Saturday, August 15, 2020

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. Next to Mattie was Anna. Anna was the chief of pediatric physical therapy. We were very fortunate to get someone so capable, bright, and compassionate. During Mattie's first week in the hospital, she got him acclimated to a wheelchair. Given that Mattie was going to have several surgeries as part of his treatment protocol, Anna wanted to normalize the chair for Mattie and also work on his upper body strength. Anna played a significant role in Mattie's cancer journey right from day one. Ironically I thought Mattie would be spending a month or two in a wheelchair post surgery. Unfortunately after his surgery in November of 2008, Mattie was wheelchair bound.  

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

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 5,356,244
• number of people who died from the virus: 169,423

Another busy day here! I begin each day at 6:15am. My dad's caregivers arrive at 8am, and basically it is non-stop activity until 1pm. Today, my dad's occupational therapy came for an appointment. However, in between appointments, we received a large mail delivery. Big boxes were left near my parents gate. Which is over 500 feet from where you see them now (as this is near their front door). I had to carry the boxes back to their front door and then open every box and put items away. After which, each of the these boxes needed to be broken down in order to fit in the recycling bin. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how my parents manage any box deliveries when I am not here. As the walk and carry are extensive. Also today was 100 degrees, so this made moving around boxes debilitating. 

I would say the day to day existence here is difficult at best. Though my dad is more stable than he was in June, he is still fragile and agitates easily. He also has irritable bowel syndrome and it is very difficult leaving the house for any period of time because the need to have a bowel movement can come suddenly. Most times this week, he did not make it to the bathroom in time and therefore needs to be seriously cleaned up. All of this makes him anxious and of course the whole thing is overwhelming for my mom to manage. I frankly do not know how they both make it day to day when I am not around, because as it is, I am working around the clock. So I know the current state of affairs is not manageable long-term. Which of course weighs on my mind as we do not live around the corner from each other. 

Meanwhile, Miss Indie is in Boston and making herself at home at Peter's parents house. 

Out on the deck, Sunny is resting after a full day of being on squirrel and bunny patrol!