CAREGIVING: Monday morning when Kathy’s new aide, Betsey was here, I decided I needed to run down and make a bank deposit. I was transferring some money from my business account to my personal account at Monson Savings. I thought Marty might like to go for a walk so I brought him out the back door and we waddled down as far as… Read more →
Tag: Marty
Giving away memories
LIFE: Thursday I started going through some of Kathy’s clothes and things. I was trying to decide what to keep and what to give away. Taking care of someone with Huntington’s or any terminal disease is a long goodbye process. You need to give yourself time to breathe and time to grieve and I’d rather do it a little bit at a time. I… Read more →
Venturing outside for the first time
CAREGIVING: Sometimes the biggest reward from taking care of Kathy is a smile. Just knowing that she is enjoying something makes me feel like it is worth it. Since she can no longer really speak it isn’t easy to tell. Almost always it is something simple. I wet her lips with cold water. Clean her teeth. I give her a taste of… Read more →
First days home
CAREGIVING: The first few days home were generally pretty good. I guess anything was better than pneumonia in the hospital. But this is still Huntington’s and we are biding time. The first morning was my first poop clean up since the feeding tube started. Took some getting used to but it wasn’t bad. Some of the neighbors called to… Read more →
A Nose for Food
HOSPITAL / May 29th & 30th: Thursday afternoon Kathy’s sister Trisha arrived from New Mexico. She rented a car and drove up from Bradley Airport. She called on her cell phone to warn me she was on the same floor as Kathy’s room. Very courteous to warn me. She didn’t want to just barge in. I welcomed the company and help working… Read more →
Breathing
HOSPITAL / May 28th: Wednesday and Thursday were whirlwind days at Baystate. Because it was cool out I brought Marty with me. I parked in garages both days so he was safe and I could go out and we would go for sniff and pee walks. Well I drank a coffee. Marty did his thing. I contacted our dog sitter Joanne and… Read more →
9-1-1
CAREGIVING: I’m writing this from Kathy’s hospital room. On Tuesday we got up as usual and Kathy was coughing and couldn’t really eat or drink much of anything. I had figured out that I could get her to take her meds by breaking them up into small pieces and putting them in a little applesauce. Unfortunately the combination of insufficient fluids,… Read more →