SandyCaregiver

Stroke Caregiver - female
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Blog Entries posted by SandyCaregiver

  1. SandyCaregiver
    I've recently gotten into bullet journaling - which has went into an art form, and I'm loving it.   I started trying to bullet journal around the middle of Feb, and use a 2 pg daily spread, with everything on it. One of the many things I want to try to get back into is my stroke hubby's therapy, that we are not doing anything, on a regular basis, on (stroked 2012).    I got this free print off from a bullet journal group, where the designer wanted to see what people would do with it.    There were many things I could use if for, and I pondered it carefully.   Then I thought if I used it for his therapies, he might get more excited about starting again. I will probably have to reprint it as I get better ideas on how to do it, but this is a learning experience. I like how it will be a visual for him, to see what he's actually doing. I just got it made and he just started a reading period, so the first day (Mar 11) shows he has started. After he read he told me (in aphasia talk!), "you have to make another picture, I'm playing solitaire now!" Game playing is important to his decision making skills and cognition, and I was very pleased that he initiated something on his own! So, I put another item on his list and marked it on the calendar - I think this is going to go over really WELL with him!
     

  2. SandyCaregiver
    Haven't shared anything in a long time, but Bob got a nice surprise in the mail today, and I wanted to share it with everyone!
     
    Our niece works at the sports arena, and has sent her Uncle Bob a care package of his favorite basket ball team! There are a long poster of the players, 2 Blue Nation candy bars, and another hat to add to his beloved collection of UK hats! Look at his face! HE TOTALLY FLIPPED OUT!

     
  3. SandyCaregiver
    I've been thinking about writing about this, and it has recently come up again. So, I almost thought not to write, as it might be redundant... but no, I need to blog it for my own record.
     
    When Bob first stroked, I called my girlfriend, since 2nd grade. I told her what had happened, relaying my horror and loss of what our lives would have been. She matter of factly said, "eh, people don't realize being handicapped is not about living with loss, it's just living differently". If anyone else had said that, I'd have decked them... but since she had handicapped parents, I listened.
     
    So... as you shakily crawl out of the abyss, looking for a shred of hope to hang on to, you begin to hear the buzz words.... new normal. So what is normal? Is it being perfect? Or is it a word that means what we are used to? I think it is the 2nd one. We are used to doing it this way, and that way, and now we can't do it like that. Are we abnormal, then? I don't think so, I think we are learners, seeking what we once sought, to establish how we do this, -just like we established it before, in the beginning of our lives.... our learning lives.
     
    I used to think it meant, 'my new normal is taking Bob to therapy everyday and doing everything myself'. That wasn't it....not the new normal... it was just the path way to it. As most caregivers know who have profoundly handicapped strokers, you spend the first year on pins and needles, watching their critical state of health. Then it gets a weeeee bit easier for the next few years. And then one day, your husband tells you he knows things are better, because he heard you singing in the kitchen again. You begin to realize that it is better, and you don't HAVE to spend every minute now, doing all those millions of things like when it was all critical, but can now slow down and spend some time on yourself. While you always need to be on the look out for how to do things better in the maneuvering and transporting of your stroker, you've gotten a lot of that figured out now. You do certain home therapies, just like any one else exercises at home, to stay 'in shape'. One day I looked at Bob and I realized I didn't see the wheelchair, I just see Bob. I told him, I don't feel like we are a handicapped/caregiver couple anymore..... I just feel like we are 2 retired people sitting around and taking it easy. We stay up all night, laughing at our favorite shows, sleep late, take naps whenever we want.... then it just hit me about a week ago... this is IT! THIS is our new normal! This is the way we live without thinking about it and worrying about it! It is no longer 'how will we do this', but 'this is how we do this'! We have lived this life for enough time that we have established our normal.... no longer our new normal... just normal now.
     
    Don't fear the words "new normal" - it's code for :"second chance"!!!
  4. SandyCaregiver
    I will attempt to catch people up on what's been happening on our end. I had been having a really good roll on organizing last fall, until I got extremely sick on Sept 29, and stayed that way for 6 weeks. My progress stopped, and I was only able to do the minimum for Bob, and crash again.
     
    I sat in front of my computer, wondering how I was going to be able to buy the groceries.. I could barely function! Then I saw this add on the side of the page about Walmart having grocery pickup now. ? I discovered that I could go online at my local site for Walmart and order groceries, drive over there to a side door, and they'd hall them out and sling them into my car, and I'd sign their phone thing and leave! Now I don't know if YOUR Walmart is doing it yet, but in some areas, different grocery stores are doing it, so call around. This saved me so much time and energy, it literaly made it possible for me to go on!
     
