CAREGIVING: On Wednesday afternoon after the palliative care nurses left, I went over some more parts of Five Wishes, an advanced directive plan or living will. I’m sure there are a million living-will forms on-line but this is the one I found years ago. At the time that we started this, Kathy had not been diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease although I suspected she… Read more →
Category: Life
“You are there.” The Truth Is Tough to Swallow
CAREGIVING: Erica the speech therapist came for another visit to check Kathy’s swallowing on Tuesday (4/29). It was one of Kathy’s bad days. There was more congestion from fluid, and we made the mistake of testing her swallowing while she was lounging on the futon. Her body was not in the best position. We had already eaten breakfast so Kathy was already… Read more →
Spring is around the corner
LIFE: Marty keeps telling me Spring is around the corner but, like his Kong toy, we aren’t sure which corner. We have had little teasers of warmth and I believe there are some daffodils trying to poke through the leaves that I never got around to raking. Last spring even though Kathy could no longer help, I still managed to… Read more →
A Caregiver Cam
CAREGIVING: This week I bought a caregiver cam. That’s what I am calling it, anyway. Everybody is spying on everybody. A musician friend gave me an Amazon gift card and in addition to some pajama bottoms for Kathy and some Oral-B toothbrush heads, I ordered an inexpensive internet camera. It is like a web cam except that it works with… Read more →
Sleeping in the Dining Room
LIFE & CAREGIVING: I’ve had some photos of how I adapted the dining room into a safe bedroom for Kathy and I thought I would share them. Once it was clear that Kathy had Huntington’s I knew that I would have to start making adaptations like more hand rails and things. As she started getting more and more unsteady on… Read more →
It’s snow fun
CAREGIVING: We had a pretty good-sized snow storm on Thursday. I cancelled our aide Dilcia because I knew there was no place for her to park. Greater Springfield Seniors wanted to send a nurse to help develop the new treatment plan for Kathy. She will be getting more help with showers and companion care. The nurse had already postponed until… Read more →
Back to work
LIFE: On Tuesday, after the dentist, and on Wednesday I tried to get back to work and caught up with a bunch of “stuff”. In between moving Kathy from couch; to toilet; to couch; to kitchen… I had to finish an ad for Holyoke Medical Center that was to run in the Sunday Springfield paper. I was starting a few… Read more →