Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. This maybe one of my favorite physical therapy photos! It captured the antics, energy, and community we created at the hospital. The goal was to get Mattie to walk and use his legs. It was a true challenge since he had prosthetic bones in both arms and in his right leg. Typically when you are relearning to walk, you can rely on your arms. This wasn't the case for Mattie. In fact Mattie was hesitant to use a forward facing walker, which was why Anna found this pediatric reverse walker which Mattie preferred. Yet to get Mattie to walk required our whole community to participate for support. In the conga line with Mattie was Jessie (his art therapist), Linda (his child life specialist), and Anna (his physical therapist) leading the charge.
Quote of the day: Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind. ~ David G. Allen
This morning I had to take my dad to his podiatry appointment. I take him every three months. The doctor's office is literally ten minutes from our house. One perk! But the building the office is in is a nightmare. The complex is working on their parking garages. So literally you can't park, and have to use their valet service. Today's surprise was the elevator was out of service. The podiatrist is located on the third floor. We were given the option of working with the doctor in a different office on the ground level or get this..... have someone put my dad in a chair and two people would carry him up three flights of stairs! Insane no? I just don't get the management of that building. The second option sounds like a law suit waiting to happen.
Naturally we met with the doctor on the ground floor. When escorted into the ground floor office, we were accosted by a terrible smell. It smelled like a thousand pounds of raw garlic in the office. The smell was so terrible that I had my mom stay outside in the lobby. My mom has a lung condition and I was sure this smell would set her off. I then asked the doctor's assistant what was with that smell. She told me that the former occupant of the office moved out and since then they have been using every type of spray to deodorize the office. I told her the sprays weren't working.
I then asked her if the former occupant was a urology practice? So she looked it up in the directory. It was not, but the adjacent office is indeed a urology practice. I told her that I knew what smell was from first hand experience. If you have a bladder condition like me, you may be familiar with DMSO treatment. DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is a liquid solution that treats pain and discomfort in your bladder caused by interstitial cystitis, also known as bladder pain syndrome. A doctor will give you this solution as an injection into your bladder in a hospital or clinic setting.
Years ago after Mattie was born, I developed cystitis. I am not sure what was worse, the pain from cystitis or this treatment. The treatment was torturous and it felt like I was holding acid within my body for 20 minutes! I think I underwent this procedure three times and after that, I dismissed myself from that doctor's torture and practice. On an aside not only did DMSO not work, it made me incontinent for about 6 months. Keep in mind that I was in my early thirties then and a new mom.
But back to my point, DMSO smells like garlic. Also after a DMSO infusion you smell like garlic and your mouth tastes like garlic for days! I remember going for these torturous treatments and feeling sick to my stomach from the smell. It is a time in my life I will never forget, and walking into this podiatry office today, brought up memories I had really wanted to forget.
The podiatrist has gotten to know me by now. After the exam, I helped put my dad's compression socks back on his feet and his shoes on. The doctor was so impressed with my ability to work with my dad that he gave me a fist pump!
After surviving the podiatrist visit, my mom insisted on going to the bank. With my mom I have to pick my battles. If I don't, we would be fighting daily. Maybe hourly. My mom is no longer rational at times and has no insight into her cognitive abilities. Today's issue was she said that I was not on her bank account. She insisted she had to go to the bank to add me to her account. I told her we addressed this problem right before they moved from Los Angeles. I remember the nightmare of paperwork and visiting each of their banks. The point is she didn't (and this happened in December of 2021)! Instead of arguing with her, we waited to talk with a banker today. The banker told her exactly what I had been saying all along. Of course my mom will not tell me that I was right, or that she made a mistake. Honestly there are times I feel like I am the one going crazy. But I try to remain patient and handle each crisis as it arises, and I assure you there is NEVER a day without one or many crises.
Now that is just my mom. But understand while managing my mom, I also juggle my dad. While trying to get them in the car this morning to get to the podiatrist appointment, my dad told me he had to urgently go to the bathroom. Mind you I took him to the bathroom five minutes before leaving the house. So I got my mom in the car and then turned my dad around and took him back to the bathroom. By that point I was too late. He had pooped on himself and while taking off his depends, the poop went everywhere. In the midst of this juggling act, he urinated all over the floor. I had to clean him, clean the bathroom, and the floor, and then turn around and get him back in the car and to the doctor's office. How we made it on time, I don't know!!! Honestly if someone did a reality TV show about my daily life, it would be hard to watch.
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