How do you forget how to walk over night? John pulls up with his walker and stands there, looking at his feet. I ask him what's going on and he says he's thinking about what to do. I tell him to take a big step. Sometimes he does. Sometimes it's a short shuffle.
Last night was awful. John didn't sleep at all, which meant I didn't sleep much. His legs jerked, jumped, kicked, and spasmed all night. He would sigh and roll over. He even took a total of 4 p.m.'s throughout the night and they didn't phase him. At 4:30 a.m. I finally went to the couch thinking if I gave him the whole bed, he could stretch out and relax. That didn't happen either. He would sit up on the edge of the bed and pull the walker to him. The sound would wake me up. I'd go in and check on him and he'd say he wasn't getting up. This routine went on until daylight. Finally he fell asleep, in time for breakfast.
He can get to the bedside potty ok by himself. Drives me nuts but he does it. He sits there, waiting. Takes about a minute or so for him to get the flow going.
After breakfast he rolled over and slept soundly. Woke up once or twice. Ate lunch, back to sleep. Maybe he was so worn out from the night, he didn't twitch. I took a LONG bubble bath. Phone rang 4 times and John never woke. His Hospice nurse came around 2:30. We woke him up and changed his bandage. John is having a hard time sitting up. It's as though he's lost his stomach muscles/core and sways and bobs like a drunk. The nurse was surprised at how large the bulge is. She measured it at 6" long and about 3" tall, but it sticks out an inch at least. His bp was high for having just woke up. The bottom number was 90. Don't remember the top one.
I bathed him and that was another ordeal. John could hardly sit up on the bath chair. Again, the whole core muscle group almost non-existant. I did a hurry-up bath today. nap
dinner in the living room
I talked to Sharon on the phone, telling her about the nurse checking with the doctor on getting John something to help him relax to sleep. I went to the dining room so he didn't have to hear it again, and when I headed back to the living room, I heard the walker, looked through the doorway and John was on the floor in front of the couch. Got him up fairly quickly and easily. He gets so aggrevated with himself. He wouldn't tell me what happened, but I think he fell asleep and rolled off the couch, or either he was reaching to put his water bottle on the coffee table and fell off the couch. The side of his pajama pants and a spot on the rug were wet. He stayed and watched tv with me until almost 10 p.m. His legs were beginning to twitch and move a lot while we sat there. It was a slow process getting back to the bedroom. I'm probably not even going in there tonight. He landed crossways the bed anyway. I can hear him sighing. Not sure if he's asleep or not.
Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with Ann and Ginger, two retired teachers, then Walmart and other errands. Mama will be with John. I've told her if he falls to call the local police and they'll send someone to pick him up. not in the usual police way tho
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