If you're interested in watching my mother's hemoglobin bounce around...
...you'll be thrilled to know that I just finished entering all her blood tests since 1/21/08, as follows:
    1/21/08
    2/28/08
    3/3/08
    3/13/08
    3/20/08
    The most interesting is the one for 3/13/08. That's the one drawn during her last PCP appointment. Interesting observations:

• Despite the fact that she's taking 900 mg of iron daily, her Iron reading is in the normal range.
• Although still out of range, her cholesterol numbers are coming down, even though she was not fasting at the time of the blood draw.
• Looking over all for tests, I'm surprised at the hemoglobin drop on 3/13/08. I'm wondering if it took a .5 plunge based strictly on her physical reaction to the trip that day.

    Some of the tests show high C02 (Bicarbonate). MCS told me a while back when this first showed up on 2/28/08 that it may be high beause she's having trouble getting 02 through her lungs on account of the cold she was (and still is, to some extent) suffering; thus, she's also having trouble distributing it throughout her body. At this point, I'm not sure if she's continuing to hang on to the tail end of her cold or reacting to allergens in the air, which are rising because the blooming season has begun. This is a possibility, too. Her already compromised lungs may be having a bit more trouble because it's allergen time, again. I've noticed that within the last week I was able to dial her down to 3/lpm when she was awake without a problem. Then, a few days later, she seemed to need 4/lpm while awake. Last night she was okay with 3/lpm again. Today, though, she's been needing 4/lpm.
    I'm ready for the appointment with the hematologist on Wednesday. Today I faxed him an Anemia History, a Diagnostic Review of all her conditions and a Current Medication Chart. It could be that he would be able to cull all this information from the records that her PCP faxed to him last week, but I'm hoping my reviews will make things easier on him.

   Over the last week or so, every night, Mom has been obsessed with the idea that she "has to go to school tomorrow." I haven't asked whether she has to go as a teacher or a student. She's been using it as an excuse to go to bed really early, even though each time she's admitted that she's not tired, she just "has to get up early for school." Since she's freely admitting her lack of sleepiness, rather than playing along I've been disabusing her of the notion that she's "got school tomorrow". It's the funniest thing, really. Each night, once I convince her that she doesn't have to worry about school the following day, usually by reminding her that she's retired, she's 90, she used to "have school" but she doesn't, any longer, she heaves a huge sigh of relief and says, "Well, good, I didn't want to go to bed, anyway. Let's watch another movie."
    One of the movies (besides Jesus movies, from which I am pleased to announce my mother needed occasional breaks) we watched was a rental called The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn. I had very little idea what it was about when I rented it, but my mother loves movies that feature Sydney Poitier and this was one we hadn't watched. During the movie, an intriguing comment was made by a character in the movie about one of the possible reasons why some people live to be very old and very healthy. I've transcribed the bit of conversation from the movie, below:

YOUNG NOAH: Mom says you never get sick. She says the Lord never wants to take you. She said you're the oldest man in the world.
HIS UNCLE SILAS: Well, I'll tell you a secret. When a man loves his work, truly loves it, sickness and death will get tired of chasing you and just finally give up and leave you alone. Clear your mind of all that concerns you and do the right thing with those hands that God gave you.

    Mind you, I don't think this is the be all and end all. I think that a lot of people live to be old and remain healthy who aren't particularly satisfied with or involved in their lives. I've met some of them. As well, I've known a few people who were very involved in their work in the world, completely and ecstatically taken over with it and still fell prey to illness and a short lifespan. However, I've known a few that fit the above description, as well, the most prominent being my paternal grandfather. Although he didn't appear to obviously be called to a recognizable form of work, as is the character Noah Dearborn and his Uncle Silas, it would be fair to say that his "work", with which he was consumed, was a keen interest in every aspect of life of which he became aware. When he died in his mid nineties not a few relatives observed that after he broke his knee six months earlier and was no longer able to get around easily, which was important to his curiosity and his character, he "lost interest", as many said, in life and left. "Natural causes due to old age" was the official explanation on his death certificate.
    Although my mother is by no means one of the healthy old, despite her dementia and her physical challenges she retains a keen interest in life and I have often speculated that it is this interest that keeps her going. Her dementia, in fact, works on her behalf in a peculiar way: It keeps her convinced that she is able to do and continues to do much more than she actually can and does.
    It's not all attitude, I'm convinced of that. My observation tells me that, in many cases, attitude has absolutely nothing to do with "it". If it were all, or even mostly, attitude many, many people who've been cut down prematurely (no matter what their age) would be healthy and alive or would have lived much longer lives. As I write this I'm ticking off a lengthy list of people I know (or of whom I know) to whom this applies. However, if one has fairly good genes, lives during a time and in a place when and where certain communicable diseases are not running rampant, lives in an area (or areas) where environmental factors are not stealing energy from or twisting the energy of the living and has the luck not to have inherited and/or developed a devastating internal-haywire type of disease, I think an attitude that incorporates a keen, life-long interest in something, anything, helps camouflage some people, like my mother, from the grim reaper.
    As well, I'm truly amazed that the woman is still alive and has a kind of internal drive which allows me to know that, for instance, barring an asteroid falling on our house, she'll be alive tomorrow. So, it doesn't have much to do with whether others have faith in one's ability to survive, either.
    What is it? What is it? What is it? I know we're trying busily, at this point in our evolution, to crack the code. We even think we're close. I think, though, that we have many more surprises in store for us. Some of those surprises will surely be unpleasant. I suspect, for instance, that my mother's and her parents' generations will sport longer life spans in the actuarial tables than will mine, at least in this country, despite all the "medical miracles" that have been developed over the last century. Some of the surprises, though, will be very pleasant and generate within us hope and the determination to continue to pursue the question of longevity; and they will be mind-boggling surprises like, well, my mother.
    Later.
- posted by Gail Rae @ 19:52   email  this post