October 15, 2020

-

 'Mom, why do I have to feel so sick?!?'  Those pleading eyes. Please fix it for me.  

The headache was still there when Marlon woke up this morning.  Today's rainy drive was so much different from yesterday's bright, sunny one.  At the clinic they suggest Tylenol for his headache which he said no to.  So Judy said some people find that caffeine helps.  Before we left, I bought Marlon a hot chocolate and added some of my green tea to it.  He enjoyed the drink but it didn't change his headache at all.  When we got home I gave him some kombucha as well.  After one sip he was nauseous and hanging over the container.  He retched and gagged over it for quite a while before everything finally did come up.  He didn't feel any better.  Just kept throwing up until he feel asleep.

I had planned to go into Guelph to run a few errands.  He said he didn't want me to go.  After he fell asleep Thomas agreed I might as well leave.  Perhaps we were thinking he would have a long nap like he did the other day.  I hadn't even made it to Guelph (driven by Peter) and there was a message saying he woke up and was still throwing up.  After a while he was ok for a bit and then not again.  I had 5 stops to make and was not very fast to return.  By the time I did, Thomas was stressed and tired.  Marlon was using the distraction of computer.

In the evening he did manage to drink and eat and keep his food down but that headache is still raging in him. He was looking for connections between the days.  If I don't eat or drink anything during the car ride, I will be ok.  Who knows, but if he thinks something may work I am happy for him to believe it and prove it to be so.


This whole experience has been very humbling in more ways than I can count.  The helpfulness and kind loving, caring support that is all around.  The volunteers. The doctors that know so much.  I can be soft but I am obstinate and head strong and don't take orders or even direction very well.  I'd really like to hope I am learning but there are so many layers to observe and unravel. What do I know? Who am I to have an opinion? This isn't my battle, I am a support person…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

November 10, 2022 (2)

-
Image
Today, I dropped Marlon off at outdoor school and met up with a friend I have only seen a handful of times in the last 20+ years.  She was in the area for the passing of a family member. i then went for a walk with Mina.  I watched and she poised herself in hunting position and pounced.  I saw a squirrel run up a tiny little tree but also heard this pitiful whining.  At first, confused, I wondered if she had pounced on a nest in the ground.  But the dog ran to me, crying and whining, holding up her paw.  We were a ways from home and she hobbled carefully home after we sat for a while and she calmed down.  She will often run the perimeter of fields, running this way and that.  I saw her longing to run the field as we made our way back but she was uncomfortable and limping. A short while later, I went to pick up Marlon and watched in amazement as he hobbled to the car.  Yes, he had hurt his foot within an hour of the dog hurting herself.  Both boy and dog are limping.  Just as they were
Read more

July 7, 2022

-
Image
On May 23rd, the week before the chemo that weakened Marlon enough to put him in the hospital, the dog, the boy, and I drove to Montreal. (I am aware of the use of the word 'go' when writing. In German, the verb 'to go' means walking. You don't 'go' in a car.) Before we left, as I was packing up the car, I noticed a fair sized spider web between the driver's side view mirror and the car. I left it alone, figuring the wind would blow it off. It was so nice to see Linsy and Moira and spend time with them. I have missed having Linsy around. It was neat that, when we got there, Olivia, Jamey, and Roka, their dog, were there. They live 15 minutes away from us but were there visiting their son. Mina was definitely happy to see Roka (and all the others too).   Mina got used to walking on sidewalks and being in the city. Other people and dogs, not so much. Moira has given me a belt with a dog lead on it for hands-free walking. It worked but was even bett
Read more

July 5, 2022

-
Image
Decision was made that Marlon was to go check blood counts on Monday.  We drove down to Hamilton together, quick finger poke, and then leave again.  A couple of times, we drove around the parking garage for almost a half-hour looking for a spot, but Monday was smooth.  Busy place. Blood counts are good so dental work begins.  Marlon's doctor was impressed with the dentist when she spoke with him last week.  In support, I sit next to him in the dentist's room and hope my own anxiety, discomfort, and fear don't affect him. Halfway through the drilling of four teeth which was quite intense, they took a little break to check in with Marlon and see if he was up to continue.  He agreed to do more but said he was most concerned about the tastes of the filling material.  With the pain and discomfort of the first part, one would think that would be the least of his worries but he is very sensitive to taste and flavour.  As it turned out he didn't gag or react too strongly so I g
Read more