Tonight's picture was taken on August 5, 2009, the day after we learned Mattie's cancer diagnosis was terminal. That day Mattie was entertained in clinic, while Peter and I met with his doctor. I will never forget that meeting. Mainly because we think we are living in the 21st century with access to top notch medicine. But the sad reality is medicine is limited when it comes to cancer. It was almost impossible to rationalize that there was NOTHING else we could medically do for Mattie. In one day we went from finding a cure and trying to be hopeful for a future, to accepting that we had to make tough end of life care decisions, because Mattie was dying. Pictured next to Mattie was Roxanne. Roxanne was a traveling nurse from Florida. Typically I wasn't a fan of traveling nurses, but Roxanne seemed to have great insight and compassion immediately upon meeting her! Mattie took to her, as he really was a shrew judge of character.
Quote of the day: At the end of the day, whether or not those people are comfortable with how you're living your life doesn't matter. What matters is whether you're comfortable with it. ~ Dr. Phil
I literally dragged myself out of bed today and pulled it together. Peter is leaving for Boston tomorrow for a week, and I will be balancing the daily routine alone. I try to manage all of it myself, as Peter is busy, but unfortunately I really can't do it all alone, so I am learning! For the past several weeks, Peter has been running all the chores and has taken on Sunny's cancer care and of course caring for Miss Indie. So he will be missed, but it is important he have this time with his parents and celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. Normally this would be something I too would attend and Sunny and Indie would be in tow. Since November of 2021, I have done nothing but solid caregiving.
Today, Peter drove my mom to Georgetown for a hair appointment. This is about a 40 minute drive with traffic. So that is 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back home. I was grateful he took this on, so that I only had to pick her up when she was done and come home and not make the trip twice. When Peter dropped my mom off, he called me immediately. He wanted me to know that she walked into the wrong salon and therefore I had to figure out how to rectify this as he was driving. Georgetown is a busy place and it is hard to find places to park and even lay by. Peter dropped her off about a half of a block away from the salon, but my mom walked the other way, away from the salon. This surprised Peter, as he isn't with my mom by day and wasn't aware of the extensive nature of support she needs. She needs as much support as my dad, perhaps in a different way, nonetheless, I can't leave either of them unattended. Thankfully my mom answered her phone and I got her turned around and to the right salon. My mom has been at this salon for months now, so it wasn't a question of it being a new experience.
While my mom was at the salon, I helped my dad do his walking routine and brain exercises. Then I had about an hour to myself to get things done. I called the neurologist office because I still did not get my mom's results back from her transcranial ultrasound that she took on August 10. Fortunately the person on the phone was very helpful and immediately uploaded the results to the portal, so I got to read through them. I certainly don't understand everything, but I understand enough to know that there is a vascular issue that is either causing dementia or Parkinson's. I haven't discussed this with my mom yet as I am waiting for her to do a two hour neuropsych assessment in September. But I can't wait to get answers! I want it now, and it seems like I am waiting months to get something definitive. All I know is she is teetering around, unsteady on her feet, and has good and bad days. These symptoms have come on very quickly, and show no sign of improvement with physical therapy.
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