Hospice will be disenrolling Mary, but that's not as bad as it sounds.
Our social worker is contacting a group of visiting physicians to, hopefully, get Mary enrolled. Not sure how Medicare will save money on this. We don't mind paying for our own supplies, since they're pretty reasonable on Amazon.
Mary's bed wetting problem has lessened. I accidentally discovered that when I completely stopped her medication, not her blood sugar medications, but her tummy medications for her Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
She had stopped having bowel movements for 2 or 3 days, so I immediately stopped her Pepto Bismol and her lorazapam. Both can cause constipation. I switched from cream cheese to butter on her French Toast. On the third day her constitutionals (British terminology) reappeared. Surprisingly, they actually had some form, small loose pellets. After her intestines were shortened, I was told she would always have diarrhea.
The lorazepam doesn't help Mary sleep. What helps her to sleep is for me to go to bed and make the room dark. I only give it to her once in the afternoon when she's the most restless.
She sleeps so deeply from 3 am to dawn that she forgets to use the restroom, but she's pretty diligent after we change her clothing, so accidents during the daylight hours are less and less frequent.
The solution that the Wound Care Center came up with for my lymphedema was adjustable compression stockings that go from my ankles to just below my knee. They chose this style because I can put them on by myself.
It was surprising how debilitated I became during the healing process. I became so weak that I couldn't lift myself out of a a chair or the toilet. That was pretty scary. Once the compression was back, my strength returned.
The limitations of the new compression stockings are they don't reduce the swelling in my feet. The clumsiness of my slightly swollen feet have made me lose confidence in my formerly superior driving skills, so I decided to hang up the car keys and return Mary's leased car to the Ford Dealer. Fortunately we live in the ideal town for being without a car.
I am uncertain if my balance issues will ever be resolved completely. Both a cane and a rollator, plus a safety officer might be in my long term future. We will see. God is in charge. I feel blessed that I am able to take care of myself and Mary also, and that I have so many helpful members of the family and friends also.
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