July 26, 2009

Are we being too cautious?

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This morning I had a chance to go up to favorite spot I like to visit when there is a Sunday morning Volunteer.  (By the way, those who worry that we might not be getting to church, we attend the evening service on Sundays.)  I relish the chance for a little time to do some meditative reading, have some quiet time, and soak in the scenery and the wildlife, especially the birds.  I walked along the edge of a marsh below the dam, as I often do when I head up to the lake.  There are some Red-Winged Blackbirds that send out alarms and do fly-overs every time I take that path.  I am not sure what they think I am going to do, but they are determined that whatever it is, I don’t do it.

Something I wrote in my post yesterday came to mind as I spent the time away this morning.  Yesterday, I listed some of the things that I am not doing, options I have given up on for the moment, as we are living the life we have at the moment.  As I thought about that, I began to wonder if in the course of letting go of those options, I am also cutting back too much on what Mary Ann and I try to do to add interest to our lives.

While I have posted often with attitude, attitude that left the impression we will tackle anything, the truth is, I am often reluctant to push the envelop of our apparent limitations.

The disincentives that come with going out of the house to do much of anything seem pretty powerful.  I am afraid that sometimes I give those disincentives more power than they deserve.  It is so much easier to just go with the flow and do as little as possible that challenges us than it is to do the work of getting out.  I have to admit to just plain laziness.

Sometimes Mary Ann doesn’t want to tackle going out and needs for me to be more assertive.  Sometimes Mary Ann seems oblivious to the all the challenges and wants to go and do something, but I am the one that thinks of all the reasons not to do it. Sometimes it is just a matter of being tired because we have had a rough night, as in the night before last.

I don’t want Mary Ann to miss out on activities we are still able to do that may no longer be possible for us to do in the not too distant future.  At the same time, we both have to accept that one of the consequences of the Parkinon’s presence in our lives is that I need to do more of the work for both of us when we go out and participate in activities.  We cannot void those consequences and live the life we might have had if the Parkinson’s had not joined us.

Just as I have to accept what I need to do for Mary Ann to have a decent quality of life, Mary Ann has to accept that I have limited stamina and, frankly, have a lazy streak in me.  Not only do we need to live the life we have, not the one we wish we had, but we have to accept the spouse we have, not the one we would like him/her to be.   Otherwise we will always be disappointed with one another.

I won’t presume to speak for Mary Ann, but I have the spouse I want.  I accept and embrace all that comes with our life together.  In spite of the presence of the Parkinson’s in our lives, I want Mary Ann to have the best quality of life she can have.  I need to be careful not to be too cautious so that we do have the most fulfilling life we can given our circumstances.  At the same time, we need to accept each other’s limitations and imperfections, and not spend our time upset about what we are missing.  Our time is too precious to waste on regrets.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

June 17, 2009

Caregivers: Choose Life

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I have come to think that for all of us, but especially those with chronic, degenerative, life-threatening diseases, very many of our choices, big ones and little ones, can be framed as choices either to live or just fill time until we die.

At the Parkinson’s Support Group meeting while back, there were a number of people present who have had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery (see the June 4th post on this blog for a description of the procedure) to lessen the symptoms of their Parkinson’s.  When I thought about it after the meeting I concluded that those who chose the surgery were choosing life.  They were choosing not to simply bide their time as the disease progressed.  While people don’t die of Parkinson’s, the Disease often in some way plays a significant part in their death.

Of course not every decision we make is on the scale of whether or not to have DBS surgery.  With that said, I have begun to think that we can ask of very many of the decisions we make, are we choosing life, or simply filling time until we die.

I have been wondering lately if in our care giving and receiving mode, we are settling into a routine that is more about waiting and filling empty spaces of time than it is about living meaningfully. Every time we set foot out of the house to eat or shop or go to a public place, a meeting, worship service, to see our kids, to go for a ride, it is a major hassle.  We are always at risk for Mary Ann having some sort of problem that is much more difficult to handle away than at home.

When we eat out, it is often pretty hard to get food from the plate to its intended destination without some of the food taking a side trip to shirt or lap or chair or floor.  Just the logistics of getting to the table to eat in the first place is not always very easy.  When we attended that Parkinson’s meeting, there was unexpected intestinal activity that was pretty tough to deal with in a very inaccessible bathroom while a couple of folks we had enlisted to watch the door waited for what must have seemed like an eternity. Heading out for a drive of any distance can present the same sorts of problems.

