Monday, August 4, 2008

Things that make you go "AHHHH"

August 4, 2008

I woke up and felt good. I had woken up at 6:30 a.m. and took ½ pain pill. That seemed to get the day to go much better. Mom made me some cream of wheat and I ate twice the amount that I had been eating. I then took a short cat nap and woke up more refreshed. Mom made some plum sauce and I ate that and it was tasty. The plums came from my brother. He brought a box of them from his garden and we had been munching on them. They were fresh, ripe and juicy. When you would bite into them, the juice would run down your chin. We managed to eat them all up. Hopefully my brother will bring some more.

It is beautiful outside and I took a short walk. The fresh air was good for the soul and the Border Collies running around my feet made the walk complete.

In the afternoon we had some more meals and I see that I am increasing my food intake which is good. I am holding steady at 106 lbs and hope by having a milkshake each night my weight will increase. My mom needs to gain some weight as she lost quite a bit worrying about me. So our nightly ritual before we go to bed is to have soy milk, ice cream and rice protein milkshake. I know I drank my beer-sized glassful of milkshake up in record time.

As usual, Tess is mom’s best friend. She dashes to her side when mom comes upstairs in the morning and goes into kitchen with her. And of course, mom gives her a morning treat. Nan also follows mom into the kitchen and gets the same treat.

The rest of the day was nice. I was more mobile and felt better. I had more spring in my steps. We watched TV and ate food every 1.5 hrs. I can’t eat big meals so I ate a bunch of small meals.

Mom played with Tess and Nan by tossing them a toy outside by the front porch and they all had fun. It’s a daily ritual for them and helps the dogs at least burn off some calories. She also went down to the barn and fed bread to the sheep. They are getting used to her and when they see her, they run up for their treat.

Soon my walks will be 20 minutes walks and by then I (hopefully) can hold that pace. Some days I can do my walk with ease and some days it is a struggle.

We had yet another delicious dinner. Mom made grilled Dober Sole, grilled green beans, tempura eggplant and yams and fresh cucumber from her garden. I ate what she served me which was about twice as much as I have been eating. The fish was so good that I asked for a second piece. That is a good sign.

After dinner we watched the News. I took over the single chair and mom took the couch. I wanted to sit in something else than the couch.

Tess jumped on the couch in her usual spot. After the last few dinners, I let her lay next to me on the couch. Today, it was mom and Tess on the couch. Next thing, I saw Tess has scooted next to mom and has her head on her lap. Then my mom sang her a childhood Japanese folk song. She used Tess’s name in the song,. By the end of the song Tess had her paws wrapped around my mom’s arm and her head was in her lap. The song goes something like this: (loosely translated)

“Tess, Tess,
“Why are crying?”

“I have seven little cute babies in the mountain”
“I cry because they are so happy (happy cry)”

It was a very touching moment to see Tess and mom all snuggled up. My mom has never been a dog lover but she loved Shiro (deceased) and Tess and Nan. So it was sweet to see her and Tess all cuddled up.

I hope that tomorrow I feel as good as I do today. Not everyday is a good day but each day I do feel better. I am healing up quite well and it looks like there will not be much of a scar. What I can see of it, it is very thin and faint. Regardless it is a noticeable scar or not, I am happy to be alive.

I did notice today that I was taking fewer naps and they are shorter. So instead of two three plus hr naps, I am taking a couple of hour long naps. I wake up more refreshed and alert. After my naps, I try to go for my walks. I am still not supposed to use my arms to lift, push or pull. Try that something and you will realize that it is very hard. Now add, no lifting of five pounds. Then also add the fact, you can not reach below your waist or above your shoulders. I have to carry my pillow around (hugging it to my chest) so I do not accidentally use my arms. Wrap your arms around a pillow next to your chest and do it for an hour. You will see the limitations that you will have.

I need a caretaker for a bit. They have to do quite a bit for you and you have to learn to ask. Kathy was helping me at the hospital and at home it has been my mom, Deb and Jeff. I have called Kathy to keep her posted. (Kathy is a Dr and one of my dearest friends). On Wednesday my brother will come for a few days. He is an excellent cook and is a very caring brother.

Nelson is an animal lover too. Now, he has Henry, a big orange and white cat. When our barn burned down two years ago, Henry was one of the cats that got out. He went to stay temporary with my brother until we got the barn built. Nelson loved that cat and Henry was there to stay with him permanently. So much for the temporary cat sitting! Henry is quite spoiled and follows my brother all over the house.

This “temporary borrowing of cats” runs in my family. About eight years ago, my mom temporarily took home a little toss-away kitten that I had rescued. Tama was about 6 weeks old and on her way to the shelter when I got her at the feed store. Tama had her own place in the barn and hung out with Ringo the other cat. Mom went down to the barn to give Ringo a new cat bed and feed him some cat food when Tama ran out from under the shelves and got almost stepped on by her. She came up to the house with Tama in her arms and asked if she could keep her for a week until it quit raining.

Who can say “No” to their mom who is holding a kitten to her chest and cooing to it? So Tama went home and a week later mom called and asked if she could stay for a month until she was bigger. Then the next call was can she keep her until summer. It was in fall when she scooped up Tama. Needless to say, Tama never came home. Tama is a princess at my mom’s house.

Same story as Henry…..both Tama and Henry have managed to stay at my moms and brother’s house. Do you see a pattern? Both scored big time. Mom better not ask for Tess though.

1 comment:

Bex and the Bookends said...

Your mother's relationship to Tess sounds very sweet. I am so glad to hear that you are feeling so much better. Keep taking care of yourself!