Help

Call If You Need Anything

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Ever had this conversation?
“How’s (insert family member’s name here)? You know, that if you ever need anything, anything at all, that all you have to do is call….”
Really?  In my experience most of the time that is a polite way of letting me know the person cares and at that time, they certainly mean they would be willing to help, but they hope secretly that you’ll never actually call. Getting unsolicited offers of help is rare and asking for help is just hard.
When Lynn first got sick, I always declined offers of help.  For one thing, I didn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t handle it.  He was “my” responsibility and I didn’t want anyone saying I wasn’t doing well by him. The other reason though was that Lynn had still not come to terms with his condition and he didn’t want anyone to see him so dependent on others.  In fact, when we had visitors he would stage an appearance.  His clothing had to be reminiscent of the clothes he wore before his disability.  He only ate what he could manage himself.  He would slip in and out of the gathering discretely so people would not notice him needing special attention.  He would also push himself to talk more and do more to the point of exhaustion most of the time.
As I became more exhausted from caregiving 24/7, I began to realize I had to have some help but I was still reluctant to ask for any. What a blessing it was to have someone come and offer to do something specific for us!  Offering to come to stay with Lynn so I could go shopping for supplies, to cut the grass, to prepare meals, to help me get my car repaired–all these are things I need help with, and the offer to do them for me would certainly be received favorably by me.
I realize most people don’t know what to offer and are concerned about offending me by offering to do housework or other similar things.  Trust me, I’m not offended!  Anything that I can cross off my list is something I don’t have to worry about getting accomplished and is appreciated.  So, if you’re wondering how you can help someone who is a caregiver, here’s what I would recommend.
1.  Offer to do something specific.  Think about what is a task that takes a long time or may require special skills.  For me, now that summer is here, I need yard work done. I can’t go outside and mow the grass because I cannot hear Lynn call for me and if the phone is on vibration, I can’t feel it if I’m riding the mower.  I need the grass cut, weed eating is done, grass in the driveway sprayed, repairs done to the rotten rails on my front porch, trash taken to the dump (I live in a rural area where we actually take the trash to the dump ourselves), or similar things.  I finally hired a maid service so I no longer need my house cleaned but shampooing the carpet, helping to pack up things to take to Good Will, you know all those weekend projects that take a lot of time, would be suggestions on how people could help.
2. Offer to stay with Lynn for an extended period of time.  It’s very difficult to find someone to stay with Lynn for long periods so I can run errands on the weekend.  Most people work and have busy weekend schedules themselves so setting aside an extended period to be a companion to someone is not a favorite pastime.  Also, some are intimidated by his condition.  Since he cannot do much for himself, they’re afraid he will need something they can’t handle or that they will hurt him in some way.  I remind people that he’s not fragile.  I always take care of his medical needs before I leave.  Really, all they need to do is help him with food, typing (if they know how), drinks, and other comfort items.  He really doesn’t need anything special; just someone to be his hands and feet for a while.
Once the offer is made and accepted for a specific job, there are some caregiver etiquette rules I would recommend you observe.
1.  Treat this as a job.  If you can’t come, call in advance; give a specific time and be there at that time; be prepared to stay as long as you said you would and build in a little flexibility with the time so the caregiver won’t have to stop in the middle of shopping to rush home before the sitter has to leave.
2.  Realize you are there to help out; so help.  I’ve occasionally seen people offer to come help but when they get here, they sit back and do nothing. They are just here in the body only; not connected to the needs of the patient. If you’re here to help, ask the caregiver what they need and then jump up to help promptly if the patient requests help rather than letting the caregiver still do the work.
3.  Don’t tell the caregiver, “You just have to take care of yourself better.  You need to start exercising and getting more sleep.”  When someone says that to me, I want to say, “Don’t you think I would do that if I could?  There are only so many minutes in the day and if things have to get done, there is no one else here to do them so ‘taking care of me’ will just have to wait.” They mean well but they just don’t get it.  Telling a caregiver to do something more, even if it’s good advice, just means more for us to do and it takes, too, much energy to even think about that.
I have been very fortunate because Lynn and my family are wonderful about helping us out; plus we have our church family who comes through for us all the time; however, so many caregivers are not as fortunate as me.  It’s hard to ask for help and it’s even harder to relinquish our loved one into the care of someone else but it’s a blessing when we can get some relief; some time away for ourselves or to do the things that need to be done but can’t be when you’re caring for someone.  Thank the Lord above for the angels He sends to help.  I know I couldn’t have made it without them.

