Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Not a Piece of Cake

The world can change directions for you on the turn of a dime, when you're a caregiver. Our world had a major collapse a few days ago. Just when I was rejoicing over having a new chore provider to help with some of the tougher household jobs around here, Dean was creating a new work load right under our noses.

Over the past few weeks, I had been pointing out to his home health nurse some gradual symptoms he'd been having. He had even seen his primary care doctor last Monday to see what might be going on.

Dean would report that he didn't feel well, I noticed he wasn't eating as much, was more grouchy, and slightly lethargic, just subtle things. (Thought it might have to do with oxygen, because he was having a harder time keeping his oxygen saturation levels normal. We'd been to his pulmonolgist too and they had doubled his oxygen intake at night.)

As it turned out, after two days of his drinking water almost constantly, I took him to the emergency room (it was a Friday again, of course). His blood sugars were incredibly high--810 as a matter of fact! We're talking a potentially fatal situation. It was a wonder he was able to walk into the hospital by himself.

To make a long story short, he's now in a rehab facility trying to get his blood sugars regulated with insulin shots. I am going back and forth in my fears over what this means for his future, well, our future, because the story hasn't ended.

We're both trying to take it one day at a time. Trusting God to guide me in some heartrending decisions. Not sure I can continue taking care of him at home. If I were healthier myself, and if Dean didn't have the dementia he has, this diabetes would be a piece of cake. Oops, if I let Dean read this post, he'll beg for some cake, probably DEMAND it. You get my drift...

Dean trying to gum an apple a few days before his blood sugars were discovered high--glad it wasn't a piece of cake!




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