May 22, 2011 - A (Sun)day in the life….. So busy yet so bored…..
Another boring but busy day so I thought I’d go through what my average day is like here on a weekend. My day really starts at Midnight; I “live” a 24 hour lifestyle. I’m usually sleeping at Midnight but by about 1:30 or 2 AM I wake up to clear my throat of the 4 gallons of throat junk my snoozing has produced. Then I drink some water the old fashioned way followed by more water through of my feeding tube. I’ve done a good job of staying hydrated throughout this. I then smear my neck with healing cream as I’m pretty badly burned now on the left side of my neck. After more throat clearing (many, many times) off to sleep I go again only to wake up about 4 AM for more of the same. This time I decide to eat more of my only food – IsoSource and either finish the can or eat enough until I feel I can’t handle any more. I then have to stay somewhat upright for 30 to 45 minutes after I eat so I sit in the living room lounge chair and doze off. I awake after about 45 minutes and it’s now 5 AM. Then more throat clearing and back to bed for more sleep.
I awake around 7:20 and it’s time for my anti-nausea pill (every 8 hours). I go to the bathroom, cough up more mucous, take my pill, take in more water and off I go to another can of IsoSource. I dream about food now as I know my body is craving it but I can’t eat anything due to throat pain (pain is minimal when swallowing water but any food at all…….OUCH!). I’m essentially slowly starving and have lost about 10 pounds now. That’s considered pretty good compared to others. I try to feed myself while simultaneously reading the newspaper. I balance the syringe on my feeding tube and periodically release and pour more of this fine cuisine into my tube. It’s a sight! I’m getting better at it rarely spilling it. This time it went down fairly easily (no burping or reflux) and I’m done with my morning feed.
Shower time. I have to anchor my feeding tube to something so I use a headband around my neck and use the alligator clip to clip it onto the headband. Then I step into the shower and do my usual cleaning being careful not to make any quick motions that might yank out my feeding tube. Can you imagine? I dry off, unclip the feeding tube and lay it on the counter (picture me standing there with this “umbilical cord” hanging from my stomach onto the counter) while I put a shirt on. I maneuver the tube under the shirt and use the clip again to attach it. I throw on some shorts and socks and I’m ready for action. Now what?
It’s now 10:45 AM and I have nothing to do so I come up here to write this drivel. My day will continue as above with another can of “food” around Noon, an anti-nausea pill around 3 and more mucous removal all day long. I’ll consume more food again around 4 and again in early evening – if I feel alright. At any time today I might get very tired (and a little nauseated) and have to nap for an hour or two. This happens almost every day but I never know when. During this time I have no interest in much of anything and I just lie there waiting for it to pass. TV, movies and sports will kill the time.
That is pretty much it. Tomorrow will be similar except for the 8AM radiation appointment. I really can’t wait until I can eat again. I miss food!!
No comments:
Post a Comment