Memories Monday

As we approach the one year anniversary of the sudden floods, landslides and winds that impacted a mountain region of North Carolina, I am going to share a few things from my memories, and those of others who experienced this extraordinary event.

Here for You (After Hurricane Helene) by David LaMotte

This month people here in Black Mountain/Swannanoa/Asheville are celebrating/remembering the Hurricane Helene events of Sept. 27 2024. Here are some remembrances.

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More immediately, and close to home, I've had some kind of crud which is strange, 'cause I seldom have gut issues, but low back pain seems to be the main symptom. Of course I have my intermittent fever, night sweats, as well as the coughing that goes with Bronchiectasis/COPD. 

Now I'm so short of breath that I don't even feel I could walk to the car, let alone drive. Though sitting is something I'm quite comfortable doing. But it wasn't sudden, and no signs of circulatory problems, or I'd have called 911 by now. 

I may haul the old bod over to my local M.D. tomorrow (writing this Sunday night) if it doesn't have any improvement by then. I've hesitated because they usually just clap another course of antibiotics on me. That isn't really good for me, as they'll even agree. But it does kill bacterial infections. Just not viral ones. And so they'll test me for COVID too. OK. Need to do that anyway I guess.

This is just immediate care needs. I also have 3 referrals to chase down...one for PT is really my own  fault, because I was too anxious the night before the evaluation last Friday, at a new place at an early time...so I didn't sleep much at all and canceled it. So now I hope to be able to get started on PT sometime soon, but will need to chase down the opportunity myself.

The other two are based on the blood work at the neurologist last week, to a Rheumatologist and a Hematologist...for more testing probably. So I will patiently await a call for those appointments.

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10 AM update. Nurse practitioner at my GP doctor recommended having chest x-ray. So Helen is going to drive me to ER in Ashville. I’ll let you know.!

There's thinking you know about your future and...

From a post Oct. 6. 2016

 Reading "Being Mortal" which has more information than I expected.

Ah, having worked with elder people doesn't give me any extra insight into how to be one.

This is one book that I think everyone should read, young and old.  It points out a huge hole in our culture, one where every one of us will eventually slide.  That of the final infirmities and lack of good models of care for us.  The current treatment is once you have infirmities of the body, you need to be in a regimented nursing home, where you suddenly lose all your independence and become just one more cog to be given treatments like scheduled medication, bathing, toileting, and feeding.  There may be some better options for those who have a lot of funds.  There is still a dirth of  good care for all the rest of us.

(me then)

And yes, the author gives great examples of how geriatric care is different than regular medical treatment.  Do you know how? (I hate to say it, read the book!)

(Me 2023)

Not enough geriatricians are being developed...physicians who specialize in care for the elderly and dying.  There isn't any incentive.  They are paid less, have fewer courses of study, and don't have any incentive to work with the population which will be increasing exponentially in the next decade.

The author of "Being Mortal," Atul Gawade, quotes Chad Boult, the geriatrics professor... 

"In a year, fewer than three hundred doctors will complete geriatrics training in the United States, not nearly enough to replace the geriatricians going into retirement, let alone meet the needs of the next decade.  Geriatric psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers are equally needed, and in no better supply.  The situation in countries outside the United States appears to be little different.  In many, it is worse.

He goes on to say

"another strategy: he (Boult) would direct geriatricians toward training all primary care doctors and nurses in caring for the very old, instead of providing the care themselves.  Even this is a tall order - 97 percent of medical students take no course in geriatrics, and the strategy requires that the nation pay geriatric specialists to teach rather than to provide patient care.

Boult concludes

"We've got to do something, Life for older people can be better than it is today."

There is a very thorough bibliography, and I think the quotes above come from
University of Minnesota; C. Boult et al., "A Randomized Clinical Trial of outpatient Geriatric Evaluation and Management," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2001)
as well as
The American board of Medical Specialties, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; L.E. Garcez-Leme et al., "Geriatrics in Brazil: A Big Country with Big Opportunities," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2005)

Norma made a fairy house in clay

I enjoyed reading about Driving Miss Norma on Facebook recently.  A dying 91 year old woman spent her last year with her son and daughter-in-law driving in an RV around the country, where she experienced everything she wanted to.  She took her last breath September 30, 2016. I didn't discover her posts until after she was gone, but it is interesting to look at what her family posted.  This is a use of social media that I like.  And again, this is a woman who had resources with which to have such a wonderful experience in her last months.


TODAY'S QUOTE:

In being with dying, we arrive at a natural crucible of what it means to love and be loved. And we can ask ourselves this: Knowing that death is inevitable, what is most precious today? ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX

Medical notes

I won't give you the boring details.  I get fevers and chills sometimes (for the last 5 days) and when I don't have them, I feel ok.

Today I finally went to Dr.'s office, got a shot of antibiotic, gave various fluid samples for lab work, and am about to go to X-ray center to take pics of my lungs.  The Dr. couldn't get my temp below fever level, and will be seeing me tomorrow with results of all this testing.

In the meantime, I'm still having no appetite, so am losing some weight that I've not needed for some time.

Since I still have the fever, I'm glad Tina is going to drive me down the interstate.  I seem to be able to do simple things, just one at a time, and then stop to see what I should be doing next.

So now to get shoes on, pick up phone and put it in purse, then go out the door.
Simple things.