Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. This was the month Mattie began chemotherapy. He had already lost his hair at that point. Though none of his limb salvaging surgeries had taken place and therefore Mattie could still walk and run. That weekend, Mattie's cousins visited from Boston. We were in the hospital outdoor garden and Mattie was showing his cousin Will the wonderful rocks in this space. Mattie was fascinated by these rocks and I have to admit to this day, I still have a huge rock that Mattie took from the garden. It serves as my door stop in our pantry. 

Quote of the day: The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude. ~ Julia Child

Last night was a nightmare. My dad worked himself into a completely agitated and hysterical state. There was no reasoning with him. He also hasn't been sleeping well. I have a nanny camera in his bathroom, which also captures when he gets out of bed. He was up every two hours last night and that also meant my mom was up with him. So they were both luggage today. 

When I went in this morning to get my dad up and showered, he was sleeping on his side. He NEVER sleeps on his side. He told me he did not want to shower or get up and definitely did not want to go to his memory care center. Needless to say, I got him up and the routine going. But I did keep him home with us as he seemed very scared and fearful. 

My mom had physical therapy today and a mammogram. Which meant that I had to take my dad to the hospital with us. While my mom was in her session, my dad was very chatty (highly unusual). What I learned is he is having hallucinations at night. One hallucination was about snow. In fact, he saw colored snow coming from his bedroom ceiling. The other hallucination was that he saw the silk flowers in his bedroom moving and wilting, and the final hallucination he shared with me was that he saw a classmate of his from his memory care center at the foot of his bed, talking to him. Needless to say, after hearing all of this, I text messaged their doctor. I am bringing in a urine sample tomorrow for testing, to rule out a urinary tract infection. Which in older adults can produce an altered state. However, this could be his movement into a later stage of dementia. The doctor will see us on Tuesday, he will evaluate my dad, and we can talk about other medications and next steps. 

When I got home after 4pm, I started cooking and prepping for dinners at home this week. I made a peach cobbler (with peaches from the farmer's market) for Thursday night. 

I pre-assembled a blueberry pie for Friday night. Then marinaded chicken for Thursday and shrimp for Friday. These are not things I can do or focus on once Peter's parents arrive, so I knew I had to get a jump on it. 

On top of everything else I have going on tomorrow, I have my annual visit to the endocrinologist to discuss my bone density issues. My bone scan shows that Prolia is working. What I don't know is whether they are giving me my bi-annual shot tomorrow. Of course any time I get a shot, I always worry about a reaction. Needless to say, this would NOT be a good time to have a reaction!