    At 6 weeks I went to the doctor, with no symptoms, except I felt like I was dying, and we talked about the ins and outs of it, and decided to try anti-biotics. Within a few hours, I began to feel them working! They did get rid of whatever bug was hiding inside me, and around the beginning of Dec, I was able to get the living room ready for Christmas. I got the tree up and all the decorations & pictures changed. I was thinking that I could STILL accomplish a lot of the organizing of the mess going on here before son & wife came for Christmas visit. Then the call came that stopped all my progress again. Rather than give a blow by blow description of it all, I will share this facebook post I made that summed it up nicely, after it was over:
     
    Let it be known, that as of 4pm, Tues, Dec 27, Sanderella washed the last cinders of fire smoke from her person, and threw in the towel on the burned lockers. I got the call about the locker fire (two 10 x 30 units, Dec 14, and worked Wed, Thurs Fri, Sat & Sun alone, pulling away burnt frozen boxes off the contents(wet from fire hose) and re-boxing into fresh boxes, what weren't burned to a crisp or melted. On Monday, son & wife arrived for Christmas(ha, ha) and worked like robots Mon, Tues, Wed, & Thurs, while I worked at old lady speed, sometimes reaching regular human speed. I can not believe the energy they had in moving and organizing things into the new locker. They went home early Friday and Bob's friend Fred (thanks again, Fred) helped me move more on Fri 23 and Mon 26, taking Sat & Sun off for the holidays, and collapse recovery(!) So, as I said, Fred & I were there yesterday, and today I went back alone for 2 more hours of sorting thru the things being left, and, after 13 days of being covered with suet from charred, wet boxes/things, it is finally a DONE DEAL - no more trips needed at the burnt out location - PRAISE GOD!!
     
    ~~~end of quote~~~~
     
    It's funny that I had bought the locker on Dec 2, thinking to try to move the 2 10x30 unit contents into, so much closer to home, where I'd actuallly be able to pick up a box and work on it. I now realize that it was complete insanity to think that I could have EVER gotten it moved, and what seemed like the worst possible time to happen (Christmas) was actually the only time that I would have had their help. It was a wonderful blessing and a sad loss - not the lockers... but that we don't get to see them but usually once a year, and while us 3 were working so hard, Bob was totally discluded from seeing them and having shared memories to collect. It broke my heart to think of him being so discluded from their visit, home in his wheelchair alone, but he said, "no, this has to get done, and they are here to help you get it finished!" Since the new locker is close, everytime we brought another load, I was able to swing by and check on him.
     
    My tree is still up. Another year, not the first, that I felt like I basically missed Christmas... so the tree is still up. We are usually in the tv room, but the tree is in the living room. Tonight I turned on the tree, and made a fire, and read to Bob. He has this complete set of the Civil War. He told me to go ahead and get rid of them a couple of years ago, and I thought about it. But one night I pulled one off the shelf "A Soldier's Story" and read a little. I thought that even though he can't read all these many words himself, he knows the history, so he won't have to hold on to every word by scratch, I can read the words for him and he will know most of the history already, just some new input from this soldiers point of view. As I read, I kept glancing at him, and when I'd say a battle or a military person, he'd say, 'yea, yea' - he confirmed he knew it. He keenly listened to the the man's story of joining when he was 18. I felt so blessed, that it was possible that I could sit here in such a cozy atmosphere, and give my husband back those stories he had never had time to read, and now couldn't.
  5. SandyCaregiver
    The other day, I was at Walmart and looking for a pair of jeans. I like ones with elastic waist. These were JMS (just my size) (2X - 18/20 petite) pull on stretch jeans. These have a slim ankle and stitching around the ankle. I got them home and was thrilled with how they fit and felt. I don't understand how I fit petite, because I always wore average, but they fit great. I soon began to think about how Bob wants to wear jeans so bad.... but.... they are such a pain, so hard to get on, to pull up the zipper, to do the snap or button (ouch my fingers!), and to get back off. I looked at these jeans and thought... why not try them on him? We are both about the same size and same height. They fit! Just as easy to put on as jogging pants and shorts! He is sooooooo thrilled with his new jeans, finally he can wear jeans again! He feels like a REAL person!
     
