(Photo Description: Codee sitting at her desk where the computer is switched on. Smiling at the camera with thumbs up.)
Sunday April 3rd.
I was helped by one of the youngest nurses on the team this morning. There was a time when I really wasn’t able to click with people my age or younger. But there are a few young nurses in the team and I’ve grown to really respect them. I also enjoy their fresh, cheery attitudes . So this was a good start to my day.
Jessica took a walk outside in some of the greener areas of our village while I was getting help. But the rain spoiled her fun and she was home again, just as the nurse was leaving. She did get some great photos though. We enjoyed looking at them together on the big TV.
The rest of the day was pretty lazy and consisted of lots of YouTube. I did however run the dishwasher and empty it when it was done.
Monday April 4th.
If Monday morning was intent on being irritating, it succeeded. My care routine just didn’t go smoothly. Which made me grumpy. My regular skype time with my Dad and some sweet comments under my morning tweet from my Twitter friends soon fixed those grumps though.
I did some chores, watched YouTube and had a great chat about accessibility of apps and digital newspapers with a twitter friend. I realised during that conversation that one of our local news apps isn’t accessible with VoiceOver – the in-built program on the iPhone that reads your screen to you if you can’t see. I made a short video demonstrating the issue and tweeted it to their twitter account. No reply yet though!
Dinner was tasty, but it wasn’t the chicken in the fridge that Jessica had asked me to use. Oops! My memory can be horrific. Luckily it will still be fine to eat it tomorrow.
When Jessica came home we watched our favorite YouTubers and a couple TV shows.
Tuesday April 5th
It’s not often that I get help with my care from a male nurse. They do exist though and this morning I was helped by a very friendly one. He was nice to Wally (my pluche yellow Walibi) and that’s always a plus point. The most important par though, is that the care routine goes smoothly and today it definitely did.
Jessia and I had a good conversation about how I am feeling both physically and mentally and came up with some ideas on how to make that better. One of which I discuss with my nurse tomorrow.
I did a couple chores while Jessica went out to get a few groceries. She came back with a device for the kitchen, which can be used to chop veggies and grate cheese. While she was unpacking it, we learned that I wouldn’t be able to use it without supervision. So she found an old electrical machine we had stored in the attic. This does the same things as the new device. Only it’s big, old and not so convenient for Jessica. For the few times I will use it however, it’s perfect.
We spent most of the afternoon and evening watching Netflix while regularly checking messages and social media. We started a new series called Ginny & Georgia. I have to admit, when Jessica started the first episode I wondered what the heck she had decided to watch this time. After watching it a while, I realised it’s a great show and now I’m hooked.
Wednesday April 6th
I had decided that today I would shiver and feel cold while being constructive instead of doing it under a blanket – oooh.. that sounds so wrong.. but you know what I mean, right?
I started with chores as the elves won’t do those for me. Only I could not remember if the nurse took a clean towel and wash cloth this morning. So therefore didn’t know if the one hanging on the towel rack was supposed to go in the wash. I tried to call her but accidentally called a different nurse with the same name. Ooops – Sorry – wrong one! You weren’t here this morning. So you can’t answer my question. Excuse me. My brain is clearly not awake. After calling the correct nurse, I learned that we had both forgotten that I needed clean towels. We get clean ones every other day, when I wash at the sink. So the one on the rack did need to go in the wash.
Speaking of forgetful; I’m not the only one with that problem. Nurses can’t always be expected to remember every client’s individual needs. That’s why there are care plans. However, mine is a little lengthy and costs time to read. So my nurse thought it might be a good idea to hang sticky notes in my room as reminders for both me and them. Just one problem nurse… I can’t read them! But if you want sticky notes, I’ll give you sticky notes. They’ll just have to be digital.
I finished my chores, re-arranged my desk and took a phone call from my cardiologist. I was pleased to hear that my heart looks great and is functioning exactly like it’s supposed to. If my heart isn’t sick, it’s not causing the breathlessness and palpitations. I have noticed however, that this has become less frequent since I have stopped taking the strong pain meds. My Apple watch hasn’t alerted me to a fast heartbeat for 3 weeks now. Could the meds have been the problem? I can see from the logs that the watch makes, that it does still beat faster than average, I just don’t notice it so much. My diagnosis from the cardiologist is Sinus Tachycardia without cause. Sinus meaning regular rhythm. Tachycardia means it beats too fast. We don’t need to do anything with it right now though. It’s not dangerous. I just need to take it into consideration when exercising, by regularly giving it time to drop back to a – for me – normal speed. I can contact cardiology if I have problems in the future.
