Monday, April 7th
M had hurt his back while cycling so it was just Mom today. I opened up Criterion and this was one of the movies shown. Jeremy Irons is another one of Mom's favorite actors, so we watched this 1988 David Cronenberg classic. Very trippy movie that makes you appreciate that your gynecologist is a woman, not a man sinking into addiction and psychopathy.
Tuesday, April 8th
I canceled my massage today because all day my body was trying to push out some poop that was too dense and too hard and my body was too weak to push it out all of the way. Every 15 minutes or so, my body would give it another try and I didn't want anyone around to see me go through that.
This is, unfortunately, one of the downsides to being in a regulated environment like this. Everything I do has to be approved of by someone. I have my routine to deal with my BMs, but it hasn't been working well recently. That means I have to wait until tomorrow to take another BM pill. Argh.
Wednesday, April 9th
I'm sitting here trying to remember what happened today and I can't, so I guess this is the black hole for this week. Sorry!
Thursday, April 10th
Dr. R is still on vacation so another week without a furry visitor. It was also another day of my body unsuccessfully trying to push out more BM. OK, I admit I need to change up my routine, as this one is really not working anymore. I wait too long before asking for help with things. I will talk to the head nurse on the floor tomorrow. I really like her and we get along well together. It makes things a hell of a lot easier for her dealing with me as a patient, as I can communicate so easily and rationally.
Friday, April 11th
I asked to talk to F, the head nurse, before the end of the day. I am hoping to get something figured out so I don't need to suffer through the weekend. After pushing all day yesterday, I got a suppository this morning and it was disappointing. It was like my body said, ‘Hey, I tried all day yesterday to get rid of stuff. Apparently, you want to keep that poop.’
I had called Mom and asked her to bring a card so we could write a note to Chris Gethard, the host of Beautiful/Anonymous. This is a podcast where Cris talks to an anonymous stranger for an hour about whatever. He and his family will be vacationing in Hawaii and he is doing a show in Waikiki. I can't go to the show, but I want to leave him a note and see if he can call me while he is in my time zone. Mom brought a note and wrote it out. One of my other CNA's has a boyfriend who works at the club Chris is going to, so he will drop it off. I love it when a plan comes together!
Finally, I had a nice long chat with F, and Mom was there, so she got to share in all the conversation. I think after probably close to 10 years on the supplement recommended by a former caregiver, my body was building up a tolerance to it and it just was not effective anymore. That's understandable. So F is going to work on a new plan for me that she can present to the doctor on Monday and get approved. Then I can start using stuff that the hospital has and really get this crap worked out. Literally. Enough said.
Saturday, April 12th
Finally, a day for my sister to visit with sushi from Whole Foods and nothing on the agenda! Unfortunately, since yesterday had been so disappointing, my body was at it again today. And I had to spend time explaining to her that I would get some relief, but it wouldn't be until Monday.
My sister did buy all the parts so we could plug in two sets of earbuds and listen to another episode of Lioness on Paramount+. It's so nice to block out all of the noise around us and not bother anyone with the audio from the show. I wish we could get set up for three headphones. Oh well…
My sister brought sushi, which was great, but I realized I wanted brown rice sushi with vegetables. Some really earthy, crunchy, Whole Foods down-to-earth hippie sushi that would not work for the sushi purist but tasted amazing. Next time.
Sunday, April 13th
I wasn't sure if my body would push or give up like last Friday, but it didn't stop through the night so I got the suppository and drank a lot of water. Very successful so I had a nice calm day of emptiness. Nice! (Sorry for the TMI on my BMs, but that was really the main issue for this week. You're here for all the gory details, right?)
Mom stopped by and we played some more Connections. We are getting better at this game, which makes it a lot more fun. She also gave me lunch. Because I had sushi for lunch and dinner yesterday, I had saved the hospital meals in leftover containers, and I was able to eat one of those meals instead of what they brought me. It's just nice to have a little bit of control over what you're eating.
I got the blog written up for the whole week except Sunday. It will be easy to write one day and get the blog posted early tomorrow. Great! I have been thinking about this month’s essay for a long time. I REALLY want it to be good. I have visions of it going viral and spreading everywhere, but of course trying to make something viral is probably the best way to assure it won't be.
This week's picture is of my room because you haven't seen the latest improvement. The rector who comes to visit me brought me a calendar from a local drugstore with nice pictures of Hawaiʻi. My sister lined the windowsill with them so I am now surrounded by walls I have decorated. Fabulous! Have a fantastic week!
Add comment
Comments