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Wanted: Caregiver Ten Hours a Day

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I needed to go into work on Monday.  I was supposed to be meeting someone at 12:30 so I had to leave by 11 (an hour to get to work, 30 minutes to walk to the  location of the meeting and time to prepare for the meeting).  To leave by 11, I have to allow three hours preparation time at least.  To leave, I don’t necessarily have to have someone here but Lynn has to be out of the bed and “set up” for both comfort and safety.  Therefore, to get to work to attend a meeting at 12:30, I need to be out of bed to start by day 4 1/2 hours before the time I need to be there.
Because I come on site only one day a week, I usually set up back to back meetings for while I’m there.  It also never fails that when people see me in the halls, they stop and ask my advice on whatever is happening in their area at that time (that’s my job essentially; I give advice).  I usually take some type of ready-made lunch bar as my lunch to chow down as I walk between meetings.  The entire time I’m on site, I’m watching my time knowing that on my way home, I have to stop and get groceries while I’m “in town” and whomever I’ve asked to stay with Lynn is usually anxious to get back to their lives.
It’s almost always the case that I’m running late.  Lynn always needs several “just one things.”  My relief usually walks in the door as I’m trying to walk out so I get no help getting out the door.  Once I’m at work, I always have at least one or two, “have you got a minute?” requests.  Then grocery shopping always takes longer than I think and I almost always need to add a stop of two (library, post office, another store).  Therefore, I’m always late and always feeling guilty for being late.
Monday it really got to me.  I ticked someone off at work before I ever got there about a class I was supposed to teach and didn’t want to because the registration was only for one person.  I finally said I would teach it but they had arranged for someone else to cover for me and that someone was annoyed when I said I would take the class over after all since she had spent her weekend re-doing my slides.  I felt so guilty for having her cover for me that I cried all the way into work.  Then I went to her office to apologize for her being asked to do my class and I cried again. I hate for anyone to do my work for me! I don’t want people to think I’m slacking off and I know that because I work from home, people think that I’m not doing my job as well.They don’t say that to my face; on the contrary they tell me how amazed they are at what I get done; but I see  the looks.  I know the tone of voice.  I know when I’m not told about things that I SHOULD be told about and when I’m not included in things that I should be included in deciding.  I also know what is usually said about people who work from home–Are they really working all the hours required?  Can they be counted on?  Are they really meeting the expectations of the job? Should they be required to come back into the office?
That last question is the big one for me.  I would love to be able to work from the office and escape from being a caregiver/full-time worker every day.  However, I know that if I was required to come into the office, I would probably have to find a way to quit.  On my salary alone, we could not afford a 24-7 caregiver for him.  I also know that if I took over his care when I got home that with all I would have to do between arrival and departure the next morning, I would get even less sleep than I do now which is on average only six hours a night.  Driving would not be safe; physically I could not keep up.  Plus if Lynn had to use a foley every day and still used the peddler as much as he does now, he would get a urinary track infection from the trauma of the constant movement.  His last UTI landed him in the hospital for three months due to various complications.  I don’t want to go there.
So I decided to hire a care giver one day a week for 8-10 hours a day to arrive an hour before I had to leave and to stay long enough for me to do all I needed to do.  I wanted an employee.  Someone I could give instructions to and who would do all I asked because he/she was being paid to do so.  Someone that was a stranger so he/she could help Lynn with hygiene and tolieting issues without embarrassment to either.  I told Lynn what all I wanted this person to do … and he asked his son to do it.
Don’t get me wrong.  His son is awesome about helping me out but he has a new job that is already making it difficult for him to be here as often as I need him.  Plus Lynn doesn’t want him doing as many personal things for him because he doesn’t want to embarrass him or make him feel overly burdened.  I know Lynn was trying to help out and I know he would feel more comfortable with his son than anyone else but now I don’t think my goals for what I need will be met. I’m going to see how it works and plan to request of him all that I would have requested from a paid caregiver just to see, but I’m not confident.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!

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911-Do you do catheters?

