Friday, August 21, 2020

Friday, August 21, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. About a month into treatment, most of Mattie's hair fell out. We were concerned with how Mattie was going to react to that sight. But it turned out Mattie did not seem to care. He noticed and observed what was happening, but wasn't upset. Or did not seem to show it. His reaction actually made it a lot easier for Peter and me to adjust to this change. Though I tried to introduce caps and hats into Mattie's life, he did not like the sensation of things touching his scalp. So we all learned to appreciate being bald. That day Mattie was constructing a tissue box holder. Ironically that box still sits on my nightstand today. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 5,621,035
• number of people who died from the virus: 175,343

Each morning, I get up at 6:15am. First and foremost, I make sure I am showered and dressed before I ever leave my room. Otherwise, I won't get the opportunity to do it. After which, I begin tasks such as unloading the dishwasher, taking out garbage, compiling laundry, and starting breakfast. 

At 8am, one of my dad's caregivers arrive. Though she assists my dad, they all need to be managed, as no one is going to do what I can. I am not trying to toot my own horn, rather, I know the patient well and also know what needs to be done! 

After my dad showers and dresses with assistance, he joins us at the breakfast table. After breakfast, I pull out some sort of cognitive exercise. I have told my dad that exercising the brain is as important as exercising the body. 

My dad's occupational therapist has introduced us to Numbricks. It isn't as challenging as Sudoku, nonetheless, it is about understanding sequential numbering and patterns. All I know is my dad has great challenges thinking sequentially and his short term memory lasts about one minute maximum. So you can instruct him on how to do the puzzle, but there is no retention. 

After brain games, my dad did laps on the patio with his caregiver. While he was doing that, I received a call from American Airlines customer relations (in regards to the letter I posted last night). The person on the phone was lovely and very professional. She understood the nature of my request and problem. She encouraged me to resubmit a doctor's letter outlining my dad's issues and have his doctor outline why my dad can't fly. In theory I needed to submit this documentation on the Airline's on-line refund center. However, I implored the representative to allow me to email her the documentation, because I am very frustrated with the on-line experience. She agreed to help me and I felt like I won the lottery. Someone who got it and also shared with me the refund process. Needless to say, after I got off the phone, I worked on the letter with my parent's doctor and submitted it to American Airlines. So now we wait for a response. I honestly do not know how on earth they would deny them a refund. 

After I did this, my dad's occupational therapist arrived. I participated in my dad's session! At 1pm, each day, I take my parents out to lunch. Today my parents wanted to eat in Calabassas, which is a 30 minute drive. Mind you it has been in the 100s this week, and eating outside, has been close to impossible for me, especially when I am also dealing with a migraine. When I got back from lunch, I  decided to go grocery shopping, as I do not like shopping on the weekend.  

All I know is the grocery store I go to in Washington, DC, never looks like this. The lines at grocery stores in Los Angeles are out of control. They do move, but after a full day, waiting in this line takes great patience! Don't you know it, the big gallon of milk I bought had a hole in it. I got milk all over the car, floor, etc! The tasks just never seem to end.