Tony; it’s been a big week #BlogJune 7

I’ve been saying for a while on FB that Tony isn’t very well, but haven’t gone into a lot of detail. I’m more open on Twitter because family don’t see it (with one exception – sorry Ro!). It’s where a lot of my support network is. Now it’s time to put a bit more on my blog.

Tony’s got multiple complex health needs – diabetes, kidneys, congestive heart failure & AF, peripheral vascular disease, lung issues and there’s serious problems with his gut. We’re not investigating any of it because he doesn’t want much intervention and isn’t well enough for surgery etc. He lives on Fortisip, yoghurt, and ‘baby veges’ i.e. mashed potato, pumpkin, carrot etc and very occasionally a tiny bit of pork sausage from Normanby Butchers cooked by Tairoa Lodge. Oddly, it’s about the only meat he can eat.

He had a fall last Sunday and again early this morning. No broken bones, but a decent bruise and painful lump on the back of his neck. Hospice think he’s having TIA (transient ischemic attacks) which are like mini strokes caused by a clot blocking blood supply in the brain.

They seem to come in swarms, leave him very sleepy, with slurred speech for a bit and a few other physical signs such as his hands dropping constantly. He also talks rubbish for a bit – we’ve both had a few laughs out of it. I can kind of spot when they’re going to start now, which isn’t as useful as it sounds! After they stop, he sleeps deeply, often for only a few seconds or minutes at a time, but falls asleep over and over for hours.

I am booked to go for a break at the end of this week. His brother Roger and a caregiver/friend, Janet, were going to look after him at home between them. After this morning’s fall we’ve agreed that’s not safe so he is going into Te Mahana for respite care, and to try it out. It’s a big step but feels inevitable.

A stroke, vocal cords & knitting!

It’s a month since I blogged, which tells me all kinds of things. No, I’m not 100% yet. Yes, I’m keeping up well with work, but it takes a toll. Yes, it’s too cold in my home office to spend much time in here!

I went to the Dr after seeing the ENT and she confirmed the stroke diagnosis because I have “foot drop” on the same side as the frozen vocal cord and lazy hand (which has healed already). She’s sending me to a neurologist for a check-up. A month on from the ENT specialist appointment  I keep telling people my voice is healing but, in reality, the improvement is pretty minimal so this is certainly a long husky road.

Over the last couple of months I have edged ever so slowly towards my goal weight of 75kg. I’ve felt okay being 77-78kg but it would have felt like a giant fail if I didn’t meet the surgeon’s goal weight for me. I’ve read about a lot of people who never got there, or regained, and I am determined not to go down that path.

In the last couple of weeks I have reached my goal weight, which just feels so good. And now, bizarrely, I am losing weight a bit quicker again, and am down to 72.8kg this morning. I was told I’d probably go lower eventually, and suspect I may end up sitting around 70kg.

On the doing side, it’s too cold to craft much in my office so I have taken up knitting again – something I haven’t done for 25+ years and something I was never that good at. I’ve competed one jersey, the front of another, and am taking a break from the 12ply and big needles to knit a 4ply Merino jersey for a library friend. It’s nice to sit in the lounge in the evenings with Tony and have something to do.