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One night this week, just about bedtime, I became very nauseated and started feeling really lousy.  It had the feel of when I’m about to have an allergic reaction to something.  I have lots of food allergies and I often find out about a new one though several hours of agony and being tied to the restroom.  I thought it might be that or food poisoning.  Fortunately, it turned out to be neither but it sure gave me a scare.
I, like most people, hate to be sick.  It’s miserable but usually if I have someone to bring me things, I just stay put in the bathroom, often on the floor on a blanket, till it passes.  As I was contemplating possibly having such a night I went between dread of being sick and panic as to what was I going to do about Lynn?
There were several issues.  The most immediate was that I felt like I couldn’t stay up another minute but still had to finish feeding him, giving him his nebulizer treatment, cathing him, and getting him ready for sleep.  With each request he made, I became more and more cranky and desperate to lie down.  I finally did, lying very still, breathing shallowly, and praying I would not be sick.  Thanks, God for granting that wish….
As I lay there in dread, the other struggle was what was I going to do if I did indeed get sick?
1.  What if I needed help?  Lynn is attached to a peddler at night so he can peddle when his legs get stiff. He could pull out of it but he also doesn’t usually hear me if I yell from the bathroom and he can’t get his wheelchair through the door to bring me anything.  Solution:  Take a phone into the bathroom with me.  Plan:  Get a phone for the bathroom permanently.
2.  He needs to be cathed several times a night.  He cannot urinate on his own. If I was too sick to move, who could cath him?  That’s where my mind went to 9-1-1.  I figure if a rescue squad could put in a catheter in an emergency, not being able to empty one’s bladder can lead to one, so the solution is to call 911 to get them to come put in a foley.  Did you know that if a person cannot empty their bladder that after a while they will go into shock?  The urine backs up to the kidney and then on toward overloading the heart and lungs.  It doesn’t happen immediately but it can cause a lot of pain and the shock comes long before the other parts. So I think 911 is a good option.
3.  If I’m sick for hours, I sure am not going to feel like taking care of him the next day. Lord, give me strength!  I know I would try to push through though.  I would certainly have to call for help I expect but there are so many things family and friends just don’t know how to do and I still don’t have an arrangement yet for intermittent nursing help.  Got to get back into looking for that again.
Just so much more to consider when someone is so dependent on you for everything they need.  I also know that emotionally Lynn would be devastated if I was very sick.  He gets so afraid if I seem to be sick or hurt.  He worries about me but he’s also very afraid of what would happen to him.  He says all the time that he would give up and die if I was no longer around to help him.  Talk about pressure…
Anyway, I dodged the bullet.  Whatever was wrong finally went away.  I felt yucky the next day but functional so it was a false alarm, thank God.  So once again we were blessed to avoid another crisis and managed through what we had.  Aren’t we fortunate to have such a caring God to take care of us that way? 
Yes, we are….

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Financial Support for Home Care

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about respite care.  I was asked to participate on a committee to look at creating a voucher program in Virginia for caregivers to obtain a small amount of financial assistance so they could afford respite care. I think the idea is wonderful.  So many of us need a break but don’t have close friends or relatives who can provide relief or don’t have insurance that will pay for it.  Unfortunately, funding will be limited and the need is great so many people will still have needs that will go unmet.
I was a consultant on the Committee, essentially one of the voices of those in need who could offer comment about the direction the plans were going.  As I listened to the experts discuss which resources currently available would be the best to contact as sponsors or how would those who need assistance hear about it, I realized just how lost most of us are in trying to figure out where to go and what to do.
I think of myself as being pretty knowledgeable about healthcare and medical systems.  I have a nursing background, though it’s been years since I practiced, and I work in a hospital so I’m familiar with how healthcare works.  However, I’m totally lost when it comes to knowing what to do about getting financial assistance or respite care.
When Lynn first started having difficulty getting around, we decided it was time to apply for Social Security Disability.  That was a 12-month struggle of filling out forms, getting rejected, researching the rejection reason, applying again, getting rejected again, appealing again, etc. until we could go before a real person.  Once we were able to see a judge, all he did was ask when Lynn got as bad as he was and approved the disability. (by the way, I did this myself without a lawyer so it can be done but it takes a lot of time to do it).
Naive me, I though, “great, he has disability now.  Finally, we will get some help.”  Wrong..though not totally.  He does get a monthly income now, much less than he used to earn when he was working but it certainly helps.  I thought; however, that he would also get medical care immediately.  I had no idea there was a two-year waiting period before he would be eligible for coverage under Medicare.  We were fortunate that I had insurance and had him on my policy.  What does someone who is totally disabled and unable to do any work do for two years without insurance?  Doesn’t the government realize that the cost of self-insurance is outrageous if you have a disability IF, and that’s a big IF, you can even get coverage!  Most people would be denied if they had to start from scratch in getting insurance and if you HAD insurance but lost your job and had to use COBRA to keep it, many people could not afford that cost either. It just doesn’t make sense to me that Medicare has a waiting period once disability is approved.
So we waited somewhat impatiently for Lynn to be approved for Medicare.  Again, naive me, I think, “great, now I can get some home care assistance.”  Wrong again.  Medicare Part A, which is free, only covers inpatient care.  Medicare Part B, cost a monthly premium which is higher than the cost I pay if I keep Lynn on my insurance at work.  So having Medicare does us absolutely no good unless he gets hospitalized. So I’m back at square one, my insurance doesnt’ provide for home care assistance on an ongoing basis so if I want someone to care for Lynn while I go into work, I have to pay for it myself, and from what I can tell, “it ain’t cheap.”
Someone told me I needed to apply for Medicaid for him.  Apparently there is some type of waiver program that provides financial assistance to caregivers who take care of family members at home so that the person does not have to be hospitalized.  So now I’m trying to find out about this waiver program with Medicaid; however, the best I can tell, Lynn doesn’t qualify. I may not be reading this right but it seems like the person has to have a monthly income less than $2000/month, which would qualify him but the person also cannot have any savings greater than $2000 which disqualifies us.  When Lynn lost his job, he had a retirement savings account that is more than $2000 plus all our assets are in joint accounts.  While we don’t have much, we usually do have more than $2000 on hand so that we can handle emergency  repairs and purchases.  These days if a car breaks down, or you need a new well (we spent $5000 putting one of those in) or new appliances, or any number of things, you need to have some money readily available.  Plus if I were to be out of work for an extended time, we would need some money to fall back on.  We just can’t afford to get “poor enough” to qualify for assistance.
It’s basically a catch-22, if you’re already poor, you can qualify for assistance, but if you’re not totally poor and only need help to supplement, rather than totally support your existence, there is nothing available.  Financial concerns is one of the main reasons I’m hesitate to hire someone to stay with Lynn.  I’m sure anyone who can provide the type of care he would need would charge around $20/hour.  There is no way I could afford paying someone 10 hours a day (I work an 8 hour day plus I have an hour travel to and from work) for five days!  That’s $1000/week or $4000/month.  I could probably get someone for half that amount if all they did was served as a companion but that would mean I would have to do all his physical care before or after going to work and have to keep an indwelling catheter in him which would make him prone to urinary track infections and increase his risk of hospitalization.
So until further notice, I’ll keep trying to manage a full-time job at home with help from family, friends, and God who always seems to meet our needs, one day at a time.  Anyone got any better ideas?