    And on top of that, I found sandals for him - $20 ! I'm always checking out the shoe dept for something that might look like it could fit him. I saw these sandals, and the insoles are like soft memory foam, that allow his curled toes room to breathe and not feel pain under the curled toes! Although he never really talks about it, today he said this is the first time in 4 years that he walks without pain!
     
    I have taken a pic of him on our way to a dr appt. It is sooo hot and he is sweltering, but patiently stands still for the pic so I could show y'all his new jeans and sandals
     

     

  6. SandyCaregiver
    One of the things to learn on my bucket list is bobbin lace. I just began to practice the stitches for the first time today - baby steps and a long way to go! Now here's the good part. After I'd been practicing awhile, Bob asked how was my Bo-diddly coming along? Me: huh? wha... oooh, you mean bobbin lace?

  7. SandyCaregiver
    Well, I had a tough time deciding whether to put this under my hobbies I do for me, or on the regular Bob blog!
     
    Bob has no right hand/arm usage, but a good working left hand, and he's left handed
    The thing is, he can leave the stroke hand in his sweatshirt sleeve or under his lap cover, but he likes to USE his good hand, and so when he's on the porch in marginal weather, his hand gets cold! Putting a glove on the good hand, would kinda render it useless for picking up his army men or legos that he likes to build scenes with..... so.... keeping it warm without taking it out of service was the goal. So these are called fingerless mitts - no fingers, no finger holes, just a thumb slot. By laying it on his leg he can just snake his hand in and out HIMSELF, as he needs it, all fingers still working. I also put a trinket on the front so he can immediately see which is the front, without looking for the thumbhole.
    Knit Pattern: http://web.archive.org/web/20100612011913/http://ohmystars.net/craft/knitting/knitgloves.html
     
     

  8. SandyCaregiver
    I know that the stroke people can not really get into any of the crafts I talk about, but I'm hoping that it will give some ideas to caregivers who find themselves at home more, and may need something of their own to do.
     
    So Aug 2015, I begun to have some time to actually DO something and began to crochet again, and think about all my crafts I hadn't really had time for since Feb 2012. Then this Dec 2015, I decided to get into tatting. Since I had to learn it from scratch, it was something that took all of my attention. It had been a long time since I had time to lose myself in an interest (that was not cleaning of some kind!)
     
    I haven't read much lately, I had a spurt of reading on my kindle, and got lots of free books - there is also a free kindle ap from amazon, if you don't have a kindle, so you can still read books for free (or buy others). I get a list from bookgorilla.com of types of books I'm interested in and many are free, others discounted. When I first started reading, I only had time for a few sentences at a time, but eventually learned I could read (or crochet/tat/knit/whatever) after he went to bed, so got into it more. This seems obvious, but in the beginning I was too tired to not crash every time he did. Not now, I have time because I'm not as tired, unless something obvious, like weed-eating all day, ha, ha.
     
    Here's a sample of something I tatted recently:

  9. SandyCaregiver
    Hi all, haven't reported in since October, so thought I'd let you all know we are doing fine, incase you were wondering! We did not get sick this winter - WOOT! The weather has been so mild that Bob (who gets cold easily) has had quite a few screened in porch days already!
     
    It is tax season, so I'm busting my head into the wall trying to find what happened to my hadicapped receipts for Jan-Aug - why do I always lose them? I know that I start putting them in an envelope right off in Jan, but by the middle of the year, that envelope always seems to get away! For newbies who may not know it, any supplies like diapers, guards(incontinency), bed pads, wipes, foot-up devices, hand braces, etc = medical deductions. I have that to work on and also Bob is turning 65 in May, so he has the open enrollment to switch from Medicare Advantage Plan to a Medicare plan with supplement.... so trying to figure out who to buy that from.
     
    Bob is doing well and can talk somewhat better, but still trouble when he wants to say a specific thing, compared to just banter. He has always been agree-able to do any exercise that I say, "ok, we need to do this now" -he's ready. BUT..... I wish it was in his ability to just do these things on his own, but it is not. I am lucky he is so co-operative when I lead him it.... but sometimes, we have to tend to other things... and then they don't do anything, without someone else to lead them in it.
     
    Will make a blog on what I'm doing for ME under my other blog, which I hope brings some ideas to other caregivers on keeping their own brains from going to pot.
     
