Sunday, August 1
This was NOT a usual Sunday for us. To begin with, I filled in for our choir director because she and her husband were in San Antonio for a music convention. That also meant that I wouldn’t be going to Sunday school since I would be spending time working with Lisa, our pianist, and Mike, the sound man and would also have to consult with David on last minute adjustments to the order of service.
Because of my obligations, Barbara decided she’d stay at home and get Mother ready for church without having to rush. (Sunday mornings are quite hectic for Barbara as she must get herself ready first and then help Mother once she gets out of the shower. This didn’t use to be a problem as Mother was able to take care of things; however, with the progression of the Parkinson’s, many small tasks Mother once could do are no longer possible.) It would also give her time to work on meals while I was at Yantis and Mother and TJ went to Harvest Acres Baptist Church.
When TJ and Mother got home from church, TJ, before she headed home, took Mother in her room and got her settled for the day since Barbara was fixing the chicken fried steak and all the trimmings for lunch.
Shortly thereafter I got home, I changed clothes and then went to tell Mother that Barbara was in the kitchen and had our lunch ready. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the room and saw Mother crumpled up like a ragdoll in her closet doorway. I asked her if she was hurt and she said she didn’t think so. I then asked what happened, and she told me she was hanging something up in the closet, stepped back, and fell. I asked her if she had been calling for us and she said she hadn’t because she didn’t know if we could hear and she figured we’d be back there soon anyway. Since Barbara was in the kitchen, she would have been able to hear Mother if she had called.
We got Mother propped up in her bed and let her eat her lunch there…also told her that when she falls she should call for us and if we don’t answer, she should push the button on her emergency device. We already know that we can hear the operator when he or she calls and can get to the room within seconds.
TJ came over this afternoon and we talked about the situation and occasionally checked on Mother to make sure she was doing okay. She had some new aches and pains, but nothing else was injured except her pride.
TJ said she would look in on Mother if we wanted to go to church tonight. I was leading the singing again, so I was definitely going. Barbara said that she needed a good sermon, so she went to Yantis with me and we returned to the house as soon as possible to get Mother through her nightly routine.
Monday, August 2
This was just another basic day around the house. With the murderous heat wave we are having, working outside is not much of an option. It is so dry that the grass at the Holiday Villages lot isn’t growing, so we haven’t been going up there to do anything…just hoping that somehow the azaleas will hang on through the heat wave.
After spending the morning doing laundry and other housekeeping chores, we had lunch and then tackled a big job in Mother’s room. Barbara wanted to empty a couple of bookcases and move them to different places. Everyone needs to understand that Mother’s room resembles a small town library…hundreds of books lining the shelves of her bookcases, so this was no simple task.
We emptied one small case and moved it out to the sunroom and then emptied a floor-to-ceiling case and moved it to a place on the wall where the small case was. The net effect was to open the room up more, and give Mother more room to maneuver her walker when she goes to her recliner to watch TV. An added benefit (we think) is that if she needs to answer her emergency device, she can now turn her head to the right and be more in line with the speaker.
The day was pretty rough for Mother. She spent all morning in bed before getting up and moving very slowly and seemed a little confused and depressed…just another manifestation of Parkinsonism. We have been told over and over that Parkinsonism can’t be cured and won’t go away…it will only get worse in time and the best we can hope for is to slow it down through, good diet, exercise, and mental stimulation. For her part, Mother has been doing wonderfully, but we are now in a period of “one step forward and three steps backward.”
Our evening was spent in finishing the last of the “very late” journals and getting it posted on the blogsite…hallelujah, we are making progress!
Tuesday, August 3
This morning was a bit lazy as we took our time working at the computers and then fixing breakfast for the three of us. Mother was still a little off and moving slowly from her fall on Sunday, so she took a little extra attention as she got ready for the day.
Mother had physical therapy at 10:30 this morning and Rob was supposed to do a re-evaluation of her to check her progress for medicare purposes. We told him up front about her fall and that she was moving slowly. He said that he would try to evaluate her progress, but if he couldn’t, he might be able to get it done during her Thursday session.
