'Wow, I wish I had days like that,' I hear you all mumbling under your breath while I punch out the details on this page.
The day began as usual with me waking at the crack of dawn and then lying quietly under the covers waiting for Marmaduke (yes you remember Marmaduke, he is the feeding pole and pump) to complete his cycle and beep to announce that finally he had emptied the contents from the one litre flask of nutrients into my body. This was around 7 am.
Leanne, awakened by the sound, was like an athlete in training. She sprang out from under the covers, muttering something about 'coming', then rushing to my side of the bed with a single mission in life, to remove the plug to Marmaduke and then arrange to flush the peg tube with water.
A few more days like today and she will be well enough conditioned to undertake the tasks and then turn around and slip right back under the covers again and continue sleeping until her exhaustion is at least partly assuaged and she rises at another time when she is truly well rested.
Not yet though, not today. Today she stayed awake, though I suspect that every bone in her body was silently screaming at her to get back into bed and to stop playing the heroine carer role thrust upon her by circumstances and recognise that every body has limitations and that she had reached hers.
No, not today. Today meant helping me to shower, dress, receive the morning round of medication and then to take advantage of the streaming sunshine and almost summer temperatures outside in the backyard where the large outdoors umbrella had to be erected, the plastic chairs covered and a large pillow placed on the table so that I could place my big clod hopper like feet on it, well above the heart, thereby hoping to reduce the oedema, a relatively new development, that seems to have overtaken me recently.
If all this was not enough there was of course the need to get herself washed and dressed and ready for the day. This was followed by the preparation of breakfast for one washing up and then more tidying up, with winter gear being packed away and more of the summer gear being made accessible.
Are you tired yet? I am and I was just watching and getting myself underfoot when my 'role' was clear, get the hell out of the way.
Emotions are still raw. When there is something that can remind Leanne about her father and recent events they are overwhelming and require time out and an escape from the daily grind.
No such luck today.
Today we went into the hospital to try and get a lighter version of Marmaduke, something we managed to partially accomplish. Then with the long weekend being almost upon us we needed to take in supplies and so first a trip to purchase ink cartridges for our printers and then a trip to the local ALDI was indicated and we picked up supplies for one and potential visitors. (So some of you had better come and meet planning expectations by being available to eat the goodies obtained)
I forgot to mention that we had our regular weekly visit from the nursing staff of the Palliative Care program who come to change the dressing on the peg tube. I was meant to take a picture for display here tonight, but she snuck out the door before I could do the deed. Given the quality of the photos I have been taking lately this was probably a good move on her part.
Later in the afternoon one of Leanne's work colleagues arrived with a floral tribute from the colleagues at her work place. I took photos of course but they were SO bad that Leanne has forbidden my placing the results on line.
I am a bad boy, I am disobeying part of her command. I managed to save the shot of the flowers at least so that people can see how lovely they are and how much staff at her work place feel with and for her in this sorrow filled time as she continues to mourn the passing of her beloved dad.
It's now just the time to await Marmaduke completing his duties with yet another flask of goodies and then attach the last of the flasks for the day, then bed, to start the cycle again tomorrow.
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