Then it was time for the task of making digital sticky notes. I needed a tablet or computer for that. We have several old ones we no longer use. Only the three I had found this morning while the nurse was still here, were all dead. Very dead and ready for the trash pile or a recycling bin. I pulled out an old macbook, turned off the password protection – or so I thought and started arranging google keep with notes arranged into days with lists of things that the nurses and I need to do each morning. I put the macbook upstairs next to the medication cabinet and went to rest.
Later when Jessica came home, she informed me there was still a working Android tablet laying in her room. She didn’t use it as she has a newer tablet. So I could use that instead of the macbook for my notes. I was planning to do that in the weekend as the macbook would be ok for now. When I went to check it, I realised it hadn’t let me turn off the password at all. Even worse, it struggled to come out of standby mode. Meaning it took forever before the notes could be read. So I turned it off, stuffed it in my closet – it looks goood there – and while laying in bed… organised the Android tablet. This time with actual digital sticky notes arranged as widgets across several start screens. All we have to do is swipe to wake up the device and swipe right to scroll through the notes. Phewwwww… I will sleep well tonight.
Thursday April 7th
The sticky notes didn’t appeal to the nurse who came this morning. I’m not sure why. I get the idea she didn’t quite understand why they were necessary and I struggled to explain that at 8:30am. My words don’t easily find their way out of my mouth after just waking up. The morning routine went well though and that always makes me happy.
I only had one chore – the dishwasher and it wasn’t full enough to let it run. So that went to friday’s task list. This meant I could spend the morning resting, which was needed. My constructive day yesterday, had definitely made me feel more tired and I had more pain than usual. So YouTube and TikTok were the morning medicine.
I video called Mom in the afternoon to chat and practice sign language. She’s doing amazing and signed a whole story with me. I am so looking forward to having whole conversations with her in Sign Supported Dutch.
Jessica came home feeling as tired and cold as I was so we crawled under blankets and spent the rest of the day and evening watching shows. Domino’s delivered our dinner. Which we really enjoyed.
Friday April 8th
Music is a language that everyone understands and it lifts spirits when they are low. This morning when a nurse – who doesn’t come that often asked me if I was the musician of the house and if I could sing, ended up surprising me when I sat behind my keyboard to play and sing for her. We sang together while I played keyboard. It felt like a party and we both felt 100% more positive afterwards. I posted a short blog about this on Facebook. You can read it HERE. It’s a public post. Just please remember that I won’t accept friend requests if I don’t know you.
The music has continued all day. I’ve listened to my YouTube music playlist while doing chores and while updating this blog, I’m listening to my own keyboard covers, which can also be found on YouTube.
Saturday April 9th
Bark, sneeze, bark, bark, sneeze. I am certain we don’t own a dog, but I sure am doing a great job of imitating one right now. I’m not sure if it’s a cold or hayfever. Whatever it is, it’s welcome to leave again. I don’t want to cancel any upcoming appointments.
Luckily I have no chores. Although Jessica has a full list and I’m sure she’ll find something I can help with.
I crawled under a blanket with a cup of tea while she left to get a few groceries. Of course I was asked to help put them away once she came home. I don’t mind though. That way I get to find out what we now have to eat and where I can find it if I want to prepare food for myself. Later I helped with putting fresh sheets on a bed.
We both watched a lot of TikTok and played with some new efficts we found to use with our own TikTok creations. Jessica did some food prep for the coming week so that we can eat healthy food that only has to be warmed up. We spent the late afternoon and evening watching YouTube and Netflix. We finished the Ginny & Georgia series. What an ending – I can’t wait for series two!
The first part of next week is going to busy. So it’s time to finish up this blog, post it and rest. Thanks for reading. Leave a comment below and tell me about something you did this week that you really enjoyed.
CRS Life 