While Mother was doing her rehab thing, Barbara and I went to the post office, bank, and Medicine Chest, where we ordered a small bedrail to help Mother in getting in and out of bed.
Mother seemed to do about semi-halfway-okay with her rehab today; at least she was game enough to try everything, but Rob told us at the end of the session that she had definitely regressed from the past few weeks, but that maybe she would feel better on Thursday.
After rehab the three of us went to TJ’s house, where we had a wonderful lunch waiting for us. TJ knew that Barbara and I had a tight schedule for the day, so she said she’d fix lunch and afterwards we could leave for Tyler and she’d see to getting Mother back home.
Today I was prepped by Andrew, one of the staff nurses. In visiting with Andrew, we found that he has been accepted into the Navy and will leave soon to go to Washington, DC to study dermatology at one of the naval hospitals, with the navy providing both a bachelors and masters degree in his chosen field while he completes his military service.
Mr. Gautier (the P.A.) came in, checked the spot he wanted to remove, and had Andrew administer lidocaine to numb the area. They both went over the lab report, which stated that I had a well-defined Squamous cell skin cancer, most of which had been excised when Mr. Gautier took a slice for the biopsy. He explained that this particular cancer can be very serious, as it tends to spread more than basal cell cancer. However, he is very certain that he got the entire growth when he burned and scraped it. Now I just have to wait three months for a checkup and do a lot of self-examination during the meantime. (Barbara: It’s amazing to me how Jim neglected to mention that the doctor cautioned him that this particular spot has the potential to be deadly and he must monitor it and others very carefully! I think it’s what one might call selective hearing.)
When we left the clinic we went to a used book and music store on South Broadway. We’ve seen the storefront many times, but have never stopped. Barbara found a few books she wanted to read and I spent the whole time looking at old vinyl LP records, many of which I already have in my personal collection, and others I’d like to have if I just had someplace to store them.
Before leaving Tyler we stopped at Walmart to look for some items we wanted but couldn’t find in Mineola. But, our luck was no better there, although I did find six bags of topsoil to take home and use on the back yard. I actually ended up with seven bags because the store employee who helped me load the car picked up a bag and noticed it was torn. He said I might as well take it because it couldn’t be sold and he would just have to take it off the inventory anyway.
The rest of the evening was spent accomplishing not much of anything. Barbara tried to work on her old Dell laptop (the one we got when we retired four years ago), but it was an agonizingly slow and frustrating process.
Eventually we just gave up the computers for the night and went to bed to read before falling asleep.
Wednesday, August 4
As days go around here, this was a pretty slow one. Mother was still not up-to-speed, but seemed to be doing a little better. We took her to Dr. Bankhead, her primary physician, and explained some of our concerns. Unfortunately for all of us, most of those concerns will need to be addressed with Dr. Drew (neurologist) on Friday. However, Dr. Bankhead did check Mother over for any damage from the fall and declared her to be in good shape.
After getting Mother back to the house and settled in for the day, I went downtown to get my hair cut. It’s so nice that Leslie, the girl who has been cutting our hair at the Walmart shop in Lindale, has come back home to Mineola to work…sure beats that drive on a hot day!
After our nap this afternoon Barbara and I went out to pay some bills, made a Sonic stop for a couple of tall, cool drinks (thanks to Leah and Ryan who had just sent us a Sonic card!), declared it an official day after a shopping spree in Walmart, and stopped at the Medicine Chest to pick up the new bedrail.
When we got back to the house and put all the food away, Barbara went in and checked on Mother and I put the bedrail together and installed it on Mother’s bed. Then, we had Mother come over and try it out. It was a little awkward at first, but we’re confident she will be able to use it to get in and out of bed more easily.
While it was still light and the temperature had “cooled down” to only 95 degrees, I went to the backyard and spread a few more bags of topsoil along the back fence, seeded and watered the area, and then did the weekly trimming and mowing.