It is so much easier to stay home and expand little tasks to fill more time than needed, to expand their importance and create the illusion that they are more satisfying and meaningful than they really are.

It is surprising how hard it can be when making a choice to determine which option is choosing life and which is just filling time.  For Mary Ann, watching television fills a void created by losing the ability to do most of the things she used to do for pleasure. However, watching television is also a very addictive life waster — something just to make the time go by more quickly.

There are times when watching a television program or DVD can be informative, mentally stimulating, very entertaining, refreshing and renewing.  There are also times when the television brings nothing to us, but rather consumes our lives, providing no real nourishment, just empty calories.

After procrastinating for a number of days, when finally we actually did do some flower planting outside, it seemed to be time we were living, not just waiting.  When we push ourselves to commit to something, a trip out, a visit, attending an activity, it is often life-affirming.  The temptation is to find some reason just to stay home, to do something familiar, something that in no way stretches us and stimulates us to live life to the fullest.

It is not as simple as concluding that staying busy is the way to fill our lives with meaning.  Busyness can be as life draining as watching reruns just to make the time go by.  For me, sitting alone, listening to a CD of an interesting piece of music, thinking and processing things mentally, calming my spirit, I find to be life-affirming.  Sitting on the deck, watching clouds and listening to birds is meaningful and productive time.  Quietly reading something that is engaging and mentally stimulating or spiritually nourishing is life-affirming for me.

Choosing to spend time with others is choosing life.  After a few days of talking about doing so, last week we called a couple of friends who, gratefully, were able and willing to say yes to a spontaneous invitation to go for a drive in the country.  The day was beautiful, the scenery was stunning.  We stopped at our favorite potter’s studio.  We stopped for ice cream in a picturesque small town in the area.  We tasted wine at a winery outlet, very tasty wine. (I know, ice cream and wine??)

Mary Ann chose to attend a salad luncheon with friends at church last Wednesday. While it was not expected of her, she insisted that we bring a salad – another foray into the kitchen.  Friends invited us to come down the block one evening for cookies and conversation.  The time together was not only entertaining but nourishing to some meaningful relationships.

It is very tempting to avoid the hassles and just stay home.  What was the catch phrase in those old Nike commercials: Just do it!  We have committed to a ten hour trip to Northern Illinois for a family celebration at the end of July.  From there we bring our oldest Granddaughter with us to Kentucky to spend time with our Daughter and her family.  We just received another wonderful thank you gift from the congregation I served. We provided a free place for the new Pastor to stay for a few months, waiting for his family to be able to move here.  The gift is a trip to our very favorite Bed and Breakfast in Arkansas — another long trip, but exceptionally life-affirming.

Choosing life is not always done in huge life-changing deciaions. Choosing life is often done one tiny decision at a time.  The cumulative effect of those little decisions determines whether we are living or just waiting until life is over.

Whether the choice is to undergo major surgery to provide hope of an improved quality of life, or to get out of the house and head down the block for cookies and conversation with friends, the choice is ours to make.  Either we choose life or just wait until it is over.

When given a choice, my hope is to have the courage to choose the option that is life-affirming rather than life-wasting, and, as the Serenity Prayer says, to have the wisdom to know the difference.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

April 23, 2009

Caregiver Vacation Realities

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The following is quoted ( some paraphrasing) from some journaling I did the other night while on vacation at a Bed and Breakfast in Arkansas. We had spent a wonderful evening with some dear friends on the trip there.  It was our first night at the B&B. (Let me apologize in advance for the graphic detail – it seemed the only way to explain the challenges of caregiving.) It is a follow-up on my last post on travel preparations:

Ask me now if I would sound so bold and courageous about traveling! It is 3:35am. Mary Ann has had a usual middle of the night need to go to the bathroom. I got her into the transfer chair by the bed and rolled her as far into the bathroom as I could and transfered her to the toilet stool. Pants needed to be changed. That task involved the use of one of those flimsy plastic bags that refuses to open or stay opened to put the completely soaked pad (generic Depends) in. While sitting on the stool, she fainted (low blood pressure due to the Parkinson’s and medication side effects). She was out for two or three minutes while I held her on the stool – no easy task since at that point she is dead weight.

