5:00-9:00     When I arrived, Rose and Dr. Vesper were in the living room watching TV and Crystal in the kitchen preparing salad for dinner.  Thanks to her efforts, I was ahead of schedule from the beginning.  We chatted briefly and she brought me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  I touched up the bathroom, prepared briefs, set the table, and took Dr. Vesper’s dinner order.  He opted for leftovers, and I had them seated and eating by 6:00.  Rose was quiet, but ate very well.  Dr. Vesper seemed to be feeling much better and enjoyed a healthy appetite, too.  He had one severe episode of coughing during dinner, but I heard very little after that.

7:00-9:00     After dinner, Rose and Doctor returned to the living room to watch TV.  The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was playing, which seemed to capture Rose’s attention.  She was lightly tapping her feet and chatting a bit, though I couldn’t understand her words.  It is gratifying to know she can still enjoy music.  The remainder of my shift ran in routine fashion.  I cleaned the kitchen and microwave, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I helped Dr. Vesper catch Hillary and give her medication, then gave him and Rose their evening medications.  I then took a sleepy Rose to the bathroom for her night time toilette.  We followed our usual routine beginning with me washing her face/hands, then brushing/flossing (all anterior, a few posterior) her teeth.  Her Depends were only slightly damp, and she urinated and produced a small bowel movement while seated.  She was rigid while changing her clothes, but I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  Dr. Vesper was still in the living room enjoying his show when I said good night to him.

Dinner:     Leftover night!  While they both ate salad, Dr. Vesper had rotisserie chicken and peas and Rose had shrimp with mushroom ravioli and sautéed vegetables.  There were a few mashed potatoes, green beans, and dressing with the chicken, but neither cared for any.  They both enjoyed ice cream (Lactaid) for dessert.

Visitors:     None

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Dr. Vesper was on the couch watching TV while Rose and Sandy were in the bathroom finishing Rose’s 4:30 toileting.  Sandy stated that Rose had a quiet, but good day, and brought me up to speed on all the particulars before leaving.  Dr. Vesper was still feeling quite under the weather and was anticipating Mossy’s arrival with additional medication from Dr. Wilson (Tessalon).  She came as Sandy was leaving and we all exchanged season’s greetings.  I previously took Doctor’s dinner request and set the table.  As Mossy unloaded some additional Christmas decorations, I prepped the salads and began cooking.  Mossy went over the medication instructions with me before leaving.  We did give Dr. Vesper one dose of Tessalon as soon as she arrived.  He also requested a dose of Robitussin about half an hour later.   Rose napped soundly throughout this entire time.  When dinner was ready, she awakened easily and I had them seated and eating by 6:30.

7:00-9:00     All things considered, Dr. Vesper ate well, though he declined dessert.  Rose enjoyed a hearty appetite, too, finishing all of her meal.  After dinner they returned to the living room to watch TV.  The remainder of my shift continued in usual fashion.  I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I gave them their evening medications before taking Rose for her night time toilette.  Rose remained quiet, but alert, as I applied warm compresses and ointment to her eyelids.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed (anterior only) her teeth.  She was bruxing less, but allowed only minimal access.  She was still quite rigid as I changed her clothes, but did no moaning tonight.  While on the lift I changed her wet Depends.  She urinated and had a moderate bowel movement while seated.  I took her to bed and applied her eye drops easily before saying goodnight.  Dr. Vesper had his pajamas on and was checking his glucose levels when I said good night to him.  He was coughing less, but not feeling much better.

Dinner:     Salad, leftover ravioli with mushrooms and shrimp, and peas.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  Rose had a small scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Visitors:     Mossy

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  I hope you all have a happy, healthy holiday.  Thanks for all you’ve done for me and allowing me to be a part of your lives.  Rose has given me an invaluable lesson in patience, strength,  and perseverance.

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Rose and Dr. Vesper were in the living room watching TV.  Crystal joined me in the kitchen and brought me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  Dr. Vesper looked and felt worse than the night before, but the robitussin seemed to help his cough.  He stated he did not have much of an appetite, but would enjoy a simple supper of soup and grilled cheese.  Rose dozed while I set the table and prepared dinner.   I also took a few minutes to disassemble the “edible arrangement” and store the remaining fruit per Mossy’s request.  I had Rose and Doctor seated and eating just after 6:00.