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Keeping up with the Paper Work

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If you are a full-time caregiver, or even part-time but the primary person responsible for someone else’s care, then you know all about paper work.  It’s another one of the unpleasant aspects of caregiving that we have to endure but are all too often unprepared for or unfamiliar with.  I’m very fortunate in that I have a healthcare background.  I understand the reason behind all that information “they” gather and why it has to be reviewed every visit.  I also know about insurance to a limited degree but more about that from personal experience than professional.  All that being true; however, it still is difficult to keep up with all the paper (virtual or hardcopy) and still quite frustrating at times.
One of the things I did early in my caregiving “career” was to get a journal where I recorded all the events that happened in Lynn’s medical journey.  I wrote down every doctor’s appointment, who he saw and for what and any changes to his medical regime.  That has come in very handy when one of his many specialists asks me when something happened.  Lynn has a mind for dates and events and can tell you right down to the exact date, and often the day of the week, when something happened…and he’s rarely wrong. Me, I can’t remember if my wedding anniversary is on October 10th or the 11th.  When asked when something happened, I can give a general time frame (such as, when the kids were in grade school, high school, or college; before or after we were married…) but I do NOT remember dates; therefore, I have to write them down. 
I also try to keep a running list of all his medications on my computer.  I update it with any change and make sure it’s accurate before any medical appointment.  I update the “current as of” date and always take it with me to give to the doctor.  This saves time when the doctor or nurse is doing a “medication reconciliation” which is a Joint Commission requirement for hospitals and physician practices to be accreditated.
Knowing how important and helpful this information can be, I readily agreed when I was contacted by Tory Zellick to review an advanced copy of her book, “The Medical Day Planner: The Guide to Help Navigate the Medical Maze.”  Tory, herself was one of the caregivers for her mother, who had a six-year struggle with cancer which she was unsuccessful in winning. This book arose from Tory’s struggle to help organize her mother’s care and help everyone who participated in the caregiving to stay up to date. Maybe, if you are the sole caregiver, you would not find it as helpful as those who have multiple people helping out, but I think that even if you are the primary caregiver, you would find this Medical Planner to be a handy tool to help keep all the essential information about your loved one in one place. 
The book is well-organized, sectioned into categories of responsiblity like medications, appointments, important phone numbers, etc. Within each section are worksheets for recording pertinent information on that topic as well as narratives related to the information being gathered.  The narratives are basic and to the point, written in a common-sense approach without too much formal interpretation–just what she found she needed to understand to be able to accurately understand the information needed.
The Medical Day Planner is a spiral notebook type presentation but hard cover so it’s durable.  My only constructive criticism, which isn’t a criticism at all but a personal preference, is that I would have preferred it be in a three-ring binder instead of a spiral binding so the 52-week planner at the end could be replaced annually with new sheets.  Being in a spiral binder, it renders the planner limited to one year and as we all know, if you’re caring for someone with MS, you’re looking at years instead of weeks of caregiving. Therefore, that section is not as useful to me but the rest of the Planner is excellent.  It would also have been helpful to have a “pocket” inside the back or front cover to insert documents that you might want to take with you to appointments.
I’m not sure when the book will be available for purchase but you can check it out further if you are interested by checking out her website, http://allthingscaregiver.com/.  The advanced copy I received also had a sticker that states, “for wholesale information contact, Michele Farrington – mfarrington@tuttlepublishing.com.  It’s worth taking a look to see if you might find it helpful.
Thanks, Tory, for sharing what you learned and for letting me review your work. 
Good luck,
Donna