    This isn't much of a blog today, guess I just wanted to wave and say we are ok!
  10. SandyCaregiver
    It's been awhile since I've blogged. I had a bad problem with my hip, in the front where it hooks on to your body, on the side excrutiating painful and low disk, sending sciatica down my leg. So, it's been a lot of me dragging my leg like the mummy and screaming here and there when I drug it wrong. I found some meds that helped, and some days I do better, other days revert back to screaming and dragging... BUT, here's the latest good news!
     
    I will say that when I bought my snapper rider the year after his stroke, I chose it because it had a wheel, and I wondered if one day he could do it. There is another zero turn kind that has 2 handles, takes 2 hands to turn, but if you only turn one direction... could work - don't know enough about them really.
     
    We had talked about whether Bob would be able to drive the ride on mower AT ALL, and finally yesterday, while a friend was here, I left the last few streaks in the middle of the yard and me & Fred worked to get Bob on the mower. We both ran on both sides to spot him. It went really well, most of it. There was that frantic moment when Fred motioned Bob to drive the thing between the cars and into the garage when I thought my head would explode. I guess this shows that I did not plan well enough to explain to Fred before we started, how it would end, so he had no idea how the end would conclude. So, that makes it my fault. He really has no idea how incredible it was that he didn't tear off the side of my suv, since he's blind on that side. So, I've learned something and will pass it on PAY ATTENTION! If you get help with something, make sure they know exactly what the plan is to do, and how it will finish, so they don't improvise, unexpectedly!
     
    I don't have to tell anyone here how excellerated Bob felt from his short ride on the mower doing man-work! He knows that he will never turn to the right, his blind side, and he knows he will never mow graded areas, but stick to flat. But the prospect of doing this is making him very happy. There will be many practices of how to get on and off with the most care and safety, and practicing with the brake and of course, only in speed 1, but I can see him being able to do some of the mowing
  11. SandyCaregiver
    Bob had his 3rd year stroke surv anniversary in Feb/Mar (feb 29, only exist some years, so other yeas it's March 1 !) This year has brought some growth, and that's all good. He started wanting to do a hobby and we talked about cross stitch, since we had both bought kits yehttps://www.facebook.com/mainlycrochet?_rdr=pars ago, while on vacation. His were more like historical ones, while mine were like cutesy animal ones, ha, ha. The biggest problem with that is not being able to hold the hoop with one hand. I went to Hobby Lobby and looked at hoops... but the more I looked at them, and thought thru the process, the more I thought about the cross stitch process and saw things that would just keep coming up, as a problem. So, I began to study the problem of one hand, as I moved thru the store.
     
    I came up the 'sketching' supplies, and realized you only needed SOME vision and one hand, and he had enough cognition that he could follow the pics. I called him and told him, "I've found your new hobby! At first, you'll be surprised and maybe not want to try it, but I know you can do this - it only takes vision and one hand!" So he said he wouldn't refuse to try it, no matter what it was, and would wait to see it (I was keeping it a secret, so he wouldn't have time to turn on it before I got home with it!) He has never sketched or drawn before, so it was a totally new thing. Here is his beginning at sketching! (he was still working on the owl):
     

     

     

  12. SandyCaregiver
    1. Just this weekend we both had stomach virus. I'll spare the details on that one.
    2. I know better than to put plastic bags of cans or jars on a chair, because they will always roll off. But last night I stopped and put them on a rocking chair, so I could hurry to give Bob some meds I brought home. When I went to get the bag a 2bl 8oz jar of peanut butter hit my foot, right where the big toe attaches to the foot. I thought for sure it was broken. I knew better to not put the stuff on that chair, but I wasn't careful enough.
    3. Now, I was just putting out the garbage...and wondering why it seemed so much darker than usual when I do it. Later I figured out it was because I brought a bag of paper garbage out the front, and I usually open the garage door and take out the garbage. That lets a lot of light onto the drive. When I got to the end of the driveway, I stepped on an uneven part and twisted my ankle and then felt my knee twist, then my back twist as I fell. I wondered if anyone heard me scream when I fell and might come out... nope. I lay on the road for about 15 minutes, waiting for the shock of the pain to stop, and hoping nothing was broken. I saw the lightening and wondered if it would rain on me. I kept hoping a neighbor would drive down the street, but no one was coming, and my darn "I've fallen and can't get up button" was by my computer. (lesson learned) Then I tried to set up somewhat and tried scooting on my butt to the cars, to use them to get up, but it started hurting my back when I pushed up to scoot. I got to the dip in the drive and thought I might be able to roll over into the grass on my knees. After much struggle, I clawed my way up, and made it inside. So thankful I was able to get up and nothing's broken. Knee is not feeling right - it's the one I had surgery on before for torn this and that. But, will keep a good thought. I know this is all my fault. I should have did it earlier, and not kept going when I saw how dark it was. I'd have thought of the garage light if I'd given it a while to sink in. I should have had my button on, I did pay for it, but it's useless if I can't get it. I know it sounds strange, but I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness that I am basically OK and was able to get in and back to Bob. I'm always so scared if something happens to me, what will happen to him... thank God, we didn't have to find out. Please pray for me, I seem to keep doing stupid stuff lately... my confidence is shaken
  13. SandyCaregiver
    Today Bob said:
     
