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William's journey

Entries in this blog

Your order is better than mine....

William had a great day at physical therapy. The therapist said that she is very pleased with William's progress. She has noticed that William can move his left leg. We just need to work on it. He is able to walk with controlled supervision. Just a short ways. But, this is a miracle. I credit this to our hyrdo-therapy. We go to the pool and walk 3-4 days of the week.   I got William up at 5AM. We started out and then I saw a lightening strike. I asked William if he saw it. He didn't

ruthpill

ruthpill

YMCA Sat as usual...

Early 50.....I get up and William is ready for the pool... I am so glad that he is ready and not recalcitrant about the pool this morning. I have so much to do today.   William has the usualy 20 laps. He has reduced the walk down to 20 from my expected 50. but that is OK. I just add extra activities to make our time string out for 1 hour. We do planks on the side of the pool. While William is standing on th e side of the pool I tell him belly to the wall...butt out. This is a stret

ruthpill

ruthpill

Yes..digoxin is forever.

We had the cardiologist visit on Friday. Increased the coreg. I am supposed to take his blood pressure more often. I asked him about the digoxin. This is a lifetime med. That was my impression. HIs ejection fraction is 35-40%. That is good. normal is 55%. He started with 20% .. Congestive heart failure. William went to church with his caregiver. They attended Sunday school and service. They had a good day. Today is Monday, I have the day off. Went swimming this morning.

ruthpill

ruthpill

Working on my physical well being...what a change!

I have decided that i need to work on my physical well being. I have gotten out of shape. two years of caregiving does a job on the old body.   I have decided that I will work out when I take William to the Y. I work with him in the pool for 50-60 minutes. I then have him wait on the chair while I swim for 10-15 minutes. I am so out of shape that I can only do laps for that long. I need to work up. Next, I give us showers.   I push William to the lobby and he has his meds and coffee a

ruthpill

ruthpill

WILLIAM'S Journey

I have decided to learn how to blog. I want to journal William's journey. Ischemic stroke , 12-13-08. We were enjoying a quiet Sat. evening. William is preparing for Bible study. He is sitting on the couch reading the bible to me. I notice that he has stopped reading . It looks like he has dozed off. Now , that is odd. Then I notice this gasping for breath. I can tell something is really wrong. I go over to William and ask him if he can stand up. I would like to go to the car a

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ruthpill

WILLIAM'S Journey

On the rehab floor. We are there for 2 weeks. His arm gets swollen. So not much OT is done. I wrap the arm to push the fluid back into the body. This was suggested by my son. He was doing his residency. He said that that is what they do in the hospital. Compression to push the fluid back into the body from the extremities. This hospital does not do it. So I do it on my own. It works. The swelling goes away. I wrap the arm every evening. PT,OT, ST life revolves around those three

ruthpill

ruthpill

William's birthday present

On March 10th. I gave William a manicure and a pedicure. He loved it. I also got him some ear buds to use at the gym. I am going to have him use it on the recumbant bike. Perhaps he will stay on longer because he is interested in the news or tv program. We will see.   Sat..we went out with some friends and had a nice birthday dinner.   We have had lazy day...the spring forward has gotten William tired.   Ruth

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ruthpill

William is still learning to pick his battles...

William had me seeing red the other Sunday. I had taken him to church and we always go to the pool after church. But, William immediately starts saying that he is too tired to go to the pool. I proceed to the pool anyway. We get there and William refuses to get out of the car.   In frustration I finally leave him and go and do my swimming. When I get out. I find that he is in the lobby. He had asked a passerby to help him get into the lobby.   We get home and I let him have a nap.

ruthpill

ruthpill

Why exercise? Why ask that question?

Swimming is such a funny thing with William. Well, walking in the water.   William still goes to the water with me 5 to 6 times of the week. Even after 2 years...he still does not suggest this outing on his own. He just agrees to go with me.....because he knows that I will have a fit if he does not acquiecse..   Yet, every time after we are finished...he does agree that he feels better. He knows that this is helping him .   Exercise wears him out....I know that he is getting a little b

ruthpill

ruthpill

whose schedule is this?

I have to ask myself. If this my schedule or William's schedule.??? I seem to be in charge of the schedule and William always wants to ask what we do next. I remind him that we have just been doing this for 2 years. But, the only day that he knows is Sunday. That is the day that he chooses to have as his own.   Monday is Pool in the morning. This means that I get up and get our stuff gathered and put into the car. I get William up and changed into his swim trunks. He need to brush his

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ruthpill

White Christmas...the musical

We started the Christmas season with a musical. White Christmas. It was fun and William really enjoyed it. He knew if from the movie with Bing Cosby. But, the part with the soldiers in uniform was missing. William wanted to see that part. We had Snow in the Hobby center. They had a similation of snow at the end of the musical.   William is afraid of heights. We are in the top area and of course in an area where wheel chairs can be positioned. But, William wants to be behind my chair.

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ruthpill

Wheel chair assessment

Wehad the wheelchair assessment. It is amazing! We were there for 3 hours. The rep from the wheelchair company and the therapist were there. They measure and weigh William. From head to toe and chest and legs and arms. This chair is going to fit. We tried 3 different backs and 2 different types of cushions. We are going to have a seatbelt. William says that this makes him feel safer. We got to choose a color. William was opting for black. I said try again. He chose copper. Their i

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ruthpill

WHAT is too much PT??

I have William in PT again. I enjoy the new therapist, but, they expect too much. I have so many exercises to work on with William on a daily basis. I just cannot get it all done.   When I work the afternoon shift. I take William to the pool in the morning this is a 3 hour ordeal. 30 min to and from the YMCA. 1 hour in the water and 30-40 minutes to shower and dress. When we get home. William is exhausted and needs a rest. So he is down for 2 hours. Now it is lunch time. I try to ta

ruthpill

ruthpill

What are you going to do about the fall?