7:00-9:00     Dr. Vesper ate fairly well in spite of his lack of appetite.  He excused himself to use the bathroom a couple of times, but claimed he had no GI symptoms.  Rose ate well, but very slowly, as usual.  She also started to moan periodically, which lasted through the rest of my shift.  She still had not developed any of Dr. Vesper’s symptoms and I could not find the source of her seeming discomfort.  She was unfocused and kept her gaze upward.  After dinner, they returned to the living room while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I also cleaned the kitty litter and took out the garbage.  At bedtime, I gave Rose and Doctor their night time medications, then took Rose for her evening toilette.  I applied warm compresses and ointment to her eyelids, then washed her face and hands.  I brushed and flossed her teeth, but access was not so great tonight.  Rose’s arms were more rigid than usual and she was bruxing furiously.  I got her on the lift where I changed her damp Depends.  While seated, she urinated and had a moderate bowel movement.  The going was slow, but not nearly as arduous as the night before.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  Dr. Vesper was getting ready for bed as well.  He wanted to take more cough syrup at bedtime and I got a dose ready for him, but even after several reminders, it was sitting there when I left.

Dinner:     Soup and grilled cheese (ham on Rose’s sandwich).  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  Rose had a small scoop of ice cream, but Doctor declined dessert.

Visitors:     None

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Sandy and Rose had just finished Rose’s 4:30 toileting while Dr. Vesper was relaxing on the couch watching TV.  As always, Sandy brought me up to speed on the day’s events before leaving.  Dr. Vesper had developed some type of URI and was expecting Mossy to drop off a prescription medication.  Though he was coughing, he stated he had an appetite, so I set the table and began dinner prep immediately.  Rose napped comfortably throughout the early part of my shift until it was time for dinner.  Mossy arrived with his medicine and some treats for dessert, then left as they sat down at the table.  I kept a close eye on Rose and other than one sneeze (allergies?), she displayed none of Dr. Vesper’s symptoms at the close of my shift.

7:00-9:00     Both Rose and Dr. Vesper enjoyed hearty appetites.  Rose ate slowly, but completed all of her meal.  They returned to the living room and the rest of my shift ran in routine fashion.  I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  It was a mild night, but raining heavily, so I took Kemper for a walk as he had not been out all evening.  He would not “do his business”, and I certainly hope there is no overnight accident!  I gave Rose and Dr. Vesper their evening medications, which included Phillips milk of magnesia for Rose and Robitussin cough syrup for Doctor.  I then took Rose for her night time toilette.  I applied warm compresses and ointment to Rose’s eyelids, washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed her teeth.  She allowed me great access which enabled me to be extremely thorough.  I got her on the lift where I changed her wet Depends.  While seated she urinated and produced a large BM, which took a very long time to complete.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  Dr. Vesper was in his pajamas and just starting to get in bed when I reminded him to use his glucose monitor.  He was not happy to get back up until he saw the result.  He stated it was the best value he’d ever had!  He was wrapping up when I said good night to him.

Dinner:     Salad, crab cakes, peas, and toaster corn bread rounds.  Rose drank green goddess fruit juice blend and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  We all enjoyed decadent “cake pops” from Starbucks, courtesy of Mossy, for dessert.

Visitors:     Mossy

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Sandy and Rose were in the kitchen and Dr. Vesper poking around in the back yard.  Sandy and I discussed the day’s events in general and Rose’s eye condition in particular before she left for the day.  The skin on Rose’s lower eye lids had no more redness and was less puffy than the previous evening.  However, the swelling increased somewhat through the evening.  When Dr. Vesper came inside I took his dinner order, set the table, and began cooking.  Rose napped lightly during this time.  Just as I finished cooking, I received a call from Stephanie stating that Andrew would be coming for Dr. Vesper to take him to their home to celebrate Sophie’s birthday.  He had forgotten, but the timing of her call was perfect and he had not yet taken a bite.

