Mike has been sick with fever and chest congestion since Tuesday evening.
He started with the "gurgle" on Tuesday night and by the time we got him into bed, his fever was 102.3. He woke up Wednesday with no fever (it appeared to have "broken" in the middle of the night). He ate and drank his usual on Wednesday, but by bedtime, his "gurgle" came back as well as his fever. Overnight, his breathing was very loud and he sounded very congested. I didn't sleep much - as I was checking on him all night: I turned him to try to losen stuff up, gave him tylenol, cleaned him etc. I didn't go into work yesterday and called hospice. Instead of sending someone, they prescribed an antibiotic, which is fine - but I still think they should have had someone come by to check.
I was up again all last night. We put Mike in the hospital bed in the living room because we can raise his head better there (we have the wedges in the other room, but the hospital bed allows us more incline), and I "slept" on the couch. I am even more exhausted from not sleeping again last night and today I had to come into work (my boss is out playing golf).
Lying there last night I started thinking about all the other sleepless nights that I've had the past 9 years taking care of Mike and the various illnesses and maladies he's had to deal with. Whether it be at home or in the hospital, there have been quite a few times I watched the clock as minutes turned to hours, and hours into days.
I recently bought a bracelet (a portion of the proceeds go to Alzheimer research) that sums it all up.... I'M TIRED OF ALZHEIMER'S !!!!!
Follow You, Follow Me: A Young Family's Journey With Young-Onset Alzheimer's Disease
4 comments:
I am so sorry. I do hope he is better soon. All I think about it sleep. I have to turn and change mom every two hours . Or used to . Now I do it every three because we got her a air mattress that lets air out and puts air in on differant parts of her body at differant times. But it is still not enough sleep. I think about sleeping all night all the time. And I would love to sleep late in the mornings. I so hope you get a good nights sleep tonight. Both of you.
Karen -
I can sympathize and understand completely. Do you have any help during the day? Does your mom qualify to have an aide for a few hours? It's sad when all we can think about is getting a good night's sleep. Then I hate myself because I realize that the only time I will get a good night's sleep is when Mike won't be here anymore
I am so sorry. I read your blog regularly but can't accurately put into words what I want to say other than you really remind me of what marriage really means. You stand by your vows and I wish we all had the strength you do. You are an angel.
Anonymous -
Thank you very much. I guess the difference is that everyone has the ability, not many have the desire.
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