The cardiologist asked me today. What I was doing to prevent another fall? He said that it was criminal that I had a caregiver that could not handle William. I knew that I should request somebody with more experience.   I got home and called the company and said that i needed a different caregiver. I could not risk another fall. Falls for William are too dangerous per his cardiologist.   Well, I took care of that. I just needed the doctor to reinforce my feeling that the fall was r

ruthpill

ruthpill

What a long day....

Today, I got up at 4AM. William and I are so used to getting up early for the pool. Even when I cannot make it to the pool. Our regular pool is closed, so when I have the morning shift, I cannot make it to the pool. But, we are up anyways. We chose to listen to the news.   I manage to snooze a little. I am up at 6AM. I get up and showered and ready for work.   I drive to work and stop by the donut shop to pick up some kalouches and donuts for the kids at work.   I get to work early

ruthpill

ruthpill

Wharton Texas outing

Our last outing with the Ymca was to Wharton, Texas. this was a 8Am to 6P trip. William tolerated the trip well. No mishaps. Whquearton , is a little tiny town. We saw everything that was possible to see in Wharton.   We had delicious bar b que. I also found some pralines at one of our bathroom stops. William has wanted pralines last time we went to a Mexican restaurant. He was ecstatic that we could find some. Delicious stuff!!   We had our primary care appointment. The Docotor h

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ruthpill

Wet suit

We tried a wet suit on to get into the pool. It is colder now. They have changed the water and it is not warm. But, the wet suit was not a piece of cake to put on. Can you imagine...the left side does not help. William said that he felt all tied up...I was trying to pull the thing up over his torso and then the arms. It was difficult. Finally got it on. William was able to stay in the pool because of the set suit. I will probably have to go thru this again tomorrow. Getting it off was a

ruthpill

ruthpill

weight on the left leg.....large step with the right leg

Physical therapy will continue for another week. The therapist said that William is progressing and she wants to continue therapy. She starts working on inpatient and therefore we will be taking a break.   She has William trying to take weight on his left leg. He has a tendency to put more weight on the right leg. I cannot imagine how it feels. The left side does not have feeling.   We are still going to the pool 3-5 days of the week, depending on my work schedule. I do take him to the

ruthpill

ruthpill

water therapy....

I just read an article in the stroke magazine. It was extolling the benefits of hydro therapy for stroke patients. I know this for a fact. This is the therapy of choice for me. I get William to the pool about 5 days of the week. I started this 5 months after his stroke. He has really made tremendous strides.   Quotes from the article. "the healing benefits of waer" "greater mobility. In water, body weight is decreased by up to 90 percent; buonyancy makes moving easier. Water supports

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ruthpill

walkaid....rescheduled.....somebody called in sick

We were halfway to the orthotics place when my cell phone rang. I don't always answer the phone when I am driving. It is difficult to delve into the bottomless pit called my purse. But, somehow I managed to get the phone before it clicked off. I am just calling to reschedule your appt. It was supposed to be at 9AM. the orthotist called in sick. Can we reschedule for....Friday?? What choice do we have? Friday it will be. I am rather excited about this evaluation. I wonder if William wil

ruthpill

ruthpill

Volunteered at the poodle shelter

William and I went to the poodle shelter today. This was in place of the pool. William was excited...He calls me at work and tells me that is does not make sense to take a shower before he visits the dogs. I agree with him. Initially I had planned to have him shower before I got home from work.   William wanted to eat lunch, but I told him that we had to visit the dogs. William absolutely loved it. He was not too excited about the really excited jumpy dogs. They made him nervous. But,

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ruthpill

valentines day lunch out early.

William and I were on our way home from the pool. William did a good job. He wanted to try the new Burger girl restaurant that is going to open. Well, it was not open yet. So, I suggested that we try the SaltGrass Steak house and celebrate Valentine's day.   I have to work Monday night and we are busy Monday during the morning. We are attending a CERT (Citizen emergency relief team) ...This is about getting ready for emergencies. It is good. This Monday we will learn about fires.  

ruthpill

ruthpill

Update on us

I have been AWOL. Time has just slipped by.time doe not slow down as you age. My days are crazy. I get up at 5 a. Walk the dogs and then get ready for work. I leave the house at 5:30 a. I get to work at 6a. I do not start until 7 . I use this time to eat breakfast, text the caregiver with instructions for the day, and read for fun. This allows me time for myself and I do not get stuck in traffic. This job is the easiest job that I have ever had. I work in a call center and process Medic

ruthpill

ruthpill

Twice in one day...

William's complaining yesterday...won him another trip to the pool at noon. Twice in one day ....Complaining too much gets you more of the same. I am a mean task master.   Actually I was going to go swimming myself at noon and asked William if he wanted to come. He said yes. I told him that this is like the movie Groundhog's day. Everything keeps repeating. William had gotten up and went to the pool. Came home and had a nap. Got up again and had another go at the pool.   Today, we

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ruthpill

Tuesday July 21, 2009

William has read the book the China Study, recommended by our MD. Anyway, the just of the book is to not eat Meat or wheat products. pure vegan diet. I told William that I like fish and chicken. But, if he wants to try this. I guess OK. BUt, I just don't know. He has always been a meat and potatoes sort of fellow. THis is a drastice change. You would think that I would be the vegetarian. I am the one that likes that type of food. I went and bought lots of fruits and veggies for him.

ruthpill

ruthpill