Friday, December 14, 2018

TGIF

Good news on the health front: my latest Holter monitor test, which lasted 48 hours, shows a marked decrease in the number of premature heart beats I'm experiencing.  So, the medication seems to be doing its job somewhat.  Next question for the doc is: can I increase the meds for even better results?  Stay tuned.  And while this is good news, I'm still feeling pretty exhausted most of the time.  That could be due to my sedentary life, which is not helping in any way, shape, or form.  I get so winded when just walking, that I'm loathed to do so, and so....It's a vicious circle that I must break.

This was a good week for entertainment: An Americana music trio on Monday, a performance of Handle's Messiah on Wednesday, and the Davis High School Madrigals on Thursday bringing us Christmas music.


I've been feeling a bit down in the mouth around my health stuff, so live performances of music have been especially wonderful to experience.

There was a fella at the showing of Messiah (on DVD on the big screen in the auditorium) who was from Memory Care, and the dear man thought the performance was a sing-a-long. Turns out, he was a singer in his native land of Scotland. He was corrected, gently, and proceeded to watch with great wonder. He wiped away tears of joy. A sight to behold. He had a wonderful vest on in colors of Scottish red and green plaid -- dressed nicely for the occasion. My husband and I offered to usher him back to the unit since his caregiver hadn't shown up. Dear man kept asking "Where are we going? I'm confused." We gently assured him we were taking him home. His caregiver arrived when we were half way down the hall and he greeted her with a big embrace, still wiping away tears of joy.  We really do live in a loving and caring community.

On the way back to our place, I ran into Sheri who let me know that all the greeting cards I'd made for the Nook have sold out and people are wanting more.  So, more printing and pasting for me!

Hope you are enjoying the month of December, however you celebrate and even if you don't! There's always Solstice, right?

6 comments:

  1. Sending love! Good to hear that the medicine has made a measurable difference and that you had the energy to enjoy the music performances. So moving to hear about the man from Scotland wanting to sing along. There is a distinct look to Bellingham around the Winter Solstice near sunset. Often the sky is dark on one side and light on the other just as the sun in going down between 4:00 and 4:30. There are gusty winds. The hills and trees turn golden in that light. It's not even 5:00 and quite dark now.

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  2. So glad to hear that the medication is doing its job. Perhaps it may inspire you to hear about my father: he had to retire early as a result of emphysema and asked the doctor what would help the condition. "Regular walking" was the reply. At first Dad could not walk more than a couple of hundred yards but he persevered, walking a little further each day, and within a few months was able to walk up to five miles. He did this walk almost every day for the next twenty years until he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 85.

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    1. thank you, John, that is exactly the kind of inspiration I need!

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  3. Such good news about the medication working, Tara! I like John's story about his father walking and getting up to five miles a day. Yes! Sounds like a good way to start the new year with regular walks. Oh that story of the man from Memory Care reminded me so much of my mom. Sigh. I love that you and Steve helped him on his way back to the ward. Wonderful news about your greeting cards too. Celebrating solstice here soon. That's definitely our holiday. Happy holidays to you too.

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  4. Glad to hear the good news that the meds are working. It is possible that the medications are making you feel a bit more tired than usual, making one more thing you have to work around.

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    1. true! I was looking up the Amiodarone today (the med that quiets the electrical activity) and indeed one of the side effects is fatigue. The side effect of the beta blocker is low bp, which I already have in spades. But the good news is I've not been having excessive dizziness or any low bp symptoms. I just have to keep making adjustments and be kind to myself. You must know a lot about that with your experiences over the past year!

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