Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2004. Mattie was almost two years old. It was a warmer March afternoon, and Mattie and I went outside to our deck. I brought out Mattie's tunnels and things and we were playing outside together. One thing was for certain from the day he was born until he died, and that was I played many roles in Mattie's life, one of which was play companion and buddy! I loved watching how Mattie's mind worked, he was constantly moving, assessing, and creating!
Quote of the day: There is no greater power and support you can give someone than to look them in the eye, and with sincerity/conviction say, 'I believe in you.' ~ Ken Poirot
It was another crazy morning of cleaning linens, the shower, and the floor. I am slowly adjusting to this massive IBS cleaning, in that it is becoming the norm. It is ironic that with each stage of decline that my dad experiences, I find it initially very hard to adjust. But then I accommodate and therefore the ridiculous becomes commonplace. But this is the life of a full-time caregiver. It is these constant changes that makes caregiving so challenging! Just when you think you figured it out and you have a routine down pat, the needs change! With each change, the caregiver is forced to figure things out and develop new strategies and routines. That may sound easy, but I assure you it is anything but easy. Instead it is living with constant uncertainly, waiting for the next shoe to drop, and this alone can produce stress and anxiety.
This morning one of my dad's physical therapist's came over for a session. I was explaining to her how hard it is for me to get my dad up from a restaurant chair. So today she developed a strategy for me to try, as all my dad's therapists are concerned that I do not injure myself. The good news is I tried this new technique while out today, and I was able to get it to work without expending much energy.
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