Tonight we finished up the latest journal/blog edition, getting us caught up (except for proofing and posting) for the first time in about six weeks.
Thursday, August 5
Finally…We had a great day for everyone around the house. When I first got up, I noticed that Mother was lying down on the bed without her cover on, a sign that she either had tried or was trying to get up. Her bedside lamp wasn’t on (it’s the sign that says she’s awake and wants coffee), but I went in anyway to check on her. I asked if she wanted to get up, and she said, “No, I want to go to sleep.” But, she decided it was coffee time, so I lifted her to a sitting position against her pillows and started the morning routine…eye drops, two meds with water, newspaper, TV remote, open the blinds, and open the door to the sunroom.
I then left to go to the kitchen to take my pills and have a cup of coffee and read my morning e-notices and online papers. A little later Barbara fixed Mother’s breakfast and asked if we should take it to her or have her come to the kitchen. Since Mother was scheduled for rehab this morning and had such a rough week so far, I said I’d just take the tray to her.
To my surprise, when I got to the room, Mother was sitting up on the edge of the bed and trying to stand up on her walker so she could come to the kitchen and see what was going on. I set the tray down and helped her get in motion on the walker and then we went back to the kitchen and she enjoyed her breakfast while we all talked…a great start to a new day!
When breakfast was over, Mother left to go take a shower and get ready for her day. Meanwhile, Barbara and I went to the front yard where she mowed and I edged around the sidewalks and flowerbeds and trimmed all the hedges.
When Barbara was finished with the mowing, she called Cousin Ladd to see if he wanted to join us for lunch. Ladd jumped all over that idea, so Barbara started fixing several of the dishes we were going to have.
I took Mother to rehab (Rob gave her high marks on her re-evaluation) and while she was working out, I ran several errands.
When we got back to the house, I fired up the charcoal grill to fix Poor Boy Filets, one of our favorite meals.
Ladd joined us at 1:00, and we spent nearly an hour with the four of us eating, talking, and laughing. Ladd and Mother were a delight to watch as they both ate as if they hadn’t had a meal in months and might not have another one for quite a while. Ladd kept saying, “Sister, there’s no way you can eat all that food,” and Mother would just look at him (her looks speak volumes) and keep on shoveling.
Just as I was dozing off I got a call from Mike letting us know that he and Kelly got a package that we sent to Baby Little in care of them a few days ago. Then he said that Kelly’s homecoming from Oregon was short-lived as the IMB was sending her across the world for about ten days beginning Saturday evening.
Around 5:00 TJ and Madelyn stopped by for a visit and Mother came out to the living room to sit and talk for about an hour…another sign that her day was going well.
Friday, August 6
Happy Birthday to our good friend Danny Plett in Liberal, Kansas!!!
We had another good morning with Mother…she seems to be bouncing back from the earlier days of the week and we are so grateful for that.
After breakfast I tackled the backyard again, this time spreading more topsoil along the edge of the sidewalk just off the sunroom. It’s an area that has been washed out over the years by rain and water that runs out of an adjacent rain gutter. I’m hoping that the new seeding will result in a good stand of grass to hold the dirt together in future rains. I was going to pull vines, weeds, and grass out from under one of the trees in the backyard, but I couldn’t find my work gloves (necessary because of the stickers and burrs), so I gave up on the yard and scrubbed our bathroom instead.
Barbara continued to work on organizing and fixing photos for the journal and blog, but using the old Dell is very exasperating for her. We’re both hoping that the computer doctor will discharge her HP very soon!
Barbara started laying out all the ingredients for lunch as TJ and I took Mother to Dr. Drew, her neurologist in Tyler. We’ve all observed indications of “creeping” Parkinsonism over the last month and we wanted to see if there was something Dr. Drew could suggest. After talking with us, Dr. Drew did change one of Mother’s meds and added another that we hope will help with some of the short-term memory loss and disorientation.
