Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. I know exactly what was happening here, just by the nature of the photo. Mattie was going to have a MRI. Given the scary nature of these scans, Mattie had to be sedated. Especially since his scans lasted about 90 minutes to two hours. Early on in Mattie's diagnosis, he endured a MRI without sedation. That did not go well, and therefore all subsequent scans, Mattie needed sedation. Sedation was a big procedure because Mattie was not allowed to eat or drink anything from the night before and the process took longer both from a prep and recovery standpoint. Mattie never came out of sedation well. He would become angry and agitated. Therefore, the sedation team had to give Mattie an anti-anxiety med as he was waking up from sedation. Nonetheless, we endured this process every few months. This photo was taken while Mattie was waiting for the sedation team. We tried to keep Mattie busy and engaged, so he would not focus on what was about to happen!
Quote of the day: I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. ~ Joann Didion
It was a glorious weather day today and though I really wanted to go for a walk, I decided I better get in the backyard and do some cleaning up. I am not sure Sunny was pleased with that decision. I must have spent about three hours outside, cleaning out flower pots, trimming back plants and bushes. There is a lot more to do, but I had to start somewhere. I also cleaned and bagged all our outdoor chair pillows. Some winters I get lazy and forget about them, but this year, I decided to get a jump on it, especially when the weather felt so lovely to be outside.
Sunny is on a hunger strike. He basically refuses his pills and all sorts of food. I keep at it, but it is frustrating, when his care is not the only thing I am balancing. I am a person who likes to help and support others and when I find my efforts aren't working, this can send me down a rabbit hole.
I took my parents out for brunch today and on the drive home, my mom started to panic. She was having a massive nose bleed. Literally there wasn't enough tissues to manage the blood. It got all over her and the car. Of course I was driving and I was on a road that I couldn't pull over. Needless to say, when I got home, I left my dad in the car and rushed my mom inside. I stuffed her nose tightly with a tissue, put her on the couch, and put an ice bag over the bridge of her nose. Slowly the bleeding stopped. But it was a total crisis. She was hysterical, my dad was confused, and I was running around trying to manage everyone.
I reminded my mom that the nose will crack when dry just like the skin. Fall/Winter weather exacerbates this dryness, making it the most common reason for nosebleeds. Hearing this helped my mom calm down, because her immediate fear was this was the start of her lung condition problem (which also can cause intense nose bleeds). In any case, I started the vaporizer in her bedroom and I will have her use a saline nose spray daily for moisture.
Now onto my fun story of the day. I started doing this two days ago, and somehow I really enjoy it. I was listening to the radio and they highlighted the Levi's jeans CEO. He discussed why you should NEVER wash your jeans (to preserve the indigo color)! Literally I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Maybe because I live in a house where I am constantly washing what my parents are wearing. In any case, you got to read this article for yourself! Did you know they are recommend putting your jeans in the freezer rather than washing them? I don't know about you, but this notion makes me want to laugh uncontrollably!
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