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Connect the Dots

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When I was a child, I loved working pencil and paper puzzles. You know the ones I’m talking about?  There were dots, numbers, or letters on a page and as you connected the dots, a picture emerged.  What I did not realize at the time was that doing those pictures was actually very educational.  I learned hand and eye coordination.  For the number and letter ones, I practiced adding or learning my alphabet.  The older I got, the better I got of course but I always loved doing those.
I also liked the mazes.  Sometimes I would cheat (start at the end and work to the beginning) but most of the time I liked thinking ahead, planning my approach and seeing if I could find the best route. 
Life reminds me of those puzzles.  Sometimes I feel like I’m connecting the dots and following the steps in a logical manner.  Other times, it’s like I’m lost in a maze.  I go along fine for a while and then “bump” I run into a wall and have to back up and find a new route.  Doesn’t that sound like life as a caregiver?
When Lynn was first diagnosed with MS, I used my connections at work to start down our path.  I work in a rather large medical center and I know lots of people throughout the center.  I had accompanied Lynn to his cardiologist’s appointment (Lynn also has mitral valve prolapse) and his doctor was asking how he was doing.  I told him that I though his heart was fine but something was wrong with his back.  He asked me who I wanted Lynn to see, I gave him a name, and he got me (Lynn) an appointment. From there we worked our way to a neurologist who was conducting an MS study and he became Lynn’s MS doctor.
Though participation in the MS study, we became friendly with the study nurse.  As I was sharing my concern about how Lynn was feeling and that I though it might be diet related, she suggested a dietician her husband had used.  This dietician had a great interest in MS and she’s the one who found the MS diet that Terry Wahls developed which seems to be making Lynn feel better.
Not everything along this path was a “connect the dots” puzzle. The journey to deal with his severe spasticity was more like a maze.  We tried baclofen tablets until the dose was so high it was obvious that it would not work even with other medications added to make it stronger.  We tried a chiropractor which helped his back but not his muscle spasms.  He tried massage but it released so many toxins in his body that he felt worse.  Then there was acupuncture which for him only caused the spasms to get stronger.  Finally we resorted to a baclofen pump implant so the dose went directly into the spinal fluid. That fixed his legs but now he’s struggling with his arm being tight as a drum. So we turned another corner and tried botox to paralyze the muscle temporarily which worked well for the first few doses but not as good for the last two.  So we back up into the maze and are trying exercise and stretching and next week will try massage again.  So far we have not found the right path in this maze.
But through our MS experience, we have made great connections.  We have some wonderful medical professionals that support us and who truly work to research solutions to his problems.  Our church has been awesome….so many people who hear about our needs and who support us in prayer, donations, assistance of all types.  Our struggles have brought us closer to each other and to our families who stay connected to us now more than ever so they can assist us in whatever we need.
One of the best connections I’ve made is this blog.  I have had so many people connect with me who are experiencing some of what we go through and it’s very comforting to know that they are there.  Knowing how someone else has handled a situation or even just knowing that someone has the same struggle and is hanging in there and surviving each day helps us to push on. 
When Lynn became unable to move around on his own, we stopped going many places.  Mainly now we go to medical appointments or occasionally to the store for something only he needs (he is the only one who can determine what he needs in that department since I am totally incompetent when it comes to figuring out what is needed to fix something).  But even though we are now pretty isolated, reaching out through the internet to find out information or to connect to other caregivers or people with MS keeps us from feeling as if we are isolated.  True, it’s a virtual visit when we talk on-line, but it’s no different from a telephone call and when it’s on-line, it’s on my time which gives me more freedom and more options.
So even though it’s difficult to stay connected if you have MS, it’s possible and it’s necessary.  I cannot get away to go to support groups or conferences but I’ve found out SO much about treatments and options on MS  websites and by reading blogs or comments by people with MS or their caregivers.  We don’t have to be in this alone even if we live alone or in virtual isolation.  That’s why I started blogging.  I wanted to connect to others and hopefully share experiences or something that might make my experiences easier to accept or someone else’s easier to manage. 
I think the MS Connection site that is being set up by the National MS Society and which will go live March 12 (I believe) may help with that as well.  I’ve had the opportunity to see a preliminary version of it and it basically seems like a combination of an MS social network and educational resource. I hope lots of people will share on it because it will certainly provide a way for us to connect the dots from one to another even easier.

