01.06.12

Well...this has been a difficult week as Don is retaining fluid, his cough is more pronounced, and he has an ache-type pain around his diaphragm and mid back near the bottom of the shoulder blade(scapula).  The doctor has increased his diuretic again in hopes that the fluid will drain away, but after 3 days Don has only lost about 1.5 lbs.  This all causes him to be a little weaker and often needs some assistance getting out of bed or up from a chair.

It's so very hard to think up menu items that he will like, that is low sodium, and that's a little different from his usual fare, plus needs to have a high calorie count.  As a rule, I fix something that will go with my Weight Watchers and then add enough to just his portion for a higher calorie count; sometimes that amounts to bread and butter or even just a dessert.  Don's tastes are changing, or maybe it's my tastes that are changing.  Whichever it is, I'm finding that more and more things that I really enjoy are things that Don doesn't want, can't tolerate, or just doesn't appeal.  One more hurdle to get over.

It took all day today to get his bedding washed, dried, and reset along with getting him washed up, oiled down, and clean pajamas.  Along with the meals that was the complete day!  ugh!

I weighed myself Thursday for the first time in 4 weeks.  I didn't see any reason to weigh myself during the holidays and then get frustrated so I waited.  I am only 2 lbs. over my lowest from 4 weeks ago and that's wonderful news.  Now, it's time to get rid of the 2 lbs. then lose some more beyond that.

Thursday morning I went to Walmart to get a few things and decided to browse through the grocery section to see what they had to offer.  Well...they have some things that the grocery stores don't i.e. Starkist low sodium albacore tuna, cases of 8/6oz. Yoplait yogurts that Don and I both eat daily, a much wider selection of Progresso Reduced Sodium soups, puffed brown rice cereal(salt free).  I try not to buy groceries from the great evil empire, but it just can't be helped when they have these wonderful things that I need for health reasons.

Last evening I went to The Legends area with my brother and sister-in-law.  They needed to go to the Nike store and then we went to Bob Evans for supper.  They enjoyed a breakfast and I had a salad.  It was a good outing and got me out for a couple of hours.  Tomorrow night I'll be going to the dinner theatre with Mark and Marcey and I'm looking forward to that as we always enjoy the show and our time together.  Don doesn't go any longer since he can't sit there for 3+ hours and that's so sad since it was one of his favorite things.

Time passes and lifetime plans get changed whether we want it or not.  If we turn to God and seek his reassurance, love, and protection we can deal with these changes and dilemmas.  I read a wonderful phrase:
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal.  Amen to that.

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