Thursday, July 14, 2022

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2003. Last night I posted the photo of Peter making the climb up the spiral staircase inside of Corolla Lighthouse. This was the photo we took up on top! Mattie did not look like a happy camper. He did not like the wind or the height, so we did not stay there long. But both boys made it together to the top. 

Quote of the day: When the unthinkable happens, the lighthouse is hope. Once we choose hope, everything is possible. ~ Christopher Reeve

What a great quote! HOPE is everything when dealing with a crisis and certainly needed when dealing with healthcare issues. However, why is that so many doctors have forgotten this important concept? Their job is NOT just to treat the disease! In treating the whole person, doctors must remember that we are human and have thoughts and emotions, and therefore we are MUCH MORE than our data! Yesterday's amazing experience to the neurosurgeon office reignited my hope in the health care system! However, that feeling did not last long. It dissipated while visiting Sunny's oncologist today. He and I are NOT on the same page about the importance of communicating to each other between clinic visits. Sunny has been on all sorts of meds, and each of them have made him very ill. So much so, that he isn't interested in eating. Therefore, yesterday I elected to stop Sunny's antibiotics for his urinary tract infection. The doctor has had over a month to treat this infection, and poor Sunny, he still has it. When I have issues, I call his office and get one of his myriad of assistants. Some of them are excellent and others I want to throttle! Needless to say, when I asked him how to get a hold of him directly he had the audacity to say.... "I am too busy and see too many patients. That is why I have assistants!" I assure you if a human oncologist said this to me, that would be the last encounter we ever had. But there aren't many pet oncologists near me, so I feel stuck and very frustrated tonight. This is on top of having a very full day!

I am the queen of UTI's and I don't want Sunny to suffer. But on the other hand I don't want to see him listless and not eating. I stopped his antibiotics yesterday because I knew I was going to see the vet today! The vet gave me a hard time for choosing to do something without consulting him. This guy is totally out to lunch, and should try to balance what I do on a given day. Besides waiting 90 minutes for him to grace us with his presence, I felt rushed because he had to leave by 5pm. His issues are not my problem. Why should they be.... if the issues I am paying him for aren't his?! 

We had another violent rain storm last night! All I know is I feel that it rains much more where we are now than when we lived in Washington, DC. On our porch, I hung two wind chimes, with solar balls. One chime is a moon, for Mattie Moon!

The other chime is a sun, for Mattie Miracle. 

Peter took a video of me helping my dad down the stairs. I do this every morning and evening! This side way technique is what he learned in acute rehab, during hospitalization in March. 

I got my dad to the hospital this morning for his occupational therapy appointment. As you can see, he was sleeping until the therapist came for us. If my mom and my dad aren't moving they are both SLEEPING. 

We met a different therapist today. She was equally lovely, but she worked my dad hard. The therapy takes place on a bed like table. They are working to try to stretch his muscles so he can lie flat. After years of using lots of pillows being his head and knees, my dad seems permanently hunched over and never looks up. They are working on changing this, but it is a hard process. 

While in the therapy room with him, I was sitting on a stool with wheels. It enabled me to see what my dad was doing and participate in therapy. Some administrator walked in and observed me on the stool and gave me a talking to! Apparently visitors are not allowed on the stools. She treated me like I was about 90! I said... do I look infirmed or like I can't sit appropriately on a stool!? I wasn't happy with her demeaner and so many things set me off today. One more thing and I am going to snap.