Tonight, I played with a recipe and made Mom some yummy friend chicken (nearly KFC-flavor) that was low in salt. I know, shocked me, too! But it was actually easy and it worked and she loved it! I like making her smile. With potatoes and veggies, she had a balanced, low-sodium dinner that she actually enjoyed. Score one for frying everything in oil! =P
Her belly is still huge and full of ascites. Still leftover from the hospital stay. We increased her water pill dosages, so we ran out water pills faster than expected. I ordered them from the pharmacy, but it took them 3 weeks to get it to us, so she didn't have any for about a week. Her feet keep swelling every time she walks (the fluid goes to her feet), and it's putting a lot of pressure on her hernia. I think she needs to be tapped, but she's scared of it and it hurts, so she's refusing. The liver doc said get tapped or increase the pills, so we increased the pills. It'll take a while longer for her belly to go down, and she's in pretty bad pain, so maybe she'll change her mind about being tapped. We'll see.
We're only a few days away from meeting the new doctor. I'm trying to prepare things for him; medical histories, medication lists, referrals that need to be extended or changed or requested, etc. We'll see if he's willing to take on the challenge that is Mom. I'm hoping he'll at least give us the scripts for the meds she's running out of until we can switch to another doctor. Her old one is so incredibly spiteful that he's refusing to write her scripts. She still got her blood test at the lab, and they sent the results to the old PCP, and his nurse did call and tell us they had them. She said she's sending us the results from the past few tests, but I doubt it. That office is coming down with multiple complaints from multiple places - patients, insurance, and providers...I don't know how he'll stay in business for much longer. I really hope the new guy becomes our saving grace. I'm crossing fingers.
Other than all the insurance crap, life is pretty much the same here. It's the off-season for shows, so I won't be at any craft fairs for another month or two. I'm making custom orders, so hopefully that will yield more caregiver money. I'm also carving out a plan on how to reduce the clutter and clear out the house of Biogran's estate. I'm starting with the office. The living room is going to get crowded, but the office is going to get organized, and then the dining room, and then the living room. We have quite a bit to sell, and a lot of it needs to be researched and priced, so it'll take me some time. But I'm hoping it'll keep me busy for a while and keep us in caregiver funds.
Big party at the caregiver's on Tuesday - it's a tri-birthday celebration. I'm hoping Mom will have a good time. She loves the caregiver and has become quite attached to the people at her church and is really trying to read the bible. Actually....several bibles. She has a few devotionals and different versions, large print, King James, New International...she's not sure which one to read, so she reads a little bit of each on any given day. She had an eye appointment and got glasses, and it's the cutest thing to see her reading with her glasses on the very tip of her nose and her eye mask on top of her head. I laugh every time. The glasses are only for seeing close up, so she puts them on the edge of her nose so that she can read and watch TV at the same time, but then she always forgets that an eye mask is not a normal fashion accessory. I have to take a pic one of these days.
Don't forget to sign up for the walk. Tell everyone about it! I'll be asking for donations to get me to my goal after the new year, but for now, I'm asking people to walk with me. I found a wonderfully nice woman, a survivor of life, who's founded a non-profit sober house for women and children. I told her I'd try to help her any way I can. I don't have money or a whole lot of time, but I have a little bit of time and contacts. You never know what tiny thing you know or can do that might open someone else up to something amazing and change everything for them. I love seeing people helping other people, and I love helping them do it. So you'll be seeing ads for a family fun night up here soon.
And now, time for hot chocolate with a peppermint candy in the bottom. :)
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