Friday, November 27, 2009

Our Thanksgiving began as a light-hearted, fun day and ended with a thump.

We had decided that we'd order and have delivered a super-dooper pizza for our Thankgiving meal. We intended to order it late Wednesday afternoon, put it in the car to keep cool and away from critters, then break it out on Thanksgiving day. I ordered two mediums (so we'd each have our own) with double loads of everything we like. I met the delivery at the gate and walking down the driveway, that aroma got the best of me so I walked right past the car and into the house announcing our pizza had arrived. Howard and I together did a 180 and began devouring it within minutes.

And then we had pizza for Thanksgiving breakfast, pizza for Thanksgiving lunch and smoked pork chops and Allen's fine collards for Thanksgiving dinner.

But during the late morning Howard's cough began to get worse and productive. Christie called nurse Gwen who found a pharmacy open and had hospice nurse Joan deliver Cipro right to our door. But it was 7 p.m. before they managed to get the medicine to us. By then Howard was getting really sick, so I put her right to bed. And that was the thump that our day ended with.

The good news is that she slept well and already feels better this morning, so apparently the Cipro went right to work. I think we might have dodged a bullet here.

Howard was awake this morning by 5:15 ready to get her day started, wanting to get bundled up and head to the porch to watch the sunrise over a cup of coffee. And it was 32 degrees outside. Not to worry--she was toasty warm underneath a sleeping bag, quilted coat and scarf. And so we watched as the horizon of a dark sky began to glow, faintly at first, then gradually turn to a silver light that seemed to spread like wings around the earth and we decided that's not a bad way to begin a day.

Enjoy your Friday.
Dianne

Thursday, November 26, 2009--Thanksgiving

Yesterday morning was a struggle for Howard mainly because of shortness of breath. But with the help of breathing treatments, by afternoon she was feeling much better. She had a relatively restful night, but was awake by 6 a.m., restless and wanting out of the bed as soon as possible.

I bundled her up in the sleeping bag and her old blue plaid quilted coat for us to go on the porch and watch the sun rise and have our first cup of coffee. It was a subtle sunrise this morning, but beautiful nonetheless and our woods were full of their early morning magic.

That cough continues although is restricted now to early mornings and late in the evening. Howard doesn't want me to call Gwen about it--not yet, and so I've promised her I'll wait for her green light to do so. One way for her to retain her autonomy with my role as caretaker is for me not to push my will onto her, and so I won't.

Cathy dropped by yesterday with Allen's world's-best-cooked collards, an annual ritual among us. And Brian did an excellent job repairing our gutter's downspout, replacing two panels of screen on the porch and installing our new mailbox. So it was a good day.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving day.
Dianne

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Even though she showed some signs of improvement, yesterday was another rough one for Howard. At issue now is an increase in shortness of breath episodes accompanied by a developing and congestive sounding cough. Nurse Gwen was here yesterday, but Howard didn't want to address the cough with her, rather she spent her time focused on having Gwen explain again those high BUN numbers as well as to examine an expansion in her lower belly region that has been causing her some concern.

Gwen thinks there might be some swelling in area of the liver. She had already explained some weeks ago that the kidneys are not working as they should and that there are beginning stages of congestive heart failure.

The good news is that Howard continues to be relatively free from joint and muscle pain. That has enabled her to sleep better at night. Typical nights lately require her needing a turn over only three or four times during the night. That's a big improvement.

Lilith did our grocery run yesterday so we're now well stocked for at least two weeks. And Bryan is coming today to repair a gutter downspout that took a tumble during one or our recent torrents of rain. Christy will be Howard's bather all week and that's a happy thing. Nicole's father remains in a coma so it remains unknown when she'll be returning to work. But Christy is every bit as competent as Nicole and is a dear as well.

And today we're expecting the final proof of Howard's poetry book. If we find nothing else needing changes, the printing process can actually begin today.

Deborah Smith, a notable writer and co-owner of Belle Books, is with her husband, Hank, producing the book. She's done an outstanding job putting it together and has been a joy to work with.

While you're making preparations for Thanksgiving day, enjoy this day, too.
Dianne

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

What began for Howard yesterday as a rough day leveled out somewhat by evening. Throughout the day she was weak and short of breath, but by evening became more settled and felt a bit better.

Christy came to bathe her shortly after 10 a.m. And Christy will be taking care of her while Nicole is out. Nicole's father remains in a coma after having open brain surgery for three aneurysms so more than likely, Nicole will be needed by her family for the remainder of the week.

Keith, Arnold Drug's wheelchair technician with his assistant, Butch, came shortly after noon and gave Howard's power chair a thoroughly examination to find that the brushes in the right wheel's motor are badly worn, thus the cause of the chair losing power. Parts have to be ordered so it will be about a week before they can be replaced. Meanwhile, by keeping the batteries charged periodically, she can safely continue to use the chair.

And I have a happy announcement to make. Early in December, Howard's book will be published in soft cover and available on Amazon.com for $29.95. We've been working on this for several weeks now, but wanted to wait about announcing it until closer to it's publishing date. It is now available as an eBook on Scribd. To get a preview you can go HERE

And I want to tell you as well that most likely upcoming posts to this blog will be later in the day. Howard is needing me more often now during the early morning hours.

Enjoy your Tuesday.
Dianne

Monday, November 23, 2009

Howard is still weak and a bit disoriented. And today began with uncertainty because Nicole's father is seriously ill after brain surgery and so until 8 a.m., we were unsure who would be bathing Howard today. Turns out Christy will be coming.

Another glitch is that something screwy is going on with her power wheelchair. It still works, but the battery indicator is showing weak signals even though the batteries are only eight month's old.

Because of the strong meds, any deviation from the norm causes Howard uncontrollable anxiety so you can understand why these two particular issues are adding entirely too much stress to an already weakened body.

So today, my job is to stay focused on what matters and just keep things as peaceful as possible.

Hope your Monday is a good one.
Dianne

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Howard's day yesterday was an improvement over Friday, but it was not her best. She was weak all day with the shortness of breath being more intense at the least exertion of energy. But except for a few spasms in her neck quickly calmed down with Biofreeze, she was not in pain and in good spirits. She did, however, have a restless night.

Friday, Ron and Bryan came and cleared the leaves from our roof, from the driveway and from around the house. What a relief! Our house has never been so covered with leaves and the nurses was commenting they couldn't find the driveway. If it hadn't been for the awareness that both the roof and driveway could suffer damage, we would have left them because the coverage was actually beautiful. But so is snow and we all know how treacherous snow can be. Anyway, it's all clear now and actually appears as if somebody is home.

Have a super Sunday.
Dianne

Saturday, November 21, 2009

It was rough going for Howard yesterday. We couldn't pinpoint the cause beyond her feeling weak and unfocused. It could, in part, be attributed to Nicole's having to cancel due to a family emergency, but mostly I think, her body just decided to take a break from feeling better.

It is true that any change in schedule can throw Howard for a loop. That's partly morphine, partly weakness. But whatever was going on yesterday was physical as well. And last night for the first time since beginning Decadron, she needed Biofreeze on her left knee.

So something is shifting around, or at least it was yesterday. Today might totally turn all that around.

Enjoy your Saturday.
Dianne