Friday, August 26, 2022 7:52 PM

Hello. Thank you for joining us!

 I arrived to Larry sitting in the wheelchair with big blue 'mits' on. Shane was there earlier today & messaged me saying that Dad had gloves on to prevent him from pulling out tubes. Larry did not like the chair he was in & was trying to pull it apart. Part of him knew the workings of a wheel chair from his days helping patients to manage theirs. He was so strong, there was no holding his hand or arm away from whatever he was trying to get at. With gritted teeth & big desperate eyes, it wasn't pretty. Like, "Why aren't you helping me?" Was he ever mad! He said in a very clear voice "Get this thing off of me!" Well, it didn't get better, when 2 nurses came in to change his I.V. picc line, to his other arm. His veins have become less cooperative & it took 2 attempts with 3 of us holding his arm down. Then they transferred him into his bed, & all of us needed a nap. He fell right asleep instantly, & was peaceful for quite a while.

   While I sit with him, the restraints/gloves are off, but I have to be on guard, as his hands always want to go toward his face. A cool thing to see later, was that he reached his ear & scratched it. That was a big deal. The next time they came to reposition him, I left for lunch. When I came back, they had put something like a zap strap through one nostril around to the other, with the feeding tube & connected it. It makes it much harder to pull out (but not impossible), so we'll see. A more permanent Gastrostomy (feeding) tube will be inserted through the stomach on Wed. Aug. 31. They leave the one in the nose for 24 more hours, then remove it. His face will, thankfully be tube free.

 Linda came for a couple of hours, while Larry was fairly peaceful. She witnessed a few of his horrible coughing/wheezing jags. She agreed, they are distressing. She & I each took a hand, creaming, massaging & clipping nails. He is always soothed by 'hands on'. Again, he got the nebulizer & it seems to be doing its work. 

  The physio dropped in & said that his trip to the gym was similar to Wed. He wasn't very awake. I hope the next time he shows her the feistiness he exhibited today.

 Since Larry's been in the Neurology ward, he's had the same nurses, often 3 days in a row & it's great to see them grow in their understanding & care for him… & me!

 It's clear that with Larry becoming aware & alert, his reaction to what is: pain, restrictions, limitations, his overall state of unwellness is manifested in fear, anger & frustration. My prayer from the start of all of this is that Larry would have peace through the trials of this journey. I have to learn a new way of addressing & helping him with what is a very foreign way of him handling what is impossible for me to imagine.