Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. Clearly it was Valentine's season! Mattie's school surprised him with boxes filled of valentine's from classmates along with all sorts of treats. Including this very large lollipop. I think Mattie thought this lollipop was so neat, he never ate it.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 76,795,356
- Number of people who died from the virus: 904,979
My morning started on these stairs. Typically I take a shower and get dressed first before coming downstairs. But with Peter away, the animals want attention and they want it early in the morning. Sunny came into my bedroom at 5am. So when I got up, he couldn't wait to be fed. Instead, he was herding me to go downstairs. So I took my glass of juice from upstairs and led him to the hallway to go down the stairs.
I made the mistake of walking in front of him while he was coming down the stairs. After about the second or third step from the top, Sunny slipped! He literally slid down the stairs with his legs slayed out. Naturally he hit me, almost like a bowling ball hits a pin! We both went flying down the stairs together, and Sunny landed up at the foot of the stairs and I fell on top of him. He let out with a howl. My juice glass went flying and there was cranberry juice everywhere. I think both of us were stunned! I was screaming throughout the entire ordeal but NO ONE heard me! Luckily I did not kill myself going down the stairs, because I would have been there a while.
So this is how my day started. But there was no time to reflect or to see if I was okay. Because I had to help Sunny up, which meant physically picking him up off the floor. I immediately gave him his orthopedic pain med and fed him. I let him rest while I went back upstairs to shower and dress. I had to get it together because my dad's speech therapist was coming and then at 11:30am, we had to leave the house to go to his echocardiogram. I honestly feel like I am on a sick treadmill. I am happy to report that both Sunny and I are physically fine. It is a miracle. Now if he comes up the stairs for any reason, I am helping him down with his sling, that I got from his physical therapist. This will enable me to control his back end and slow him down.
After my dad's speech therapy session, which is actually very interesting, and I am learning some memory strategies in the process, I loaded both of my parents in the car. My mom decided not to go shopping, while I took my dad for his test. This happened to be a good thing, given my experience! However, my mom and dad move at different speeds and in the process it is very challenging for me to manage them both at the same time.
My dad's echocardiogram was at a cardiology office at the Reston Hospital Center. I am hoping I NEVER have to return to this hospital or facility again. First of which is it is not user friendly for people with disabilities. In fact their entire parking garage has no disabled spots. The only disabled parking is located in front of the medical buildings, but with only 6 spots available, they fill quickly. So I drove up to the building and let me parents out and I parked. I couldn't have done this if my mom were not with me. Therefore, that alone has made me decide..... I am NOT going back.
But that wasn't the only issue. Earlier in the week, I spoke to the office in Arlington, VA and explained that my dad has mid to late dementia and therefore needs a family member present for all appointments and testing. The person I spoke to wrote it into his chart and assured me this wouldn't be a problem. Well that is until I went to the Reston office today. The tech took us back for his echocardiogram, but she told me I couldn't stay. I wasn't allowed in the room for the test. I told her I got approval for this given my dad's cognitive issues. I was so mad at her, I told her I wanted to speak to her manager. I was escorted out of the testing room and back to the waiting area. Her manager spoke to me in front of EVERYONE in this waiting room. Of course that isn't ethical, and I believe it is a HIPAA violation, but that was the least of my concerns. My concern was my dad was undergoing a test, and I wasn't in there. I literally gave it to the manager and I told her I don't care about her policy, and it needs to be changed. I also told her to speak to the Arlington, VA office, as I got my request pre-cleared. She did just that, she called the Arlington office. Within minutes, I was back into the room with my dad.
My dad has many physical issues, and lying sideways on an exam table is virtually impossible. He needed a lot of help and my presence was indeed needed. What this tech was thinking is beyond me. Oh and while in the office waiting area, don't you know some woman came up to me and handed me her business card. She is a caregiver and was offering her services. I literally wanted to flip out, as approaching me while balancing so much was less than appreciated. All I know is what I accomplished today, no ordinary caregiver could do! The fact that she thinks I would allow a perfect stranger to care for my parents is bordering on hysterical. As she doesn't work for an agency, but for herself.
After the test, I took my parents out to lunch. My dad is a total danger to himself. People with dementia have eating issues. My dad eats like a vacuum cleaner, he sucks in food, doesn't chew well, and doesn't pause for even a second. So today he ate so fast that he started hiccupping and he was having trouble getting the food down his throat. It was a terrible sight to watch and the whole thing made my mom upset and neurotic. My dad has a history of uncontrollable hiccups. Which have required hospitalization each time. So hearing my dad hiccup, sent my mom over the deep end. I told my dad to stop eating or drinking and to just breath. Honestly without instruction, he would continue packing food into his mouth, despite how he was clearly feeling! I then gave my dad a mouthful of sugar, which always helps me with hiccups. The hiccups did go away, but I have to tell you it was a frazzling kind of day. Yesterday may have been peaceful, but I am under NO delusion that this will ever be the norm.
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