She came around enough to get her to stand up. While I was getting pad and pajamas back in place, she went out again. This time it was a major challenge. As light as she is, holding her up in a standing position when she is cannot assist is beyond the strength in this little sixty-six year old body. I tried to get her twisted around and on to the transfer chair. She slipped off on to the floor. Picking her up from the hard ceramic tile floor put my back in danger of damage. There were no other options that were available. I pulled her up and managed to get her into the transfer chair. I tried very hard to use my legs rather than back, since damaging my back would sabotage our system of survival.   There was a painful twinge.

When finally she was in transfer chair she was still not fully awake. The low BP leaves her brain an without adequate blood supply, so she is often minimally responsive after a major fainting spell. Since the bed was particularly high, getting her into bed so that she did not slide back on to the floor was difficult. I finally got her on the bed, twisted her into position, adjusted her on to her side and she is now secure and sleeping.

On the positive side of the fainting spells and only partial awakening, she has no memory of the events.  Sometimes she doubts that the spells really happened, but she seems now to accept it when I tell her about one.

In the journal, I added that she had had a noisy night before this episode. She was vocalizing and active, obviously having vivid dreams. One of the characteristics of people who experience Lewy Body Dementia is that they have very vivid dreams in which there is bodily movement and vocalizing. The normal dream process includes some sort of automatic disconnect of mind and body. LBD folks seem to lack that automatic disconnect so they tend to act out and speak out what they are dreaming. I have heard lots of laughing, crying, screaming and talking over the years.

Vacationing while having responsibility for someone needing full care is exhausting and frustrating. We spent a significant portion of the evening looking for a Baskin and Robbins Ice Cream store she was convinced she had seen more than once earlier in the day. There was none.

The day after the challenging night included the usual tasks that are added due to the presence of Parkinson’s in our household. As I describe them, I am embarrassed to talk as if they are a burden to me. Many of these tasks are well-understood by anyone who has been the primary parent of one or more children. Those responsible for little ones do many of these things routinely with little or no credit for doing tasks that are terribly difficult and draining. I understand far better what Mary Ann did as a stay-at-home Mom for two children. As I whine about the impact on me of things I do for Mary Ann, she has the primary burden of the disease and the resulting dependence on me to do them. She has more reason to whine than I have.

Morning duties included giving Mary Ann a shower, washing and drying her hair.  On vacation there is no bath aid. The routines at home, provide some security and order that helps us through the days. Vacations provide new challenges. After getting the shower and hair done, comes the medication ritual. There is an Exelon patch to be removed and new one put on. The old band-aid on one skin Cancer must be removed and a new one put on – Polysporin first. Then the other skin Cancer needs to be cleaned with Peroxide. Only after those duties are complete do I start my own morning regimen.

The breakfast as always here was wonderful. We arrived, I moved Mary Ann from her transfer chair to the chair at the table and put the transfer chair aside. Pills needed to be put in a container for her to take with the meal, then the daytime pills put in the timers and the timers set and started. Meals always include getting Mary Ann’s food arranged and prepared for her to eat. The omelet needed to be cut into bite sized pieces, the same with the sausage. What parent of little children has ever gotten to eat food while still hot. It just goes with the territory. For someone debilitated with Parkinson’s Disease, eating is a difficult task. The food tends to slide off the side of the place as it is chased to the edge. The food can end up in lots of unintended places. During mealtimes, my stomach is usually in a knot as I try to determine what to do and what not to do to help, as I watch things heading for a place that will create a mess for me to clean up. Certainly Mary Ann struggles to get meals eaten. She dislikes my help, but often allows it. Meals are more uncomfortable when eaten in a public setting.

The day included a self-guided tour that took us to see beautiful gardens, but demanded pushing the wheelchair for two or three miles on paths, sometimes paved and sometimes not, sometimes ADA approved and sometimes not. The circumstances allowed few options other than effort that got my heart pounding to a degree that left me wondering if I would have to call for help to make it back to the entrance. Today Mary Ann wanted to hunt for diamonds at a diamond mine around here. It was too far, so we ended up spending close to a couple of hours looking for quartz crystals, both of us in the hot sun, me digging through the gooey clay and Mary Ann, while in her wheel-chair, examining the discoveries .

Now that we are midstream in the trip, the question remains. Is it worth it?  It is much harder to handle things away than at home.  The barriers that must be dealt with are many.  We could stay home and watch television.  It would be so much easier.  A trip like this allows us to see things we could not see and do things we couldn’t do at home.  It gets us away, with new people.  It provides exercise and stimulation (sometimes more than we would otherwise choose).