7:00-9:00     Rose and I continued with dinner and she ate well, though very slowly.  She was quiet, but alert and seemed to enjoy her simple supper.  After dinner she joined me in the kitchen while I washed the dishes and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  At bedtime, I gave her the evening medication then took her to the bathroom for her night time toilette.  She was fairly rigid, but more verbal.  Most of what she said was muddled until I was changing her clothes.  At that point she clearly admonished me with, “Don’t you dare!”  I promised to be very careful and was rewarded with a good laugh.  I tended to Rose’s eyes with warm compresses followed by ointment.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed (most) her teeth.  I changed her wet Depends and she produced a medium bowel movement while seated.  Once again, it took her a while to complete.  I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  She was still awake when I said good night to her.  When Dr. Vesper arrived home, I had him take his evening medication.  Stephanie came in to fill the pill machine and said she would remind Doctor as to what time he should monitor his glucose level.  We all chatted briefly before I said good night.

Dinner:     Rose had grilled ham and cheese with butternut squash soup.  She drank kefir milk and had ice cream for dessert.  I am unsure as to exactly what Dr. Vesper ate, but I do know cottage ham and beans were on the menu.

Visitors:     Stephanie

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, I was greeted in the driveway by an exuberant Kemper.  Rose was with Mossy in the sitting area and Dr. Vesper in bed napping.  Mossy updated me on the day’s events and included instructions on how to care for Rose’s eyes.  The lower lids were quite puffy and seemed to increase over the first hour, but then stabilized.  Rose joined me in the kitchen and helped me prep the salads and begin cooking.  She was very quiet, but did not nap.  Dr. Vesper was up and I had them seated and eating by 6:30.

7:00-9:00     Rose ate well, and though the going was slow, she finished her entire meal.  Dr. Vesper did not eat with his usual gusto and even declined dessert.  I am unsure if he snacked too much earlier in the day or if he had some GI distress.  He stated all was well when I asked.  After dinner they returned to the living room while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  I gave them their evening medications before taking Rose for her night time toilette.  Once in the bathroom I cared for Rose’s eyes, which appeared unchanged.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed (most) her teeth.  Once on the lift, I changed her Depends which were saturated through to her pants.  She urinated while seated, but no BM.  When we were finished, I took her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  Dr. Vesper was on his way to bed, but received a call from Stephanie as I was leaving.

Dinner:     Salad, baked salmon with lemon and rosemary, wild rice, and peas.  Rose drank kefir milk, and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7up.  Rose had ice cream for dessert.

Visitors:     None

5:00-7:00     When I arrived, Sandy and Rose were coming out of the bathroom having just finished Rose’s 4:30 toileting.  Dr. Vesper was napping in his bedroom.  Sandy and I discussed the day’s events including her concerns for Rose’s eyes.  Rose slept during the first part of my shift, but when she woke, I saw no redness in either eye.  Both lower lids were puffy, but her eyes were not watering.  The lower right lid was peppered with pinpoint petechiae, but Rose did not seem bothered by it.  I kept in touch with Mossy who was to drop off a prescription later.  After Sandy left, I set the table and began dinner prep.  Dr. Vesper emerged from his room well after 6:00, and I had them seated and eating by 6:30.

7:00-9:00     Rose was very quiet during dinner, but she and Dr. Vesper both enjoyed hearty appetites.  Rose ate slowly, but finished her meal entirely.  Afterward, they returned to the living room to watch television while I cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and set out breakfast items and morning medications.  At bedtime I gave them their night time medications, then took Rose for her evening toilette.  I washed her face and hands, then brushed and flossed (about half) her teeth.  She was more alert, but also more rigid.  Once on the lift, I removed her wet Depends which contained a very small stool.  While on the commode she urinated and produced a moderately large bowel movement, but it took her a long while to complete.  When we were finished, I got her to bed and applied her eye drops easily.  She was still awake when I said good night to her.  Dr. Vesper was on his way to bed when I said good night to him.  I did remind him to use his glucose monitor.

Dinner:     Salad, stuffed chicken breasts (broccoli with cheese and cordon bleu), and pearl couscous.  Rose drank kefir milk and Dr. Vesper had diet cherry 7 up.  They both had ice cream (Lactaid) for dessert.

Visitors:     None while I was there, but Mossy arrived later to drop off eye medication for Rose.