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The Day It all Changed

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In 2010, I was going into work every day and Lynn stayed home alone. At that time he was still walking though he would lose his balance frequently and fall. However, being the stubborn man he was, he chose not to use his rollator unless absolutely necessary (i.e. he was too tired or had too far to walk) and would instead hold on to furniture to get around.  On this day in March, I left early to head to Williamsburg to attend a conference for the day.  It was approximately an hour drive to where I needed to go.  I got everything set up for Lynn for the day and off I went.  I had made it to the conference center and was checking in as my pager went off.  I dropped by things on a chair and went out to find out who needed me.  When I saw my home number, I got nervous but figured he was just checking to make sure I had arrived safely.  (He gets very concerned whenever I have travel.) 
I called and said, “I’m here safe and sound…no worries.”  Then I heard his voice and realized that maybe I had a worry after all.  He started out with something like, “I need you.”  One second, I’m annoyed thinking, “what can I do from here?” and the next I’m scared and I’m thinking again, “what can I do from here?”  He explained that he had fallen when he tried to get out of bed and had been trying for an hour to get up.  He was exhausted and panicked and obviously scared.   I did my usual nursing telephone assessment (are you bleeding, can you breath okay, anything hurting, did you hit anything on the way down…) I asked him about calling an ambulance but we didn’t have a key hidden outside and there would be no way for them to get in and no one else was at home for me to call to run over there.  So I told him to hold on and I’d be there as soon as I could.  I grabbed my things and took off.
By the time I arrived home, Lynn had been lying on the floor near a heating vent for about three hours.  He was exhausted from struggling to get away from the vent;  dehydrated from the heat; emotionally distraught from fear and frustration.  He was overheated and started vomiting shortly after I got him off the floor (which was very difficult by this point).  He was in bed for the next two days and was never the same after that.  To this day, he’s now afraid for me to leave him alone for any significant period of time and panics at the though of me being far away.
That day marked the day our lives truly changed due to MS–more so than being diagnosed; more than his losing his job; more than anything that has happened since.  That was the day he became DISABLED.  That’s when he faced his mortality and he realized that life as he knew it had changed and he was no longer in control.
That’s also the day we became “disconnected” from others  After that I started staying home full-time to work and only went into the office for meetings and then only if I had someone to stay with him.  We became more isolated.  Afraid to be around anyone who might make him sick, we stopped going to church.  Limited to a wheelchair (because now he was afraid to walk on his own) we could not visit friends because there was no wheelchair access.  I could not go visit my parents who live five hours away because their home is not wheelchair accessible.  I could not leave him along to go shopping so I shopped via the internet.  I couldn’t visit anyone so they had to come to us (and since we live in a rural area, that was not very convenient.)  I realized that if we kept going that way, depression would set in for both of us and his condition would deteriorate even more.
So we had to find ways to get connected!  I started asking for help from church. We have a wonderful church member who has created a ministry of sending email messages to members to keep anyone who wants to know up to date on prayer requests and praises or requests for assistance.   I sent email requests for help and before long I had the help I needed and the process of connecting again began.  Our families and friends now come to us more often because we have reached out and asked for help…and they give it abundantly.  Even our stent(s) in the hospital last year served to connect us to others.  Through that visit I came up with the idea of this blog by talking to the wife of another MS patient. 
And through this blog, I have connected even more. I connect to people who have MS, people who know people who have MS, people who care for people with MS.  Some live close by and some live very far away.  Some know very little about MS and others have lived with it for 20-30 years.  We are all different but we all have a common connection–MS or caregiving.  That bond makes us family and friends instantly–a connection that brings us together even though I would not know most of these people if I was sitting across from them.  But through this bond of our desire to care for each other and relate to each other,we are connected on an intimate basis.
The National MS Society is starting a similar connection on March 12.  It’s called MS Connection and will be located at  http://ntl.ms/MSconnection.   It looks interesting and looks like a way to help us all make more connections so none of us have to deal with this condition alone.  Check it out when you get a chance.  I think you’ll find it has lots of potential.

The Day It all Changed Read More »

Thanksgiving

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This image shows a Intensive Care Unit.

