Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. Mattie was in the outpatient clinic and that day he wanted to eat a big salted pretzel. Given that I was at the hospital, access to things was severely limited. But thanks to Team Mattie, Mattie's request was accomplished! Since Mattie lost a lot of weight on chemotherapy, we were eager for him to eat. Whenever he craved something, we found a way to find his food of choice! I remember all these food phases....vanilla frosted donuts, Utz potato chips, French fries, and vanilla shakes!
Quote of the day: Sickness comes on horseback but departs on foot. ~ Dutch proverb
Tonight's quote is so applicable to what I am experiencing with my parents. It was so simple for my parents to get sick, but VERY difficult to get them better. My dad caught a bad head cold on Saturday. From there, he passed it along to my mom. My dad is coughing and had congestion. Whereas my mom started with a sore throat, but now has a cough. Neither have fever or any other symptoms other than exhaustion.
This morning I woke up with a sore throat too. I took Tylenol and then went about my morning routine. I have no other choice, if I stop functioning, so does my whole household. However, by 11:30am, I knew I had to lie down. I went upstairs for about 90 minutes. But at 1pm, I arose because I could hear my dad finding his way to the bathroom, and I knew they both needed lunch.
I made more homemade chicken soup today from scratch. I love having it on hand and it freezes so well. Whenever I need it, like this week, I have it available. Meanwhile, I am awaiting my dad's doctor to call us about his COVID test results. We decided to do the test in the office, because the doctor said it is more accurate than the in-home version. The doctor promised to call us today with results! It is 5:30pm and still no call. Mind you I have even left a message on the on-line portal for the doctor. Do you see why I have nicknamed him DOOPEY?
This doctor believes that one should fight off viruses naturally. I can appreciate his philosophy, but I don't share it, especially with patients my parent's age. I will let them struggle another day and then by Friday, he will have to provide more support. The issue with my mom is once she gets a head cold and cough, it is very easy for her situation to turn to bronchitis and then pneumonia.
All I can say is caregiving on a good day is challenging, but caregiving when my parents are both sick, is depressing beyond belief. This afternoon, the weather was so lovely that I went into the backyard and sat in the sun with Peter and Sunny for a few minutes. I used to get out of the house in the past on my Sunny walks, but now Sunny doesn't have the energy to go on long walks. So for me, it seems like a depressing existence at every turn.
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