Saturday, November 28, 2020

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2008. As you can see, Mattie's left arm still had a cast on it, as did his right leg. Mattie was unable to walk independently, and he reverted back to sliding his backend along the floor to get around. Mattie always wanted to learn to play the piano. Prior to his diagnosis, I enrolled him in lessons. But unfortunately Mattie was never able to attend. Nonetheless, that day, Mattie got himself to the piano bench and started creating his own musical pieces. Our composer! 

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

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 13,233,022
• number of people who died from the virus: 266,009

My alarm went off at 6am, and I did not want to move. But I knew I had to, so I got showered and dressed and began my morning of chores. Given that my parents both got the second dosage of the shingles vaccine yesterday, I was prepared for anything today. As I suspected my mom came down with bad side effects. She was achy, fatigued, her eyes were heavy, she had a headache, and in my opinion she had to go back to bed. She refused. So I started her on Tylenol and Advil every four hours, alternating each every two hours (a trick I learned from several doctors). I gave my mom breakfast and then she sat in a comfy chair with heating pads, blankets and pillows. She has slept most of the day. 

Thankfully my dad's caregiver was here today. Because after we did an 18 minute walk with my dad and brain exercises, I hopped in the car and went grocery shopping, went to the dry cleaner (as I found several of my parents clothing needed a thorough cleaning), and filled the car with gas. I got back home and put everything away and relieved the caregiver. I spent the rest of the afternoon chopping vegetables and making homemade chicken soup. 

My dad is a very finicky eater and can get turned off to food at home. But so far he ate Thanksgiving dinner, leftovers, and now homemade chicken soup. That said, there is no telling whether he will eat this soup if served to him another day! It was my mom who requested this soup today, since her stomach did not feel like eating turkey. 

If I wore a camera on my head all day, I think you would get a chuckle at how much I am running around. Literally I am constantly moving from the moment I get up until about after dinner. But its a temporary break, because I have to help my dad up the stairs and get him ready for bed. A routine my mom does daily. Which explains why she is wiped out and I am cognizant of the fact that they can live independently only because my mom is in good health. But this pace could definitely impact her health and this situation. 

While shopping today, I saw this cute pine tree. I bought it and decorated it. I find between lockdowns and the medical situation we are balancing........ lights and holiday cheer are mandatory to get through the days.