Last year on this date, Lynn was in the intensive care unit of the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals (MCV). 
By today’s date, he had been in the hospital since November 6 and would remain in the hospital another two weeks. During that time I stayed with him 24-hours a day.  I slept in a reclining chair at his side and was up every few hours helping to make him comfortable.  He does not remember much of that time and what he does remember is clouded by the hallucinations he was having so at times he cannot be sure what was real and what was not; but I remember every bit of it.
I remember having my step-son stay with him while I went to work to teach a class 1/2 day on Nov. 5 and coming back to find he had not eaten anything all day and had drunk very little.  I remember being up with him most of that night and deciding at 4 a.m. that he needed to go to the hospital because he was feeling so bad, calling my son-in-law to help me get him into the car, and then driving the hour to the hospital.  I remember the kindness of staff who brought me coffee and a snack during the day; the visit by my daughter to bring me lunch and then her return to find out what I would need from home when the decision was  made to admit him.  He had stopped eating or drinking due to a urinary track infection that he could not get rid of due to a mistake in reading the urine culture and the wrong antibiotic being prescribed. 
He had become so debilitated that he just could not bring himself to eat so they put in a nasogastric tube to feed him thinking it might be an MS exacerbation.  During a tube feeding, he coughed violently and coughed up the tube causing some of the feeding to go into his lung.  As the week progressed, he began to sleep more and more.  The day before he was to be discharged, he slept all day and could barely be awakened.  His temperature would not register and his blood pressure was dropping.  It was discovered that his temperature had dropped to 95 degrees rectally; just barely at the level to sustain life.  He was sent to the ICU for the first time and put on a heating blanket for hours.  Pneumonia was discovered and he started “third spacing;”  (that means all his body fluids were seeping into the skin and out of his blood vessels.)  He looked like the Phlysberry dough boy.  They took 1000 cc off his lung and the diuretics took out about 3000 cc in fluid through his kidneys.  He was very sick. 
During this admission he was in the ICU three separate times before going home.  I wasn’t entirely sure he would make it home, but he did.  Thinking back to those days, I’m so thankful for all those people at the hospital who brought me food, stayed with him while I went to get a meal away from the room, found me a place to shower, brought me clean clothes and supplies, checked on me to see what I needed, took care of things for me at home, and prayed for us every day.  I could not have made it through that time without them.
I am also thankful for the friendships I made with the nursing and medical staff; the excellent care he received, and the diligence of the health care professionals in determining what he needed to get better. I am very grateful to my church especially who came to my house and decorated it for me for Christmas so we would come home to Christmas at our home without the work involved. We were and are so blessed.
That was Lynn’s first admission last year, ever.  He had two more during the year; each time he was in the ICU for part of the time.  Once he almost went on a ventilator which they felt he might not come off again.  We were so fortunate to have the best healthcare workers anywhere caring for him and pulling him through and many, many people praying for us.
This week is Thanksgiving and we have much to be thankful for.  It has been a very challenging and rewarding year.  It’s been full of fear, faith, hope, and joy and much more.  I hope the coming year won’t be a repeat but I know that if it is, I’m not alone and for that I’m truly blessed.
Have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving.
Donna

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I have the blues today

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I don’t know why.  But I’m feeling blue. Maybe the atmospheric pressure is playing a role since we are waiting for  the hurricane to roll in tomorrow night.  I think it’s primarily due to lack of sleep and trying to get away today.

I worked till 10 last night and then Lynn wanted to lie down for a nap.  I put him to bed and had so much I needed to do that I let him sleep from 10:30 till 12:30.  I know that was a mistake and I knew it when I was doing it but I needed some uninterrupted time to finish what I was working on.  (Plus we spilled some urine on his seat cushion and I wanted to get his favorite socks, leg warmers and the seat cushion clean for him before he got up)….so I let him sleep.

Of course he didn’t feel like eating right away when he woke up so I worked on downloading my contact list on my phone so I could transfer the information to my new phone. As usual I ordered what I needed over the internet so I was reading instructions so I could “do it myself.” I got him feed and into bed by 2:45 a.m.   I set my alarm for 9:00 a.m. because I was supposed to have a conference call regarding an issue at work.  At 4:00 a.m. he needed to be cathed.  I got up and did my thing, (while he slept) and was just about to settle back into bed when he decided he was too stiff to sleep and wanted to get up–so I got him up and got to bed around 5:00 a.m. He peddled till 7:00 a.m. and wanted to come to bed.  I was so tired.  I pulled up my work email and a message that I needed to reschedule the 9 a.m. meeting.  I went back to bed.  He got up at 9:00 a.m .  I went back to bed after getting him dressed and settled and fell right back to sleep.  My alarm went off again at 11.

I had a 2:00 doctor’s appointment for myself.  It was for a physical but also to talk about my painful hands and hip joints and the fact that my feet are numb all the time now. I showered, got breakfast, got Lynn dressed, got his meds ready, we ate, I took him to the bathroom, checked my emails, got my stuff for the appointment, put a foley in him for the day since his son was going to stay with him, got a message his son was going to be late but to go ahead and go….In the middle of this, I had several “special” requests, help with his email, help with the window AC, measure something for the device he wants to have built to help him keep his legs moving while in bed.  Each interruption just caused me to become more tense.  I finally, in frustration, told him he couldn’t ask me for one more thing, I was going to be late. He then said, “that’s why I asked you if getting up at 11 would give you enough time.”  To which I responded, “but you also told me you didn’t want me to go if I was going to fall asleep driving so I was trying to get at least 6 1/2 or seven hours when all the naps were totaled.”  He agreed that was more important.  I finally ran out of the house to go to my appointment.

I made it right at 2. I have a 45 minute drive.  I got so sleepy driving and was so tired.  I listened to a book as I drove which helped but I was really more like a zombie.  I read while I waited for my appt.. and was seen. My doctor told me I really needed to find a way to get some sleep or it was really going to take a toll on my health.  She admitted she knew that would be a challenge.  She also told me until I could get some rest, I probably wouldn’t be very successful trying to lose weight because the stress was causing my body to hold on to “stores” to fight the stress.
I think that’s part of why I’m blue.  I want to see if we can get someone to be here at night so I can sleep more than two hours at a time but Lynn is so against it.  He doesn’t want anyone but me to do anything for him.  He promises to find a solution; create a device to help him stay in bed.  He assures me he is getting better and it won’t be an issue soon.  I so want that to be true but I admit, I don’t believe he will get so much better, with or without the device he’s making, that I will be able to sleep.

