight Downturn
Movement for 11/19/08:
- The day was mostly a wheelchair day, at Mom's request, although she did insist on walking with environmental and me support from the bathroom after bathing into the dinette for breakfast and from the dinette into the living room after the Social Worker visit, using the wheelchair from the bottom of the dinette steps to the wheelchair. I was, frankly, expecting better in the evening but after a respiratory distress episode which, luckily, I caught before the pain began, she was pretty tired and we finished off the day wheeling it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Oomphing Along
Movement for 11/18/08:
- Although she seemed more tired and iffy, to me, than she was yesterday, and was certainly slower, she gave it "the old college try", under her own motivation, and, so far, the day has proceeded exactly like yesterday movement-wise; it just is taking her a little longer to get where she is going, today, and she is pausing, a lot, as she works her way to her destination. Her more-tired-than-usual state, in fact, led to what I would consider an early nap: At 1545, just a smidgen beyond three hours after her awake time. Not that she doesn't often take "early" naps; it's just that she hasn't, lately. Once she was abed, I told her that I wouldn't start to "worry" about how much she was sleeping until about 1930. More...
...later. - She chose the wheelchair for her entire post-nap evening. She remained tired, but attentive, throughout the evening and retired exactly 12 hours after she awoke earlier today. It was just one of those days for her.
A Little More Oomph
Movement for 11/17/08:
- Mom actually did some walking today, by choice, which was a relief for me. When we have a whole wheelchair day by her choice for no reason that I can clearly see, I always wonder if that means she's walked her last. Apparently, yesterday, she had not. We pretty much did a regular Medium Plateau day: Walking (with environmental and my assist) to the bathroom after awakening; walking to the dinette; walking around the table and down the steps to the wheelchair, waiting to whisk her around to her rocker; wheelchair to the bathroom pre-nap and to the bed for a nap; walking to the bathroom after nap; walking to the banister and down the foyer steps; wheelchair the rest of the night. Good risings, good transfers, good sittings.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Easy Does It Day
Movement for 11/16/08:
- Except for walking (with environmental and my assist) to the bathroom after awakening and after her nap, she opted for the wheelchair all day. I can't actually say that she was particularly iffy on her feet. She may have been, but she wasn't up on them enough for me to tell. She used them normally (for her) on her way to the bathroom, rose and transferred well. She could have just been having a low day. Not a problem. We can do that.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Holding Below High Plateau
Movement for 11/15/08:
- Mom's "morning" proceeded as usual. When she awoke from her nap she walked into the bathroom, but there was something about the way she was negotiating the hall that led me to believe that the wheelchair was in order for the rest of the evening. When I brought it in, after post-nap prep, she settled into it and said, "Ah, that's nice," so I guess I was right.
- Last night and tonight she was not interested in standing so I could pull her slacks down for her evening full leg rub, so I did my best underneath her slacks on her lower legs.
- Today, when she awoke for the day, she complained of her shoulders being unusually tight. I tried massage, which didn't seem to work, but scratching her entire back lightly for about 10 minutes did. I think we'll be incorporating this into her routine, now.
