I've read the Hobbit and the Ring Trilogy a couple of times--first to figure out why Brian liked them so much and then later for Tolkien's beauty of language. But each time, they still seemed like "trudging books." Sometimes it seemed nothing was happening. At others, the action zipped by in a blur. So it is with our sojourn with Dad's battle with glioblasoma.
The days are beginning to run together. We go over early so Brian can help him dress and take care of his personal needs. I make breakfast as much as Mom will let me. She has her plans and likes to keep to them as much as possible. I try to bring a lunch and supper they both will enjoy, taking Mom's needs for low carbs and Dad's food preferences. Every other day, they have a bath or a shower. Brian has rigged a second walker so Dad has something solid to hold onto in the shower. Still, it's a dicey business because it's hard to say when his legs may become too tired to support his weight. We watch Jeopardy or football with them. Dad plays with his lift chair trying to get comfortable. We tuck them in at night, making sure their cpaps are working properly and the night starts well. Dad still gets up multiple times a night and mom's so sleep deprived it's a wonder she's not lost her mind. Our routine has slowed to match Dad's pace.
But even routine is hard to come by when new deficits in cognition and physical ability seem to appear daily. Yesterday, we could never get him to put his teeth in, no matter who tried to help him. I shredded the meat in his Mediterranean Chicken for lunch and Mom cut up the spaghetti Linda made and froze for him into tiny little pieces.
And yet there are moments of joy.
I stayed yesterday instead of going to church and watched a couple Dr. Jeremiah sermons with them. One was about the spiritual bodies God is preparing for us and the joys of being with our Savior. Dad was very happy about the promise of a brand-spanking new body that will never get weak or sick or grow old.
The Chiefs won last night which made him happy even though we weren't able to watch it here. (Greedy NBC! Shame on you for putting the play off games behind a paywall. We tried to get the game through Peacock, but the folks' TV wouldn't accept the log in.)
Today we'll head over to the folks at 8AM to get Dad ready for his appointment with Dr. Morrison, his GP. We got ice and snow last night, so it will be treacherous going but we still have the wheel chairs we rented for the folks to use on the trip to STL. Those need to be returned on Friday, but they'll come in handy now.
Time to go....
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