Fred’s Progress: TMI Included!

Be aware that there will definitely be bits of Too Much Information {TMI} in this entry. If you are squeamish when reading about feces and/or urine, move along please! This entry is not for you! LOL

Fred is very VERY much better. He is eating well {and I have insisted he get a little protein down himself daily} and is doing well on small snacks about six times a day. His bowels are more-or-less under his control and there is no diarrhea. {I know this because I am the person who empties the commode and cleans it out.} He is still wearing pull-ups and had a little {but painful} diaper rash which has cleared up beautifully thanks to my insistence on cleanliness and diaper-rash cream!

As an aside to this, I am finding I have no problems with commode and toilet cleaning. I was fairly sure I wouldn’t because, as all mothers –and many fathers–of young babies know, you do what has to be done. The only problem I am having is that so much handwashing is really doing a number on my already dry skin! I have to remember to apply lotion more than once a day {which is what I am used to doing.} One thing that is helping is that I am applying lotion to Fred’s back and feet and legs once a day and that is a big help to MY hands, too. {My masseuse has lovely soft skin on her hands!}

Bladder-wise, he is still incontinent. This, he tells me has nothing to do with the heart attack and everything to do with stress. At least twice before I came to live with him, the plumbing has shut down  and, as a result, he had learned to catheterize himelf. He had not had to do it in the five years I have been here, until now, but knowing that he could do it if necessary has been helpful to his peace of mind. And, of course, since he IS male and 76, he has prostate problems. He requested a Foley catheter {the permanent one with the bag} and he has been wearing it for two or three days. He said he is now feeling sensations that are telling him that the plumbing  may be returning to normal, and so I have every hope that when Nikki {the visiting nurse} comes back on Monday, this may be taken out. Of course, he is perfectly capapble of taking this out himself–{as could I–men’s plumbing is MUCH simpler than women’s! LOL}. I think the Foley is a step backwards and I worry that he may be permanently dependent on it.

In his mind he is so much better. He still cannot concentrate for two long a period on anything but this doesn’t worry me. When I had my left kidney removed six years ago, I was aware of this in myself as I recovered. In fact, as I told him, one of the ways I gauged my improvement was to watch the improvement my ability to pay Solitaire on the computer again! He makes jokes and he laughs. He is much less inclined to cry. He is far less inclined to sit gazing into space.

Physically, his strength is coming back. He sill uses the walker but I have noticed he will stand and move a bit without having to hold onto things the whole time. He is still on a very high doseage of oxygen but he seems to be able to not require it so much. For example, he doesn’t take it into the bathroom with him when he showers because of the heater on the floor, and in the beginning, there was a sort of panic in his voice when he called for me to bring it in after he had turned off the heater. Yesterday he didn’t even ask for it. He put it back on when he got back to where he had left it by his computer, but he didn’t seem to need it after showering.

Small steps, but they will get him there…

Ok, I am off to get clothes from the dryer and other useful stuff…

Until later…