I asked him if while I was gone he could have Eric get the deck ready for the hurricane and to go to the gas station to fill up the gas can for the generator.  When I got home, nothing had been done.  He had not asked Eric to do any of it, including he hadn’t had lunch and nothing was put away from the things he had done while I was gone. In his defense, he just didn’t think of it but it made me sad. I wish he would think about me a little more and do things to make my life a little easier too.  I know he’s the disabled one and his burden is so much worse than mine. He is so appreciative of what I do and he tries to keep a positive attitude, but…I’m tired, and I’m sad, and I just want to be able to go to the store without rushing to get back home, and I want to not do anything of importance or any chores for a while.  Oh, well.  Time to get over my pity party.
Time to go get supper out of the stove.  Thank goodness all I had to do was heat something up tonight because I’ve been “at it” catching up work and trying to fix his computer  since I got home….It’s 11:30 pm. time to start the two-hour process of dinner and getting ready for bed.    Have a good night and stay safe from the hurricane.

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I Just Can’t Deal With Another Thing.

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Ever felt like you just couldn’t take one more demand on your energy?  I was like that last Monday night.  We got home from vacation Saturday and I stayed up till 3 a.m. putting things away.  Sunday was much of the same except it was catching up on things at home. Again I went to bed at 3 a.m. and Lynn was up several times so even though I didn’t start my day till 10 a.m., I was very tired on Monday.  Monday was back to work.  I work from home so after getting up late, fixing breakfast, getting us both dressed and fed, settling him down on his peddlar because his legs were spasming, I didn’t get to sit at my computer till around noon.  However, I had already been handling work on my phone while I did all the above (I’ve become very good at multi-tasking).

All day was busy with work…many phone calls and 493 emails to go through that had come in while I was on vacation.  I got some of those done on Sunday and most of the rest on Monday.  The house was hot all day but so was outside so I turned the fan on me and figured Lynn had set the thermostat so it would be warmer.  (He has hypothyroidism and anemia so he’s cold most of the time now). Around 7 pm I ran to the grocery store because I hadn’t had time since we got home from vacation.  When I came back, Lynn was complaining about how hot he was. He did indeed look like he was melting so I rechecked the thermostat because I had set the temp to cool off while I was at the store.  Well it was set now at 70 but the house temperature was registering as 80.  We had a problem!

Lynn told me how to check the fuses in the garage and I went outside to hit the reset button on the heat pump. That wasn’t it.  Lynn then told me to crawl under the house (I hate doing that.  I’m afraid of snakes and not crazy about spiders or mice in case they are there either).  I crawled over to the inside unit, checked the fuses there–it wasn’t a fuse issue–pulled out the filter–hmmm, when was the last time I changed that?  obviously not recently–nothing worked.  It was so hot, I was pouring sweat.  Lynn needed help so I’m back inside helping him while he’s telling me to go next door to see if our neighbor can help (he’s an electrician).  Neighbor not home.  Dinner still needs to be picked, the house is so hot we are both sweating and Lynn is getting very weak from the heat but can’t go to bed because of muscle spasms.  He’s giving me instructions on how to check this and that and to be honest, I thought if I had one more thing to do I was just going to lose it!

Maybe it was the heat; maybe the lack of sleep for two days in a row; maybe the fact that I had a message on the phone from Lynn’s doctor to call when we got back because his blood work was still bad on the anemia; maybe because I knew the AC was going to cost a lot to fix; maybe the hunger; maybe the guilt from not being able to handle it all with grace; but whatever was behind it, I just couldn’t take it anymore…..

But, when you are a caregiver, you don’t have the luxury of giving up. Who else is going to handle it if you don’t?  Lot’s of people are helping us and many more are offering to do so but when you are home alone with someone depending on you and it’s night-time and you know that anyone you call will be burdened, the weight of the responsibility seems like a 2-ton boulder. Know what I mean?

I managed to get through it all that night.  I took several deep breaths, ate a bowl of ice cream (that’s why I’m so fat now), and called my angel of a son-in-law who got dressed, came over and worked on the unit.  He couldn’t fix it but his parents had a window unit they were not using and he went and got that for the bedroom so Lynn could get cooled off.  He was our hero and guardian angel all rolled into one.  God took care of our needs again and gave me the strength to carry on.  He sent my son-in-law who is like a son to me to shoulder my burden and help me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

Thank goodness when I can’t deal with another thing, God sends me someone to help carry the load and help me to continue on our journey.

I Just Can’t Deal With Another Thing. Read More »