    "It's not as humid today, as it was yesterday" !!!!
     
    Oh, forgot to mention that he found where I downloaded a book for him for 'one day' on his kindle, and today he browsed the books on there and found it, and started reading it - without my help at all!
     
    "Every Inch of the Way; My Bike Ride Around the World".
     
    He is becoming more aware, and I see more of the old Bob coming out! Feels good
  14. SandyCaregiver
    Bob always hated yard work at our old home. He'd run the lawnmower over anything. carelessly, just get it over with so he could do something else. I always wanted him to work with me in the yard, and share it as a hobby. He hated that idea. When we moved here, the setting was so beautiful and we both reallly loved the yard. He bought every tool known to man, to work in HIS yard. I was elated! My dream of us working on our yard together was coming true! The other couples in the neighborhood all worked on their yards together, and I was so happy seeing them and thinking how we would grow old and retire and be out in our yard together, just like them, making our home more beautiful.
     
    Well.... I let the grass get way too high. When I cut it, there were so many clumps of grass that the next time my mower choked on it. So, over the week-end, I took Bob out to the backyard, and gave him a fan rake and we started trying to get some of it up. He is sooooo good with a rake or hoe, because his working side is his dominant side! He did a little raking last year, so I knew he could do it. The only problem was, he would get an area raked in 5 minutes, then I'd have to get him up, move his chair over, sit him down, stuff what he raked into a bag, then it'd be time to move him already! After moving him a half a dozen times I began to think of his power chair, and brought it out. There were times when it was a little hard to move, because of bad ground, and he knew he had to keep it on the lowest setting. I told him they were easy to turn over if one was going too fast, and went into a dip or uneven spot. It was really great for him to feel like he was doing it himself.
     
    So today (Tues) we went out into the front yard. We have all these horrid mole hills and I gave him the rake and I used the weed eater while he worked to flatten down the mole hills. After we were done and he was back inside, I ran over the flattened spots with the car, ha, ha!
     
    A few hours later, Bob said (a little aphasia but very understandable) "I wanted to tell you that what we did today, I enjoyed more than anything else we've done or went. It made me feel good to be able to do something, so you didn't have to do it all, and to be able to move myself in the power chair. (just a little translating for you)
     
    I told him how much I enjoyed it too and it was always my dream that we'd do that together, like a hobby, one day. Since his stroke, whenever I would pass others out working in the yard as a couple, I'd feel a pang of pain in my heart, thinking of how much he'd looked forward to working in THIS yard. With tears in my eyes, I told him about how my dream was coming true afterall, and we were working in the yard together.
     
    I don't know what the future holds, no one does, but I thank God for the blessings that come to us one day, one moment at a time.
  15. SandyCaregiver
    I wanted to share Bob's writing with everyone. I'll start by reminding you of his earlier attempts, that were totally mixed up, although in his head, he thought them out normally, and was surprised himself, to try to read it back to himself. You can see that the when he thinks, the words in his head are like trying to catch minows in a creek. He reaches to grab them, and maybe catches one here and there to show you, what is going on in his head. The fewer he manages to catch, the less he can present his thoughts to others:
     

     
    I'd like to hare his writing that he made recently, and you can see that the words are more congruent with his thoughts. His biggest problem is incomplete sentences, but he is getting THOUGHTS out! Sure he still has aphasia, but with this level of communication, add in the gestures and facial moves that make it easier to understand someone in person, and he could explain it well enough that I could follow him. I didn't even realize there was a circle thing on the gun and looked up Rifleman on wikipedia, to find out what it was all about. The subject I gave him was to write a little paragraph about his favorite TV show:
     

