Tuesday, January 15, 2013

 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 -- Mattie died 175 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2005. Mattie was almost three years old. By that point, Mattie LOVED baths. I am not sure that he loved the idea of getting clean or the simple joy of playing in the water. Literally with each bath Mattie chose different toys to bring along with him to play with. Usually cars, trucks, rubber animals, and so forth. There was nothing boring about bath time. Mattie went from a toddler who hated water to a preschooler who did not want to get out of the tub even when it was drained of water.


Quote of the day: If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much. ~ Mark Twain


What a night of sleep or lack there of!!! Patches started howling at 3am and at 4am, she was out of control. A family friend of Peter's wrote to us last night after reading the blog and recommended nightlights throughout our home for Patches. By 4:30am, we had lots of lights on! Tonight we are starting with the lights on and we will see where this gets us. Something has got to give here because it is like living with a newborn. Except we know our furry friend is dying.

I accomplished several chores this morning and though I wasn't planning this I went to visit my friend Mary in her assisted living facility for an hour or so. Mary hasn't been feeling well at all, she is congested and has a cough like SO many people all around us. While visiting with Mary and her caregiver, I had the opportunity to watch her nurse come in and try to administer an antibiotic to her. Since Mary has trouble swallowing, the antibiotic gets crushed up and given to her in apple sauce. It was painful to watch Mary try to ingest this concoction. After about 15 minutes, Mary refused to swallow it and eventually spit it right out of her mouth. Because I know Mary's likes and dislikes, I know she doesn't like applesauce even on a good day. So combining a pill with applesauce is an absolute "no-no" in my world. I love food and eating, and so does Mary. So I happened to acknowledge Mary's feelings and told her if I were her, I would have done the exact same thing. So I asked Mary's caregiver if the nursing staff ever used pudding, specifically chocolate pudding. She said that they will if it is available but it isn't always available. Interesting! Seems like a no brainer for medication administration! Chocolate camouflages LOTS of flavors! Any case, I text messaged Ann and suggested she bring in chocolate pudding this evening for her mom's next antibiotic administration. Sure enough Ann let me know that the pill went right down with chocolate pudding. That news made me very happy! It actually made my day, because I suspected it wasn't that Mary couldn't swallow the medication, she just did not like how it tasted and it made her gag. I relate to my 80+ year old friend all TOO well.

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to have lunch with one of my chapel buddies from Mattie's school. When Mattie was in kindergarten I attended chapel with him each Tuesday. The children sat with their classmates and the parents sat with each other. I always sat between Junko and Luda. Though I no longer attend Mattie's school, my chapel buddies are still part of my life and they are very generous with our Foundation. Luda does all the professional signs and banners for our Foundation Walks each year and she is helping me now with a project for our upcoming psychosocial think tank in February. I appreciate this kindness and this desire to support us on achieving our mission. It is hard to believe however that Mattie is gone and yet all the children I once knew are still growing and developing. At times I feel like I live in an alternate universe. A universe where I need to function around other moms, absorb their content, their highs and lows, and yet knowing I am not one of them.

 

This is tonight's photo of Patches. Typically I wouldn't allow her on the table but she wants to sit very close to Peter. As you can see if she could sit on his arm, she would have! A lot of heavy purring was going on here and Peter brings her happiness. If you look closely you will see her right eye is smaller than the left. It is getting swollen shut from the tumor in her face.