Busy day

The dog lives in luxury; this is where he spends his spare time, and if he’s not there, he complains extensively and pushes at me to get here.  I know, I encourage this, so it’s up to me to try to correct it.  He was being shunned for a bit, but then I let him up so I could corral him better, and he just looked so smug it was insufferable!  It’s been delightfully cooler for the last couple of days, with a breeze that almost sent me hunting for sweaters and throw blankets!  It’s the kind of weather where you need a sweater to go outside, and it’s great for a hot drink in the evenings.  Don has a slew of games recorded, so he’ll be busy for a while LOL plus he’s booked appointments for his eyes and to renew his driver’s licence and all those types of things over the next few weeks.  

I don’t understand why I’m having difficulty breathing these days.  It’s a bit humid, yes, but it is lower than it was during the recent heat wave.  I’ve had to resort to using an inhaler more often than I did.  It also occurred to me that I’m not eating enough on a regular basis, even with my appetite feeling more normal.  I had that revelation when I realized that I’d eaten just a sandwich over 2 meals.  So I’ll be working on addressing that!  

Today I was booked to attend (via teleconference) a seminar for the palliative care research network.  It looked at advancements in palliative care, and included several patient partners — who were actually caregivers — who spoke about the benefits of the program.  When I first was assigned to the palliative care unit, I was a little scared, as I thought it meant that I was being placed on end-of-life care; I, like many people, had the image that “palliative care” and “hospice care” meant that your life expectancy was measurable in weeks or months.  It’s not.  I’m happy to say that the team has been great in providing a holistic approach to care.  Among other things, they handle pain management, home care, diet, psychological support, physical therapy and so on.  There is a need for palliative care beds for people who are bedridden, and this becomes a bit of a crunch, but I prefer to be at home and we’re working with that as my standard of care.  That means that they often have to figure out at home resources that can support me — like finding a dietitian who does not promote smoothies as the only solution! — in addition to my visits to the clinic.  Anyway, today’s seminar was interesting, and I learned a few things about the services that are available.  There’s a movement to try to connect underserved communities more, and it’s stunning how many there are!  Apparently men are less likely to reach out for support, as are lower socioeconomic groups, the unhomed, and in many cases, immigrant communities whose primary languages aren’t English or French.  Eye opening, in fact.

Off to take my meds and head in to sleep.  I’m trying to shift my sleep pattern so I wake up before 10am!  I find that I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night and not going back to sleep for 3 - 4 hours, then I doze off around 6am and wake up around 9:30/10, which I think is a bit late.  So I’m off… good night!