     
    WIKIPEDIA: he Rifleman's gimmick was a modified Winchester Model 1892 rifle, with a large ring lever drilled and tapped for a set screw. The lever design allowed him to *beep* the rifle by spinning it around his hand. In addition, the screw could be positioned to depress the trigger every time he worked the lever, allowing for rapid fire, emptying the magazine in under five seconds during the opening credits on North Fork's main street.
  16. SandyCaregiver
    Haven't blogged in a really long time, so thought I'd give an update. As some remember we had a 5 room flood from a main drain back up in Feb 2014. This year, we both caught something horrible and were down for 2 months Dec & Jan, ruining sons once a year visit Feb, we had a plumbing break and a wash empty disaster - so about 4 more smaller scale floods.
     
    We finally were about to get out on April 13, which was the first time out since before winter for Bob. We went to Bob Evans and counted it as our Anniversary dinner, which the date was a little off, but we are flexible! Then when he had a small cavity filled, we went to Starbucks and had a small lunch with it. There is a Starbucks and dining area in our local grocery - weird huh? So that was our 2nd time out.
     
    Today we had a lovely outing where we stopped and picked up lunch and drove to the local 'big water' and picnic'd from the car, while watching the water. I had to think carefully what to get to eat, because eating with one hand with today's BIG messy hamburgers can be a disaster, especially in a car with no table. I decided we'd get a Wendy's Jr Cheeseburger Deluxe, which comes with lettuce, tom, & onion - so more like a full meal. Shared a small fries and diet pop. The street to turn there is right by the parking lot to Walmart, so out plan was to come back by Walmart. As we pulled out of there, we saw signs to the Covered Bridge and decided to go. I wasn't sure if it was the one we visited when we first moved here, or the new one I'd heard about. Bob was incredulous, as he used to ride his bike in this place that had a small sided metal bridge. I had to explain that the bridge was built in 2012 and he stroked that year, so that's why he never saw it before! It was very nice and even had walkways built on the side, that were separate from the road part, so no chance of falling off a sidewalk and onto the road. We were able to pull over right by the bridge, and Bob got some walking in getting to the bridge and then walking on the walkway. It would only be about 10 seconds for me to walk to the bridge from the car, but those who are in the know, already realize it was more like a 10 minute walk for us to get to the bridge! We watched the stream from there and saw a big heron flapping its wings downstream. It was a lovely day, and I'm so glad God blessed us with it! My only let down was both my old dig cams broke and the one I have right now is HUGE (gift from his work one year) - which means it's not kept in my purse. So, I didn't get any pic from our outing, didn't even have my ipod ! But great day
  17. SandyCaregiver
    Bob has improved enough that I now have time to think about me and the things I used to enjoy doing. I am digging out projects that were started before Bob stroked and trying to finish them. I don't want my life to be defined by a home filled with incompletes. Before I really had no choice, and gladly gave all my time to Bob's care, but now there is time for me too. So this blog will be about me, picking up some threads of my life where they were cut off, and trying to fit me into my life again.
     
    I am now reading on my IPOD and a kindle. I don't lose them all the time, like I used to lose my book and not find it till I didn't remember what it was about anymore! I'm very surprised to find I enjoy reading on my ipod, as I always thought phone sized things would be too small, but they are great and easy to hold with the loop around your wrist when laying in bed (if you snooze off & drop it the loop keeps it from falling off the bed!)
     
    I've had many hobbies such as scrapbooking, quilting, crochet, knitting, embroidery, cross stitch and tatting. Some more than others, some just a dabbling. I will share one of those recently finished projects that I finished Jan 1, 2015. This was started 1-11-2012, Bob stroked 2-29-12. Probably would have finished before his stroke, if we hadn't been still working on the other house to sell:
     
    Miss Winter Miniature Crinoline:

