Freezing raincheck
Our night was spent peacefully; I napped and Gilly slept deeply. He didn’t fight me in any way, so it was not stressful.
I went off to work this morning just before 9:00. I decided to drive Yaron to school even though I was heading downtown. It was time to share yesterday’s information with him. Dr. Lapointe’s news took a toll on him, as I expected it would. We shared some tears and moved on with our day.
I completed some work, gathered up papers that I may need at home (who knows if, when or why?) and headed off downtown for fieldwork supervision. Brad called me along the way and so I stopped to chat. He offered to come by at any time. We got cut off at that point, so I left him a message saying I’d be home at 12:30.
Gilly didn’t manage to make it out of bed today until 4:00 P.M. This frightened me. The CSSS nurse happened to call mid-afternoon with Brad also on the line as I watched over him with trepidation as he slept heavily. Dr. Lapointe had mentioned unresponsiveness and growing sleepiness; I was sure I was witnessing a bit of both and couldn’t believe the prediction would come to be so rapidly.
The rule of thumb, according to Dr. Lapointe is to ask once (like if he want to eat, or get out of bed), twice, and then after a third time it would be considered forcing, so I shoud stop and wait a while before asking again. I asked every half hour on the half hour from 12:30 to 3:00, but he would not agree to eat or get up. This seemed highly unusual (although it probably is snot; I used to be more persistent, I think, in trying to get him up for what I thought was for his own good). Dr. Lapointe did admit that attempting to get him up to eat at the table, dressed and washed is a good idea and will keep him more regulated, s I should continue to try, using his rule of thumb.
I had a lump in my throat as I revealed to Cathy and Brad that I was scared. They probed further and discovered that I probably had an incorrect understanding of what unresponsive means. Cathy asked me to pinch his ear really hard. I did. Nothing. “Really, really hard,” she insisted. After a few tries he turned his head away. Then she instructed me to call his name. His eyes fluttered and he grunted softly in recognition. “That’s still responsive,” she explained. I admitted that I was not sure what this term meant exactly, and now it has been clearly defined. I felt much safer knowing exactly what unresponsiveness will look like.
They predicted there’ll be ups and downs. Perhaps Gilly is more tired today than usual due to yesterday’s outing; it takes a toll on him when he’s taken out these days. Cathy reminded me that if he’s in bed for long hours, I must turn him periodically. I was taken aback. Of course; but he has never remained in bed so long, so how would I have known? I’ve heard about bed sores and stuff, but it hadn’t occurred to me yet that Gilly was in danger of this happening to him. I was thankful for the tip. She offered several other ideas, and I remembered why I love the CSSS nurses so much; they’re extremely knowledgeable about so many tiny details.
Both of them assured and reassured me that they are there by my side. They gave me numbers to call at any hour for advice, and promised to update the help line with the most recent information. I will meet with them on Monday morning at 9:00 for further instructions they feel I need to receive face to face.
I finally managed to tempt Gilly with some lunch at 4:00. He ate voraciously. Cathy mentioned that she was there when Elizabeth gave him his breakfast because she had to give him his B12 shot and was astounded at how much he consumed. I laughed and admitted that they told me to fatten him up and that’s what I’m doing. After the enormous bowl of soup he lapped up (spicey ricey without the ricey; Tamara added noodles instead last week and Gilly loved it, which is strange because he normally refuses to eat pasta.), he agreed to a plate of fruit and polished it off in no time.
Now he’s showered and waiting for his children to arrive home with cousins and so on for Shabbat dinner. Unfortunately, Auntie Ruth will not join us. The ice falling on the sidewalk poses a treacherous climb up our stairs. We are not in the mood for any excitement that could be avoided, so she’s taking a freezing rain check.
I went off to work this morning just before 9:00. I decided to drive Yaron to school even though I was heading downtown. It was time to share yesterday’s information with him. Dr. Lapointe’s news took a toll on him, as I expected it would. We shared some tears and moved on with our day.
I completed some work, gathered up papers that I may need at home (who knows if, when or why?) and headed off downtown for fieldwork supervision. Brad called me along the way and so I stopped to chat. He offered to come by at any time. We got cut off at that point, so I left him a message saying I’d be home at 12:30.
Gilly didn’t manage to make it out of bed today until 4:00 P.M. This frightened me. The CSSS nurse happened to call mid-afternoon with Brad also on the line as I watched over him with trepidation as he slept heavily. Dr. Lapointe had mentioned unresponsiveness and growing sleepiness; I was sure I was witnessing a bit of both and couldn’t believe the prediction would come to be so rapidly.
The rule of thumb, according to Dr. Lapointe is to ask once (like if he want to eat, or get out of bed), twice, and then after a third time it would be considered forcing, so I shoud stop and wait a while before asking again. I asked every half hour on the half hour from 12:30 to 3:00, but he would not agree to eat or get up. This seemed highly unusual (although it probably is snot; I used to be more persistent, I think, in trying to get him up for what I thought was for his own good). Dr. Lapointe did admit that attempting to get him up to eat at the table, dressed and washed is a good idea and will keep him more regulated, s I should continue to try, using his rule of thumb.
I had a lump in my throat as I revealed to Cathy and Brad that I was scared. They probed further and discovered that I probably had an incorrect understanding of what unresponsive means. Cathy asked me to pinch his ear really hard. I did. Nothing. “Really, really hard,” she insisted. After a few tries he turned his head away. Then she instructed me to call his name. His eyes fluttered and he grunted softly in recognition. “That’s still responsive,” she explained. I admitted that I was not sure what this term meant exactly, and now it has been clearly defined. I felt much safer knowing exactly what unresponsiveness will look like.
They predicted there’ll be ups and downs. Perhaps Gilly is more tired today than usual due to yesterday’s outing; it takes a toll on him when he’s taken out these days. Cathy reminded me that if he’s in bed for long hours, I must turn him periodically. I was taken aback. Of course; but he has never remained in bed so long, so how would I have known? I’ve heard about bed sores and stuff, but it hadn’t occurred to me yet that Gilly was in danger of this happening to him. I was thankful for the tip. She offered several other ideas, and I remembered why I love the CSSS nurses so much; they’re extremely knowledgeable about so many tiny details.
Both of them assured and reassured me that they are there by my side. They gave me numbers to call at any hour for advice, and promised to update the help line with the most recent information. I will meet with them on Monday morning at 9:00 for further instructions they feel I need to receive face to face.
I finally managed to tempt Gilly with some lunch at 4:00. He ate voraciously. Cathy mentioned that she was there when Elizabeth gave him his breakfast because she had to give him his B12 shot and was astounded at how much he consumed. I laughed and admitted that they told me to fatten him up and that’s what I’m doing. After the enormous bowl of soup he lapped up (spicey ricey without the ricey; Tamara added noodles instead last week and Gilly loved it, which is strange because he normally refuses to eat pasta.), he agreed to a plate of fruit and polished it off in no time.
Now he’s showered and waiting for his children to arrive home with cousins and so on for Shabbat dinner. Unfortunately, Auntie Ruth will not join us. The ice falling on the sidewalk poses a treacherous climb up our stairs. We are not in the mood for any excitement that could be avoided, so she’s taking a freezing rain check.
posted by Gilly at 6:34 PM
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