Would we still do it?  Even knowing the realities, at the moment we would still choose to go.  We won’t be home for another two days.  I’ll let you know then if that is still my answer.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

April 19, 2009

Caregiver/Receiver Travel Preparations

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Traveling fools that we are, we are heading out again tomorrow morning.  Having just returned from Kentucky last Monday, the preparations seem to be going more smoothly than last time.

This time we are heading for the most beautiful Bed and Breakfast that could be imagined.  There are ten rooms (one especially for handicapped), all of them facing a beautiful arm of Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Each room has its own patio or balcony.  There is a library, a reading room (both with fireplaces), a heated and cooled sun porch with games and puzzles and areas for conversation.  The decor is elegant without being pretentious.  There are many watercolors by local artists, one artist in particular.  The quality of the art is impeccable.  There is a garden that spills down the terrace toward the lake.  It is laced with paths and a stream divided by waterfalls, the water from a wonderfully gurgling fountain at the edge of the patio outside the dining room.  The garden is filled with trees and blooming shrubs and Azaleas.

The Owners and Staff are welcoming and engaging.  The breakfast is, of course, many courses, all tasty and what I would call comfortable gourmet.  I just made up that descriptor, but it is the only way of saying it that makes sense to me.  The 4:00pm wine and cheese and freshly baked cookies, sometimes fruit, is a relaxed time for conversation around the serving table or for eating on the patio listening to the fountain and the birds that visit the multiple feeders.  By the way Chocolate Wednesday is a special treat!

What I just described I am remembering from a visit last October.  That trip was a retirement gift from the Congregation that has meant so much to us in these last dozen or so years.  Since one of the owners of the Bed and Breakfast is an active Pastor, there are special rates for those of us in the business, making this trip possible for a pastor living on a pension.  This B&B is called Lookout Point – Lakeside Inn, www.lookoutpointinn.com/

I am excited about this trip.  Part of the reality of Caregiving is that anything can happen in the next few days as we make this trip.  Tomorrow something may emerge that makes it impossible to go.  We may have any number of problems as we travel.  None of that dampens my enthusiasm.  I cannot know what will happen, so I will enjoy what I can, while I can.  Mary Ann enjoyed our last visit and is motivated to make it work.

As always the preparations are many.  Choosing clothes to take along is a special challenge.  As is the case each morning, I gather as many options for clothing as I can hold and carry them to her as she sits on the edge of the bed.  Often it takes what seems to be an interminable amount of time for her to work back and forth through the clothes as the hangers dig into my fingers.  Deciding on clothes for six days of travel is an exhausting experience for the one holding the clothes.

There are pills to be prepared and put in the plastic seven day, four section each day, pill holder.  Then the bottles of pills need to be along in case anything happens to the ones in the daily container.  There are meds for the two skin cancers that have just been removed so that they can be treated properly to enhance the healing process.  One takes Polysporin and a band-aid each day, the other needs to be dabbed with Peroxide three or four times a day.  The Exelon patches need to come along. The black case with liquid band-aids to deal with the Plavix thinned blood if there is a cut comes along.  There are straws and bandages and wipes and adhesive tape, boxes and tubes and containers filled with all sorts of things that have been needed at one time or another in the past.  All are contained in that black case.

There is the booklet with all the medical information including a list of medications, insurance information, doctors names and phone numbers, her living will.  There are snacks to be gathered for the trip.  There are paper towels for the inevitable spills as we travel.  Both wheel chair and transfer chairs will come along.  We may add the bedside commode if there is room. Those who are in the stage of life that includes young children know how hard it is to gather all that is needed so that the odds of the trip going well are increased.  There are never any guarantees about how it will go, no matter how many preparations are made.

Every time we do this, the usual questions come to mind again.  Should we be traveling away from the security of home and familiar medical resources?  Is it more trouble than it is worth?  What if something happens!!

I guess we have decided that if something happens, it will happen.  We can’t control that.  We can sit at home and wait for it to happen so that if it does, we will be close to the familiar.  We are simply choosing not to sit and wait.  Our reasoning is obvious.  We have what appears to be a limited time remaining with enough mobility to even attempt traveling.  We will do it while we can and not do it when we can’t.  We think we still can, so off we go!

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

April 8, 2009

Caregivers: Shall we Travel?