  18. SandyCaregiver
    We were making great strides with Bob's dental care, and I was determined to make his cleanings less problematic by really going for it at home - brushings, flossings, and even a phillips sonicare to improve his gums. I squeezed in another dental for him in december, because he could get another, just to try to keep his gums from getting worst. His big problem is that his teeth are really strong and all the dentists say things like, 'those teeth are going to last forever'!!! BUT, they never, not one of them, ever, said, you are brushing your teeth so hard you are losing gum tissue. So now, even after brushing and using the sonicare extreme vibrating brush, he still has food between every tooth, because there is no gum to keep it out. ANYWAY, so I was determined that he would not lose his teeth and I was going to make sure he got the most and best care. USUALLY, we will not go to the dentist in flu season, for the obvious. But, against my own rules, I thought, we've had the flu shots, quit being paranoid.... you know, it's not paranoid if it's true! We went in on the 9th of Dec, and by the 12th of Dec Bob was sick as a dog. By the 14th, I was too. We laid on our backs coughing our brains out for 3 weeks. We did have meds, which I believe saved our lives. But we still have leftovers and are not done with this. It seems that Bob improves over these things more than me - I never do well. I keep thinking I'm better, than feel worse again. We were not sure if we should son & fiance come for Christmas, but decided that we were over the contagious stage, even if we were no fun and couldn't do anything. They did help us by running for us and it was good to have help for a change, when we were down and needed it.
     
    Now for the UP news. Since all this happened, and Bob is improved, just around Jan 1, it seems he is not needing his nap anymore, and began having trouble sleeping! I told him, it must be because your brain is more active! Remember before I mentioned about how I could tell he was thinking things thru more and trying to discuss things more? So, I told him, we will need to increase your physical stuff so you get tired enough to sleep. That is very good! He is coming up on 3 years at the end of Feb and this is a new thing for him - just incase someone told you people stop improving - they don't!
  19. SandyCaregiver
    Oh my! I can't believe it was this simple! You know when you are eating a wrap or a burrito how you have to hold the back end with one hand to keep everything from falling out, while holding the front with the other hand? You can't do that when you only have one working hand! Today I puzzled over the problem, as I miss the flatouts (brand of wrap) I used to make. I made 2 up and stood there wondering how in the world he would be able to hold it together to eat it. Then I had a lightbulb moment!
     
    ****IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT SOME READERS MAY NOT REALIZE THEY ARE SEEING A WRAP WITH A CLIP ON THE END OF IT. 2 handed people hold the front where they eat it from, and the back to keep the stuff from falling out the back. With one hand, you can only hold the eating end and everything falls out the back. The clip keeps the food from falling out, without needing a hand to hold the back shut. It is the same kind of clip used on potato chip bags to keep them closed.
     

  20. SandyCaregiver
    Hey, friends! Bob continues to amaze me as he is more talkative (still aphasic) everyday! You know why? Because his brain is thinking of things, and so he is trying to communicate. It's good to see the wheels in his head turning!
     
    Here are 2 pics of him today, watching Ohio State & Michigan. You can see which side he's on by his clothing, so the game went well for him! (sorry, Mich)
     

     

  21. SandyCaregiver
    I wanted to be sure to blog this so I don't forget about it. The last couple of weeks, I've noticed Bob doing more thinking skills. Sure he still has aphasia and sequencing problems (and the rest), but his brain is definitely beginning to join thoughts and relate things to each other. Like when I was talking about the tree company we hired, the phone rang and it was them and their number showed up on the tv caller id. Bob, actually expressed that to me, saying that right while we were talking about them, they came up on the caller id, the same people we were talking about.
     
    He's reminded me of things, like did I lock the gate after mowing. Did I put out the garbage. We were looking at shingles and he said he liked the ones that were more dimensional! I don't know.... there's just been a whole lot of little things, on a regular basis, that shows me that his brain is putting 2 and 2 together and doing a lot more thinking of late. He still has aphasia and exhaustion that makes it hard for him to stay alert, but I see something going on in there, and I like it
  22. SandyCaregiver
    Much like Debbie, I'm scurrying to get as much as possible in good shape before another winter. There has been many estimate appts with roof/gutter/tree people, and I am SOOOOO sick of walking around the house with yet another, pointing out all the problems. The choices are made, the appointments are made. Now all I need is for it NOT to rain on work days.
     
    Crew to take down monster dead tree and other smaller things set for the 15th. Crew to replace roof, gutters, facia, sophits, on the 20th.
     
    That still leaves me with the water softener problem, the bad drainage problem that allowed 6" of ice on my drive last winter - which was why I could not get him out of here to go to hotel when our house flooded. What happens is we are lower than across the street, and when it all begins to melt, it comes over HERE, then it can't run off, and all refreezes on my driveway that night... each night. Which brings up the OTHER situation: the great fear that in another horrible horrible winter, my main drain could freeze again and flood my house again. I will be ordering things call NEW PIG from amazon, that control water leakage and placing them around the water heater (drain is under water heater) - actually lots of them around the water heater. If anything flies out of that drain, I expect to contain it BEFORE it ruins my bedroom carpet again. I will also put them around the washing machine, so in a drain freeze, washer water will not soak the dining room, tv room and study. But alas, we are broke this year. I still hope to get the new pigs, but the drive way drainage problem....hmmmmm..... I'll just have to work on really howing out the little drain runs I made coming off the side of the drive that let the water off the driveway.
     
