Friday, September 16, 2016

The Death Chapter

Ron has a couple complaints about me. 

I would be a liar and the world's biggest phony if I didn't tell you that. 

I'm going to share the "valid" ones. 

First, housekeeping.  Yes, I am very messy, but I have worked to make the house a safe place for us and the cats.  I'm working on that. 

Second, I'm fat.  I could stand to lose a good (reasonably) 50 pounds.  I would still be "thick" but healthier.  I'll get to that when I can.  I am seriously considering buying a treadmill for that. 

Third, I'm bossy, he says.  I am always making suggestions.  He finds it very aggravating at times. 

At the beginning of the whole back-surgery journey, Ron made it pretty clear to me it had to be his decision.  If I talked him into doing something he didn't want, and it didn't work out, he would blame me forever.  Good point. 

So I have quelled my natural desire to prod him into surgery and have tried not to share my opinions unless asked.  It paid off. 

Today Ron asked me for my honest opinion on what "we" should do.  He is concerned about the loss of strength in his legs (as he should be), but we have a big business conference coming up in a couple of weeks.  We cannot miss the conference again.  We did last year and it was very hard to do the "make up". 

We decided, together, to schedule the appointment for after the conference.  We should have enough time for him to recover before we get into the busy season. 

We hope. 

In the meantime I am off to Walmart to look for a size 8 titanium ring, and get my medication.  I had doc call in a 3-months for me. 

Plus I need to make the deposit for my health insurance so I can pay that.  I will walk out of Walmart significantly poorer. 

But at least I'll have my medication and maybe a ring.  I am getting a little tired of the "fake sapphire" one I am wearing at present.  It is a size 8, and fits, so  regular size 8 something else ought to fit. 

It can be a birthday present to myself.  My birthday is next week. 

Last night I decided to read my caregiver book.  It has some good tips (The Comforts of Home, a Caregiver's Guide).  I decided to read it in bed, my faithful Torbie-cat at my side. 

It went pretty well.  Then I got to the death chapter.  I really wish I hadn't read that.  Ugh.  Awful. 

It was a total downer. 

Sorry I read it. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sure Ron will change his mind again about the surgery, since he is on his 3rd decision with this. Does doctor performing surgery know about his alcoholism and blackouts? Will these affect results of surgery?

Know that even though you are not making the decision for him and he knows that it will not stop him from blaming you if it doesn't yield the results/outcome he is looking for.

Heather Knits said...

Actually the doctor does know about the drinking. There were some very pointed questions on the intake form, which Ron elected to answer accurately.

I think Ron will call the surgery a win if he can stand up without excruciating pain. A bonus would be being able to walk again.