Staycation

Remember the blog about the big red button? You know… the one about the alarm with the button that goes on my wrist and allows me to call for help from a nurse 24 hours per day? Well, when I listed all the reasons i needed/wanted it, I deliberately left one out. Yes, I’ve been keeping something from you.

I needed 24 hour access to help from the nurses so that Jessica could go away on vacation. On a plane, out of the country. All the way to Greece.

Thursday May 18th:

It was odd to say goodnight to Jessica at 7pm. She went upstairs for a few hours sleep while I did my best keeping Yin and Yang the budgies, quiet downstairs. I closed the blinds behind them as they take a nap when it’s dark. I connected my airpods to the Apple TV and watched some YouTube until Jessica got up at 10:30pm.

We chatted for a bit about everything she’d packed and her flight times. At 11pm I went to bed. She would have to stay awake until 1:45am when the taxi would pick her up and bring her to the airport. I wished her the bestest, happiest week and my eyes may or may not have leaked a bit as I went upstairs.

She is my caregiver, but also a sister to me. There are times when we annoy eachother, just like sisters do, but she does a lot for me and I appreciate her for doing that. Finally realising that this is real, that she’s really going on vacation brought me to the conclusion that I would miss her. Just a little bit. Besides, I’ve only ever spent daytime alone in this house before. This was going to be a whole week and…. zZzZz…. My thoughts were interrupted by snories and dreams.

Friday May 19th:

4:30am; I need to potty… Crap! 4:30am? I didn’t hear Jessica leave the house. I hope she didn’t fall asleep downstairs. I did my thing, crawled back into my bed and opened the ‘Stalk my family’ app on my phone. Phew! She’s at Schiphol airport. A post on facebook confirmed that she was checked in and waiting to board the plane. Fine, I can sleep further.

The nurses continued with my normal care schedule and my cheery First Responsible Caretaker came to wake me at 8am. The day went smoothly. I did some chores and Skyped with Dad. After lunch, I had an extended FaceTime session with Emily. Watched some YouTube in the evening. Wow…. Is this TV remote really mine all week?

I went a little later than usual to bed. That wasn’t a great idea. It was almost dark so turning the TV off, putting the birds to bed and going in a silent, dimly lit house upstairs made me panic slightly. I had google play my favorite radio station once I was upstair and after a while laying in my bed listening to it, I started to relax. Ok… tomorrow I’ll go to bed on time. See if that helps.

Saturday May 20th:

After breakfast I packed a backpack with a snack and drink, inco material and painkillers. Mom was on her way to Dronten. We were going to pick up cousin Ricardo at the train station and go with the car, where Bailey the Boomer was waiting, to the nature park in Lelystad.

Ricardo didn’t earn his wheelchair driving liscence, but we did have a great time in the nature park. I treated Mom and Ricardo to lunch and then we went on a long walk to see how many animals we could find. The weather was perfect for a nature walk and we saw geese, wild boar, swans, stalks and a couple deer. Mom and I made many photos, Ricardo made video and Bailey enjoyed all the smells and sounds that a dog likes to enjoy. Mom had even brought home made cake, which we ate while sitting in a bench halfway through our walk and Ricardo treated us to drinks before going home.

I ate soup with bread for dinner and made it to bed on time, without panicking.

Sunday May 21st:

A Pyjama day. Rest and relax day. I had no plans to do anything other than watch YouTube and Netflix. I did chat with Emily through iMessage and posted yesterday’s photos online. I made a snack bowl in the afternoon, which I ate while catching up on YouTube subscriptions. Jessica doesn’t lie when she says everybody uploads on Sunday. In the evening I ate healthy dinner. Cauliflower, potato and chicken and went to bed on time. Though i definitely continued watching TV from my bed until I was tired enough to sleep.

Monday May 22nd:

A skype session with my Dad to begin the day. Followed by chores. A short FaceTime session with Emily and Sign Language Practice with someone I met in a Sign Language Facebook group.