    Oh yeah, and I have to resolve the problem about how they built a fence and planted trees and built a deck, all in such a way that there is NO access to the backyard. This time they will be going thru my neighbors yard and taking out part of my fence, but I don't want it to keep happening. I wouldn't let it happen now, if it weren't for fear the tree will clobber my house. They will need to bring in cherry picker, crane, saw bench, chipper, too many trucks - 3 ring circus....
     
    Oh, I got a my crown put on yesterday in the middle of all this, had a foot appt about a weird place on my foot and got Bob his dental cleaning... which... shows I shouldn't be letting him brush his own teeth after all, unless he would like new false ones
     
    All this, just takes away from time I spend with Bob doing therapy and such, so I hate losing that time.
  23. SandyCaregiver
    So much going on here. Bob's going to medicare advantage plan signals the end of the 2.5 years of constant (free) therapy. Time to get back to taking care of the house and other aspects about our lives and health. Taking bids for taking down a HUGE dead tree in the back yard, BEFORE it crashes thru the house. Taking bids for roof/gutter/facia/sophits - big bucks. Hope I can afford something. It has been a revolving door here with tree companies and home improvement companies coming to give bids.
     
    After a health crisis of my own, and talking about how badly we ate when we were always on the road to therapy - one drive thru after another - that drove up my blood pressure and brought diabetes back in the picture. It had came into the picture in 2007, but I beat it with diet. I told Bob how we just didn't eat enough vegetables, fruit and whole grains because with our last 2.5 years, there was no time and energy for me to be able to cut and chop all the time. He wanted to tell me he would do whatever it took, if that meant eating vegetables, but his aphasia rendered that as,(in the sweetest sincere voice) "whatever we need to do, I'm your vegetable" ha, ha, so cute. I tried the new weight watchers for 3 months with no success. I felt too removed from it, and needed the structure of the older plans. Still have all my info on that, so we went back on, and we've both lost weight (he had gained 20 pounds too!) I had been going to bed with blood sugar of 105 and waking up with it at 193! It is acting normal now!
     
    Now here is something completely new. We used to be very conscientous(sp?) Christians, praying before every meal. Over this time period, that has been lost as I drug a plate and glass out to the porch and then another set for me, or I rushed in the door with another drive thru on the way home from groceries and unloaded it for us to hurry and eat. Today, I finally got the kitchen clean enough to eat in there again and he got to sit in his office chair that he can easily get in and out from the table. I put the food on the table and we both took a bite, and he said, (drumroll) "I have to say grace". We both bowed our heads and he said, "Thank you God, for this food, and for everything, Amen". (I'm adding this - the drumroll is because he has aphasia, and was ABLE to say all that correctly, I nearly fell off my seat!)
  24. SandyCaregiver
    OK, so we had a blooper. I showed Bob this video to inspire him to keep working and trying. This is the pic from the video, but you have to click the link to get it to play, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448:

     
    His interpretation of it was to wait till I went to Walmart and try to get up and do things. DOH! So I come home and he has fallen. I had to call a friend to help get him up. I was a little afraid the fall would ruin our next day at the hot wheels convention, but we made it out!
     
    Well, we are back, and had our naps and it went pretty good. There were a few things that could have went better. For instance, when planning our travel time, I should have allowed extra time for putting on one of those male condoms urine things (@15 minutes) and the time it would take me to get out and assemble his chair (@ 15 minutes). So we really wanted to leave here around 11 and get there around 1, and it closes at 3. Well son called and maybe we talked to long. Seems like we got there around 2(!) and so didn't have much time before it was over. He did get some 'booty' and has been rustling thru his bags looking at his new cars.
     
    I was a bit bummed to find I had left both camera and ipod at home, and had to use my cheapomatic cell phone - an old tracfone with really bad program. But I guess I was lucky to have that much on me! We also stopped and ate on the way home, and the GPS didn't send me on any wild goose chases (sometimes it does) - so all in all, it turned out pretty good