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I am writing this post at my Daughter and Son-in-Law’s computer after driving for eleven hours yesterday to get here.  The word “disincentive” has come to be a regular in my vocabulary.  The disincentives to traveling with someone who needs lots of care are legion.

There is a powerful ambivalence that comes as the trip nears.  Memories of struggles on past trips loom.  There was the trip to that Elderhostel held in Tucson, Arizona one winter.  We flew since the drive would have been a couple of long days.  In my mind, the air quality on the plane brought it on.  Four days later I called the children to fly in for what was thought could be Mary Ann’s last night.  She recovered.  Nonetheless, that memory brings to mind the distinct possibility of having problems away from home.   A strange and unfamiliar hospital, new doctors, the communication of a complex of illnesses about which records lie a thousand miles away, the usual support system unavailable all compound the stress felt by the Caregiver.

Memories of driving for miles trying to find a one-holer, a single-user bathroom, or searching for someone willing to guard the multi-stall bathroom while the two of you spend what seems like an eternity in the restroom, those memories are firmly entrenched and surface immediately at the first thought of heading off on another trip.

I think most of us who are full time Caregivers have worked hard at developing routines that help us anticipate and deal with the many daily struggles that come with the territory.  We have found what works.  We have the tools handy in the places we will need them.  We know to whom to turn for what.  When we are in another place, routines no longer in place, everything is harder.  What we would have taken in stride at home becomes a major challenge.  There is added stress due to the increased vigilance demanded by a new environment filled with the unexpected.

The destination of our travel may not be user friendly for those with physical limitations.  If we are staying in a home with family or friends, the chances are there will not be all the accommodations we have provided at home as we have worked at making it more accessible over the years.  As Caregivers we have all come to realize how easily a few steps or a curb or a gravel drive or cramped quarters in a bathroom or a low toilet stool or any number of seemingly minor challenges can become major barriers.

Eating out in public places during the travel and, perhaps, at the destination is not a time to relax and converse and rest from the trip.  Finding a spot to park, getting the wheel chair out and through the doors of what is usually an air lock arrangement, two sets of doors with a small space in between sets the tone for the mealtime.  Figuring out what to order, dealing with the logistics of finding a table and getting the food to it in a fast food restaurant are more difficult that would be imagined.   Then, unfortunately, I get embarrassed when the food as it is being eaten ends up in a mess on the table, lap and floor.  I consider it my job to leave the table as I found it.

The disincentives to travel are legion.  The challenge is to put the disincentives in perspective when deciding whether or not to travel.  Mary Ann is less conscious of the disincentives.   She does not embarrass as easily as I do.  She seems less conscious of the difficulties we encounter.  I assume that part of the reason for that is that I am the one who does the physical tasks associated with getting her needs met.

There are incentives to traveling.  This trip brings us to two of our Granddaughters.  That trumps pretty much all of the disincentives for traveling here.  Traveling gets us out of those same few rooms in which we are spending our whole lives.   Traveling gets us away from one more Law and Order episode, Spaghetti Western, session of self-help on Oprah.  Traveling gets us in contact with real, live, human beings, able to converse with us.  Traveling exposes us to the beauty that surrounds us but is out of sight because it is on the other side of the houses surrounding ours.

We have worked at determining where the best bathrooms (single user) are when traveling.  They include Subways, Taco Bells, newer Casey’s General Stores, smaller convenience stores, Arbys,  BP station (if there is not an attached fast food restaurant).  Those places don’t always have a bathroom suited to our needs, but often do.  We have learned what foods are more and less challenging to handle.  We have an old catalog case filled with first aid supplies, straws, wipes, anything we can think of that we might need, but might not be readily available.  We grab that case every time we hit the road for an overnight.

You remember that often repeated quote attributed to someone who is looking back on life regretting not what he did but rather what he did not do.  There is only so much time left for any of us.  With a chronic illness in the family, mortality is clear.  Whatever we will do yet in our lives needs to be done now if it will be done at all.

Of course we need not to tempt fate and be foolish about what we choose to do.   If quality of life actually is more important that quantity, we do need to stretch the limits a bit and take the risk on traveling.

Shall we travel?  For Caregivers, it is far easier not to.  Logically speaking, the disincentives may seem to outweigh the incentives.  The challenge is to put in healthy perspective both disincentives and incentives.  Weigh them carefully and remember, we don’t have forever, we have now.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

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