Dinner consisted of two cheeseburgers, which I cooked myself. In the evening I was picked up so that I could go to a meeting. Upon arrival I discovered that there was apple pie and any ideas that I may have had about being a neat, well presented adult who would totally pay full attention at the meeting went out the window when I was offered a piece of pie. Mmmm pie. 😋 Sorry, what? Oh. You wanted me to explain something. Ok. Let me just empty my mouth first.

Tuesday May 23rd:

I really don’t remember what I did in the morning. The nurse came later, so I was latewith breakfast and that somehow completely threw me out of my routine. I did do some chores and probably watched YouTube.

Chantal came in the afternoon. She’s a volunteer with the organization Humanitas but they’re so good at matching volunteers with clients that Chantal is already more of a friend. We went out into the village and ended up at Moellies restaurant where we had drinks. I had a brownie and she had apple pie.

I called my neighbour Gerrie after Chantal left. I wanted to know how she was doing and ask if and when she wanted to go out to eat. Instead if talking on the phone, she came to drink tea and we made plans to go out to dinner the next day.

Wednesday May 24th:

Chores in the morning followed by a bit of YouTube. In the Afternoon a short FaceTime with Emily before getting ready to go out with Gerrie.

We went to the local pancake restaurant and decided to pretend we were on vacation. So all naughty foods were allowed. I had a pancake topped with pulled port, melted old cheese, onion and pepper. Gerrie had one topped with bacon. I drank a cola but did also order water as that helps keep an eventual sugar hyper under control if I eat naughty food. Dessert consisted of a small cheesecake, whipped cream, ice cream and strawberries, which I swapped for Gerrie’s raspberries. I’m allergic to strawberries and prefer being able to breathe as opposed to eating or even touching them. It was such a great evening. Fun conversations and extremely yummy food. We drank a cup of tea at my house afterwards before she went home.

I was so full that going to bed on time wasn’t going to work. So I called Emily and her niece on FaceTime. I played Roblox with her niece for a couple hours. We were online with a few others in an experience where we had to drawsomething and the others had to guess what it is. Quite the challenge with my low vision and horrible drawing skills but Emily’s niece (only 8 yrs old) was very helpful. We had fun. It was dark by the time we were done. So they stayed with me on FaceTime until I got into bed. So no panic.

Thursday May 25th:

This week has flown by. Just one more sleep until Jessica comes home. I did a couple chores, Watched YouTube and caught up with The Bold And The Beautiful on Videoland. I ate a healthy dinner. Minced beef with carrots and beans in Boboti sauce. In the evening I put a handful of chips in a bowl and ate them with cheese dip while watching a movie on Netflix. Chupa is a cute, family friendly movie with a moral about family. Worth watching.

Friday May 26th:

By the time I woke up, Jessica had already left her hotel in Greece and was halfway to the greek airport. Time to get some chores done before she comes home this evening. It was nice weather, so I even opened the curtsins and window in her bedroom, mine too, to let some fresh air in.

After lunch I did some things on the computer and afterwards tried to watch one more movie on Netflix. I wasn’t halfway when the doirbell rang. Medical supplies delivery. Oops, forgot about that. I put everything away and took the three cardboard boxes out into the yard. I sat in the sun while tearing them so that they’d fit in the paper container.

Jessica was back in the Netherlands in a train on her way home. So I watched some youTube while waiting. She picked up burgers on her way to our house. So we ate dinner at the dining table together as soon as she came in. Afterwards we unpacked her suitcase together and she showed me some of the souvenirs she brought. We then sat infront of the TV and she syncronises her phone with it so I could see all her photos while she told stories about her week. It was a wonderful show!

I though I’d spend the week feeling sad and struggling to feel safe at night in my bed but, it was completely the opposite. I’ve had a great week. Surrounded by nice people and doing fun activities. The first night going upstairs to bed was weird as Jessica of course didn’t go up at the same time to her bed. The night routines were otherwise normal and I felt perfectly safe. I also haven’t once needed to push that alarm button. Bonus!

So glad we did this. Jessica had a wonderful opportunity to get away from all responsibilities, including those as caregiver. I had the opportunity to learn, that even though my disabilities can be very limiting, I’m still very capable!

If you want to read about Jessica’s vacation, click Here.