Thursday, April 14, 2022

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2009. This was "magic time with Mattie." Mattie's head of school, "the magic man," was fantastic with Mattie. He came to the hospital almost weekly and taught Mattie to perform magic. Mattie loved it because it was a skill that required manual dexterity and not gross motor movements. Magic stimulated Mattie's mind, it made him feel special and unique, and it also provided him with an outlet to connect to others around him. As you can see, Mattie's audience that day was the chaplain, an art therapist, and his child life specialist!

Quote of the day: Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat. ~ Anais Nin

Another challenging day for multiple reasons. My dad's physical therapist came over today, and after the session, he told us it was his last session with my dad. Now if I want my dad to continue to receive services I have to find another home health care agency or take him to outpatient therapy. Delightful! Clearly this fellow thinks my plate isn't already full. Thankfully I spoke to my dad's memory care center about this and they told me about two companies they work with who come into the center and bill on Medicare part B. So I called both today and after a lot of calls and emails, I got my dad signed up. Fortunately the doctor easily complied and sent in the script to the home health agency so we can get started. But I feel like a hamster on a wheel that keeps on turning, and turning, and turning. I jump from one thing to another and don't feel like I manage anything well. 

On top of all of this, the licensure board, which I used to chair, reached out to me. They have asked me to be a witness on a case brought against the DC government regarding licensure laws. The case is so ridiculous, I have to wonder how it even got this far. A licensed professional in another state, is saying that she should not have to get licensed in DC to work with DC clients. That this is a first amendment, free speech, violation. As if all therapists do is talk. If all we do is talk, then why get a degree, do practice internships, and get licensed anywhere? If she wasn't licensed in another state I could perhaps understand her confusion. But this is a licensed professional making these statements. It boggles my mind and I will be spending the weekend going through countless court documents. 

We took my dad to a special lunch today at a restaurant I love. It was another warm day, so we had the pleasure of sitting outside. The outdoor terrace at the restaurant used to look like this! To me this was charming and a true retreat. However, due to COVID, the restaurant clearly went through an overhaul and they totally revamped their patio. 

Needless to say it doesn't look like the photo above anymore. It has been striped of its charm, elegance, and greenery. Which saddens me. 

But I think what ultimately saddens me is trying to eat with my dad. I frankly don't think it matters where he eats, the experience would be the same. McDonald's or fine dining, I truly don't think he notices the difference. He can eat something and the next MINUTE you ask him what he just ate and he had NO IDEA. I mean NONE. He eats super fast, typically has his head down, and does NO talking whatsoever. It truly is emotionally taxing each and every day. When he isn't eating, he needs to go to the bathroom, and of course that means that there is no down time for me. I am constantly on the edge and jumping up and down. I am working hard to give my parents some sort of quality of life but in the mean time, I have NONE. I try to also put this into context and most times I can snap myself out of a funk. But I would be lying if I said this wasn't difficult.