Sometimes blogging is about 'listening'.
Bea, of AOL Journals, Wanderer ("until a more suitable name presents itself")
Comment from bgilmore725 6/25/08 10:01 PM
"So does Patti remember from one PT session to the next? Or does she rediscover it for the first time each time she goes, kind of like the movie "50 First Dates?" …
Absolutely! However while enjoying a Gelati in our van I asked her …
Patrick: “So, Patti, did you have physical therapy today?”
Patti: “Yes … I mean no … I can’t remember. Who the f#ck cares? … I hate that sh#t! … Oooo! It’s Jackson”
Hearing Jackson Browne on the radio she refocused her attention to listening. Not 'allowed' to change stations, I looked around the van for something to beat myself unconscious. Finding nothing I resorted to miming beating myself unconscious. Patti looks at me like ‘moi’ has the cognitive impairment and informs me, “You need to be slapped!” <grin>
In another part of the blogosphere, an integral part of long term caregiving … the long walk afterwards.
Leigh of AOL Journals, I Was Thinking...
Comment from mleighin21st 6/19/08 7:50 AM
“... Never forget that the caregiver NEEDS your support, too! It took me years to heal....”
Frances of AOL Journals, Holliday's Holliday
shared in an email:
“… It was the hardest job I ever loved.”
Caregiving is NEVER without the decision making that you hope never to make …
Recently, Sue of AOL Journals, A day in my life.... admitted her Mom to a care facility. Her entries at this point are priceless as not only will so many one day face exactly where she is at, but they transcend ‘entries’, they are words of the heart.
Sue has long been in my pantheon of caregivers and literally is unforgettable ...
... this weeping willow in my back yard was only a 6’ nursery tree until Sue shared in her journal an irrigation trick from the Oklahoma prairie.
Not unlike this tree there is a lot of heart in the blogosphere to help anyone grow. I, for one, thank you all for sharing.
Caregivingly Yours, J Patrick Leer
musings: www.lairofcachalot.blogspot.com
website: www.CaregivinglyYours.com
videos: http://www.youtube.com/daddyleer
(also available in Blogger edition, Caregiver Blog: "Caregivingly Yours")
LOLOLOL!! Patti just never fails to crack me up. And let's face it, you have to look at some of this kind of stuff with humor. It is #1 on the Caregiving Survival List.
ReplyDeleteOr, is Patti right? You just need to be slapped?? <grin>
Jackie
How much a blessing this Journal seems to have been for you. And reading about Patti's way of channeling thoughts, when she can, reminds me of someone living in just that moment, just that space, and how could they know what they did in a moment long past? For a second is a lifetime I'd think, to someone trapped in what must seem the ultimate betrayal of body to brain. Btw, thanks for that pic of the weeping willow, I grew up in one lol. xoxo CATHY
ReplyDeletehttp://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/
(((((((((((((((((((((HUGSYOU)))))))))))))))))))That was funny when Patti said you need to be slaped.LOL.I know its never easy being a caregiver.But I learned so much by reading your Journa and others.Thank you for your Journal.Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDelete...........what is it about physical therapist? Mom hated to see hers come through the door.....but the exercise left her feeling tired but better. Her therapists were all young men and she thought they were wonderful.
ReplyDeleteToo funny! Thanks for sharing these little snippets with us! I think it has given me a better perspective for when I visit people in the caregiving facility where a friend of mine has been for the past two years. She had a severe stroke two years ago, and it's since been compounded by other complications. I went to visit her yesterday, to feed her during lunch because she can't grasp the eating tools. She was asleep when I walked in the door, her head drooping deeply on her chest. In the past (before your influence) I would have let her sleep, but I sat beside her and said her name. She woke up, took a moment to recognize me. I told her who I was just in case. Lunch was 30 minutes away, and she was sleepy... I wanted her to enjoy my visit so I said, "Would you like to go outside?" She sat up so straight, her eyes flew wide open, a smile spread across her face, "Yeah! I'd like that,: she said. Well, dummy me, I have never moved anyone in a wheelchair... she was connected to the wall by some wires... I had to ask a nurse permission to walk her, and then someone needed to disconnect her from whatever, then reconnect her for walking (oxygen). All that done, off we went, awkwardly, as her feet were straight out in front. It didn't take me long to figure out I'd need to walk through doors backwards... we enjoyed our walk in the sunshine. She didn't even want to go back in for lunch. "I don't care about that!" she said. I promised to bring her out after lunch, so she agreed to go in. I stayed with her for two hours, and it was a very nice visit. She saw me look at my watch and told me not to feel like I had to stay. Sometimes blogging IS about listening. bea
ReplyDeleteThe chemistry between you and Patti is priceless. If ever there were two people who belonged together it was you two. You have the heart, sympathy, compassion and love it takes to be a companion caregiver. Patti...she just has so much life and grit in her attitude, it's always a pleasure. (Hugs)Indigo
ReplyDelete