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Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2004. This was our second trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Mattie. That day we took him to Jockey's Ridge State Park. The Park has the tallest active sand dune system in the eastern United States. As you can see, Mattie and I were climbing it! Prior to having Mattie, we visited the Outer Banks frequently, but it took Mattie's presence for us to actually explore this amazing sand dune! It was a VERY HOT walk, but Mattie was interested, and as long as he wanted to do something..... I did it!
Quote of the day: It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. ~ Julius Caesar
Since my dad has been hospitalized, I have been trying to sleep to around 8am each day. Yet even with more sleep, I am not feeling better. In June, the muscles in my neck began hurting. I attributed it to spending time in front of the computer, during the Foundation's Walk season. However, the pain hasn't gone away. If my parents were not my full time responsibility, I most likely would be consulting a doctor. But I just do not have the time to address this issue. Adding pain into my daily routine is wearing my down.
We got to the hospital today around 1:30pm. My dad has basically slept the entire day away. There are no therapies scheduled on Sunday, and instead the unit views it as a day of rest. My dad wasn't just resting, he looked like he passed out! I was able to get him to eat all his lunch and his dinner, and then I worked on his hygiene. It amazes me that hospitals do not shower patients daily, and in my dad's case they did not even change his clothes from yesterday. So I rectified that, shaved him with an actual razor, brushed his teeth, cleaned his hair and hands, and then put lotion on his arms and hands (as they were very dry from hospital dry air).
My dad's cough and congestion are definitely much better, he isn't running a fever, and I would say that his back pain is improving. He is no longer on oxycodone. However, his sugar levels are all over the place and I am not happy that they initially wouldn't allow my dad to take his oral diabetic medication. Instead they have been giving him insulin shots. This is their standard procedure, which they do at each hospital admission, but finally they allowed me to bring into the hospital his oral med, and they are administering it to him daily.
I am signing off for today, because I am wiped out. July has been a hard month, with both my 30th wedding anniversary, my dad's fall and hospitalization, and then this week.... Mattie's diagnosis day (July 23) and my birthday (July 25). Since 2008, I have associated my birthday with Mattie's diagnosis, and have yet to be able to uncouple these dates!