Mom awoke, this morning (yes, she actually awoke in the technical morning)...
...with a sore throat sounding like a frog, so I made an executive decision. I decided, without the advice of physicians, to administer a course of antibiotics that I refilled, just in case, a couple of weeks ago while she was suffering from her second "virus, not an infection" at the rehab facility. I've had the script for this refill since the end of February, when Mom picked up the flu from me and her PCP in Mesa prescribed two courses of it back to back to keep her from developing pneumonia. He included a third refill. Since, on hospice, he is no longer Mom's doctor but he was her oblique doctor while she was at the facility, I ran the refill through the pharmacy, thinking, at the time, that if I determined, in the face of the facility's refusal to administer antibiotics, she could be helped by them, I'd administer them on the sly. I never did this at the facility, as she recovered from both "viruses, not infections"...at least, she seemed to. Today, though, I decided I'd had enough. Maybe, I considered, her sudden susceptibility to colds is a part of her cancerous decline. Maybe, though, it isn't. With the evidence of the sore throat I decided that it was time to find out...something...maybe I won't know what for a couple of days. So, I started the antibiotics today. Funny thing. Within 12 hours she was standing from her various chairs, including her wheelchair, which is a notoriously difficult stand for her, with an ease I haven't witnessed in some weeks. She was picking her feet up to move and turn herself without thinking about it, which she's only been doing with hesitation and much reminding since she began rehab. She's standing straight with ease and remaining standing without a problem. She still has her cold, of course. I didn't expect the antibiotics to whisk that away. But, I swear, something else, "[not] a virus, an infection", has probably been having a heyday in her body for some time, now. I suspect it probably sneaked in right after (or, possibly, during) her oral Levaquin course following the hospital administered IV antibiotics, which was administered by the "respite" care place she was in for five days and was given without thought to the timing of her iron supplements, even though I brought the hazards of doing so to the attention of the medication administrators twice.
    I could, of course, be wrong about everything and maybe she'll just keep getting "colds" every week and a half, now, until she dies. As well, perhaps I'm setting her up for a later episode of antibiotic resistance. But, you know, you pays yer money and you takes yer chances. And, anyway, this course is obviously doing her some good. I'm hoping to continue to report over the rest of the five day course that this chance I'm taking with her is the chance that needed to be taken.
    I'm still suffering from my cold. Today has been the worst day, yet. I even took a four hour nap (which pleased Mom, since she also got a four hour nap) and arose as exhausted as I was when I laid down. So, I'm not going to report much more, right now...I'm headed for bed. I've unplugged the phone so I can sleep in tomorrow. I told Mom of my intention and she responded giddily: "Oh, good! I think I'll do that, too! You can never get too much rest when you've got a cold, you know!" Today has proved to me she's right about that.
    Oh, before I forget, I want to report that the ramps work well with a Mom-full wheelchair. I had no qualms about the outside ramp, as it describes a gentle angle. The one inside into the living room, though, had me freaked since, of necessity, it is short and steep. We used it today and were successful on the second try. It's not easy and, no doubt, I'll be developing super strong arms as shoulders using it, but I can negotiate it and it certainly won't hurt me to strengthen those parts of my body. Yes, I'm careful about my back. I may enlist MPNP to design a second one with a slightly less steep angle, although, frankly, the layout of our living room probably won't allow for something as gentle as the outside ramp. So far, we've only used the indoor ramp once, it probably wasn't necessary since Mom has been taking the steps since she arrived home and probably could have taken them tonight with even more ease than in the last few days, but I was itching to see if it would work for us. It did.
    This is it.
    Later.
- posted by Gail Rae @ 00:06   email  this post