We high-tailed it back to Mineola to find the table piled high with goodies that Barbara had been working on all morning. The main dish was chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, and onions cooked in mushroom soup, along with a bevy of side dishes and topped off with chocolate-zucchini cake.
After a meal like that, there was nothing to do but waddle to our separate rooms (TJ to her house) and take a nap to let everything settle.
This evening we had our friends Gene and Michelle over for three hours of visiting and snacking. It’s been so long since the four of us have sat down together that we had a lot to catch up on; and, since they are leaving tomorrow to return to Kansas and then go on an Alaskan trip, that it was now or much later, like January, before we could enjoy each other’s company.
Alexander and Abby called tonight to get us caught up on their activities. Andy is going to bring the kids to Mineola on Tuesday of next week and they will spend three nights with us until Heather comes back Friday afternoon to pick them up and take them back home. The kids were disappointed that the Voyager is in the motorcycle hospital, but will be bringing their bicycles with them on this trip.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
One thing about retirement…Saturday is just another day and is generally indistinguishable from the others except that the post office window is closed when we go to check the mail…how’s that for wisdom and insight?
We did sleep in until 6:30 this morning, which is a little later than usual. Mother was sleeping well, so Barbara and I took our time getting around, checking email, reading notes and online journals, etc.
Barbara did notice this morning that her wish had come true! She had told Mother she wished the Hibiscus plant would flower more than 3 at a time! There always seems to be so many buds on it, but only 1-3 blooms at a time. So…it was with delight this morning that she found 6 opened flowers, making her day! (How little it takes to please her…sometimes!)
One of the things we learned about Parkinsonism this week is that as the condition gradually worsens, it takes longer for the patient to eat. Mother doesn’t eat any less…in fact, she has a better appetite than we do most meals, but the process of chewing and swallowing takes longer, and that is something we’ve noticed in her lately. Still, the time was well spent as we laughed, joked and enjoyed the special time together.
When breakfast was over, we cleaned the kitchen and then I went to the post office to check the mail from there I went to Walmart to buy a new pair of work gloves and some mulch. My lesson plans for the day included digging roots, weeds, and grasses out from under one of the trees in the back yard and covering the area with black hardwood mulch. We’d cleaned and filled all but one small section and I wanted to get that done today.
Of course, one thing led to another and by a little after noon I had dug up a dead rose bush stump, filled in and leveled the section with topsoil, and reseeded it. There was more involved…raking, pruning, gathering and throwing away all the stuff that was raked up, etc.
While I was working outside, Barbara was taking care of the inside business, mainly helping Mother get around and settled for the day. TJ came over and visited for awhile and we compared notes about what we were all seeing in Mother’s condition. Don’t get us wrong though…while we are concerned about the “creeping” (my word) Parkinsonism, we have high spots almost every day and really enjoy the good times with Mother.
After working in the heat of the day, the only sensible thing to do (and maybe the only sensible thing I did all day), was to take a shower and then fall in bed to read until I dropped off to sleep for an hour or so.
This evening Barbara and I got Mother squared away and then we drove out to Holiday Villages to take part in the monthly bingo night.
The bingo games aren’t high-stakes; there is no buy-in unless you want more than one set of cards and the winner of each game receives a $10.00 Walmart gift card, but it makes for a fun evening of visiting with our neighbors in the park. The winner of the last game this week received a really nice fire pit for his efforts.
Speaking of Holiday Villages, just a little plug for those interested in a wonderful place to fish, relax, and still have all kinds of activities they can participate in…come to Lake Fork and check out Holiday Villages. You can’t go wrong! We even know some sales reps who would love to talk to you.
After the game we crossed the street and fired up Big V’s air conditioner so maybe it will be comfortable when we go there tomorrow after church. Then, we returned to the house in Mineola and went through the evening routines for the three of us before turning out the lights and calling it a day and a week.
“When in doubt, just take the next small step.” – Unknown
From a hot and muggy Mineola, Texas
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
