I’m moving on people – no more thinking about AHS. They will call or they won’t. They will help or they won’t.
Now to conquer edema! We’ll see how I do….
Dad has been sitting around a lot more lately and it shows. It shows as swelling in his legs, ankles and feet. Plus the whole lack of drinking water isn’t helping, never mind the excessive heat.
So I have a plan! First of all, I’ve given him a little list of “things to do daily” like squats, rotating ankles, wiggling toes, soaking feet in epsom salts, going for a walk, lying on the floor with his feet on his couch or using his pedaller, etc etc. I know, I know….but will he look at the list, understand the list or simply throw out the list? And yeah, all those are possible so I’ve followed up with lots of talk of….guess who….my Auntie Lil!
He still really wants to go to Winnipeg and we finally convinced him that he cannot go by himself. He was sad but immediately phoned Lil to say “my memory issues are just too much for me to travel by myself”. Wow, huh?
Our hope is to take him in late August IF my husband gets the “okay” to fly from his surgeon. (yes, gas in eyes during surgery = no flying for many weeks) But Dad’s edema does not bode well for flying and I really won’t take him if we can’t solve this.
So now he’s been going for walks, elevating his legs by lying on the floor with his feet up on his couch, soaking his feet, wearing his compression socks, etc etc. YAY! But I have to stay on top of it daily of course.
Next I have to conquer those ingrown toenails of his, which are again returning to haunt us.
But his balance is improving! “Chin up” is what the neighbors keep hearing from our house on a daily basis. (I could add “elbows up” too – haha) The more I can get him to look “far forward”, the better he walks. Interesting. No idea why….maybe it forces him to use his core more? No clue but it’s working!
Little victories, people.
