For years now, Mayre and my normal weekday evening routine has been to have supper, get the dishes done, fix a little desert and go in the den to check out the latest news on the TV, before we head off to read and get ready for bed.
But for a few months now, the tv news has become less and less news and more and more talking heads stretching to see and report what they think lies ahead. There is more and more opinion, and, in a way, I guess it helps to fill the time allotted to that program. The 24 hour news cycle needs a lot of fodder to make it through the day.
But there is another reason that the evening news has less and less appeal for us.
A lot of you all may have days like this, but it seems my days are filled with:
Getting both of us up
Deciding what to have for breakfast
Fixing same
Deciding what to wear for us
Dressing
Listening to Christian podcast
Thinking about a mid morning snack
Fixing same
Do we need anything from the store?
Go there
Lunch is coming, what to have?
Putting lunch out
Let's read a book
How about a car ride?
Or just around the condo area in the wheelchair?
Uh oh, time for an ice cream snack in mid afternoon
What will we have for our main meal, supper?
Prepare that meal and eat it
Turn on news, which we taped earlier
Get through most of it, then decide to go to bed
Showers, dental hygiene
Get dressed for bed
Then as you drift off to sleep, you remember that this will also be your schedule tomorrow, and, with some minor interruptions and activities, your go to schedule for future days as well.
So, what about Syria? The President, an Earthquake, a School incident?
They seem to fall into line behind, "what do I need at the store?".
Could be "the tyranny of the urgent".
It seems to me that the mind of the caregiver is filled up to the brim with "care".
I guess I will have to leave the other stuff to those who have time to think.
And, as I think about what I am writing, my hat is off to those moms, and sometimes dads, who do the same things multiple times per day depending on the number of kids in the house. Amazing!
Speaking of care, we are beginning next week with a nurse one time a week and an aide two times. This will bring some relief, if even for an hour, for three days in the week.
But I doubt I will be going in the den and turning on the news for that respite time.
It is the least I can do, for all the years my wife has taken care of me, and everything else. She deserves her ice cream, and she shall have it.
My mission in life for these days is to take care of my wife, and regardless of news stories and opinions, that is what I will do.
And we will pray a lot...
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Flower Report and Other News
Well here it is...
Two buds opened and others on the way.
Now in other news from this front.
After much urging and soul searching, I have made some arrangements for some help on care for Mayre. She insists she only needs me, but I know otherwise.
Dwayne and I had a good talk the other night while he was here, and I told him my thoughts, which I implemented on Monday with some calls.
My friend at church had some contact with an outfit, Georgia Hospice Care. whom I called and set up a Monday afternoon meeting with their manager and their clinical nurse director.
First of all, the patient does not have to be near death to get their services. They operate under Medicare, and if a patient has what they consider to be a terminal illness, they will cover costs.
Without going into a lot of detail, they come 2 days a week with a nurse to keep checks on the one involved and 3 days a week with a nurse aide that helps with bathing and other stuff. We had the nurse today and will have the aide tomorrow for a about 45 minutes to an hour each visit.
They take over the responsibility for all the care, come whenever you need them and are on call 24/7 (365). This peace of mind is worth a lot to a caregiver who does not know a lot of times what to do.
The easiest part was getting it set up once approved, the hardest is convincing the patient that she can benefit from it.
The nurse today received a not-so-enthusiastic welcome, but will be back on Thursday.
We'll see about the Aide tomorrow.
Pray for all of us
Two buds opened and others on the way.
Now in other news from this front.
After much urging and soul searching, I have made some arrangements for some help on care for Mayre. She insists she only needs me, but I know otherwise.
Dwayne and I had a good talk the other night while he was here, and I told him my thoughts, which I implemented on Monday with some calls.
My friend at church had some contact with an outfit, Georgia Hospice Care. whom I called and set up a Monday afternoon meeting with their manager and their clinical nurse director.
First of all, the patient does not have to be near death to get their services. They operate under Medicare, and if a patient has what they consider to be a terminal illness, they will cover costs.
Without going into a lot of detail, they come 2 days a week with a nurse to keep checks on the one involved and 3 days a week with a nurse aide that helps with bathing and other stuff. We had the nurse today and will have the aide tomorrow for a about 45 minutes to an hour each visit.
They take over the responsibility for all the care, come whenever you need them and are on call 24/7 (365). This peace of mind is worth a lot to a caregiver who does not know a lot of times what to do.
The easiest part was getting it set up once approved, the hardest is convincing the patient that she can benefit from it.
The nurse today received a not-so-enthusiastic welcome, but will be back on Thursday.
We'll see about the Aide tomorrow.
Pray for all of us
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