Tuesday, November 29, 2022 --- Mattie died 687 weeks ago today. Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2002. Mattie was 7 months old and though his neck muscles could support his head, he still had trouble sitting up without falling over. As you can see, I placed pillows all around Mattie to catch him and prop him up. What was so sweet about this photo was he was looking right up at me. Mattie always kept a close bead on me, and that did not change either when he became a toddler or preschooler.
Quote of the day: To say there had been a loss was ludicrous; one lost a shoe or a set of keys. You did not suffer the death of a child and say there was a loss. There was a catastrophe. A devastation. A hell. ~ Jodi Picoult
Last Tuesday, I made a commitment to myself, to work on continuing education credits for my licensure renewal. Yes that meant that I also gave great thought to letting the license lapse and to completely forget about this professional side of my life. It was a very hard decision as I am managing so much in any given day that honestly some days I want to say.... the hell with it all! After a lot of soul searching, I concluded.... no I am not giving up a license I worked so hard to get! Peter left for Boston last Tuesday and with his departure, I had a talking to myself. I committed to devoting several hours a night (after my parent's went up to bed) to accruing hours. I have to admit the first night or two was the toughest. Mainly because by 9pm, I am spent. I have had a full day for ten people. Yet I have been pushing through this feeling and staying up. Some nights I was up past 1am. But I am proud to say that in one week's time I obtained 21.5 hours of education. I have more to do, but tonight, I decided to take a break. Mainly because I had a very LONG day.
By 12:45pm, I loaded my parents into the car and drove to the city, so that my parents could visit my dentist. This is the first time I took my parents to the dentist. I have been dealing with so many other medical concerns, the dentist was low on priority list. But given they haven't seen a dentist in over a year, I had to resolve this. When I got to my dentist's office, I pulled the car over, and jumped out, to get my parents into the building. Then I got back into the car and parked it in a garage. I raced back to get my parents, but they already proceeded up to the 8th floor, to the dentist office. Within the office, I found my mom with a clip board filled with patient forms. Not only for her but for my dad. Needless to say, I completed my dad's paperwork and helped her with hers. I know my mom did not like having to find a new dentist, because she liked her dentist in Los Angeles. However, I suspected that if she gave my hygienist and dentist a chance, she'd like them.
My mom got along splendidly with Annie, my hygienist. Annie is a true professional and compassionate person. So my mom had a good appointment. Then it was my dad's turn. He wanted me to be in the room with him. Annie understood and it doesn't take long when interacting with my dad to understand why he needs supervision. To make a long story short, Annie gave my dad a toothbrush and asked him to demonstrate how he brushes his teeth. WOW was this an eye opener. My dad can't brush his teeth. He goes through the motions but isn't brushing. I should have suspected this, since he supposedly shaves in the morning, but whatever he does never works and I land up shaving him with an electric razor after he showers. I am not sure why I never checked how he brushes his teeth. I chalk it up to doing too much. Annie was great with my dad and unfortunately because he hasn't been taking care of his teeth, there was a lot of bleeding. So the new strategy now is I have to brush his teeth with an electric toothbrush. She wants me to do it in his recliner, without water or toothpaste. She also gave him a special mouthwash and probiotic chewable to help tamp down the bacteria in his mouth. Annie then had my put on gloves and she trained me on how to brush and floss his teeth. Make a long story short, she was so taken by what I am balancing in any given day that she literally went into her drawer and put a sparkly silver star on my sweater. She wanted me to know I am a STAR. Do you see the star on my sweater??
But here's the real kicker..... Did you know that bacteria that causes gum disease may increase risk of Alzheimer's? A study out of Tufts has indicated that bacteria in the mouth can generate inflammation both locally and systemically, which will affect Alzheimer’s disease, as Alzheimer’s itself is an inflammatory disease, also bacteria migrates and penetrates to the brain to colonize there and secrete pathological molecules to exacerbate the symptoms and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. I had NO idea and I told Annie on my next cleaning, I want her to do a test of my salvia to see if I have the specific bacteria linked to Alzheimer's disease. She also said that research indicates with managing this bacteria in the mouth, that my dad's dementia meds may be more effective.
Once we were done at the dentist's office, I got my parents back into the car and took them out to dinner. One of the Clyde's restaurants we go to, reminds me of Cheers, the TV show. As so many people there know our name and treat us so kindly. I can't tell you what big difference this makes in my life to have people who can think outside of themselves and truly want to help, provide us great service, and spend the time chatting and getting to know us.
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