Victories great and small

This has been a good week, week and a bit really since Wendy's PEG. The nutritionist and the nurse between them educated me in the hygiene of changing dressings as well as how to give Wendy fluid and food through the tube. It's years, decades almost, since I did this kind of doctoring, but it came back to me quickly and easily. I'm sure PEG tube feeding has helped already to restore her nutritional status, and she is looking and feeling better. (It's done nothing to arrest the process of progressive muscle loss, which is now affecting her voice more obviously; I had a reminder email earlier today from Margo Butler, the speech language pathologist at the ALS Clinic, about our own personal list of words and phrases to add to those programmed in the voice synthesizer). I've worked out a system to make the tube feeding process as efficient as possible, and the Personal Care Workers' supervisor brought Sarah Kerrigan, the young PCW who is a student nurse, here so I could demonstrate my system which is very simple: I just lay out on a little table all the bits and pieces, syringes etc, that I need, so all is ready to move straight from one step to the next without interruption. I go very slowly, probably slower than the nurse (Jody Gannon) demonstrated, so 60 Ml sterile water, 60 Ml high protein, high calorie liquid, and a chaser of another 60 Ml sterile water, takes 20-25 minutes. Wendy says I'm "very gentle" which is high praise.

It'a been a good week in other ways too. I passed my third 'Over-80' driving assessment with flying colours. I know where this test is conducted because I've been there twice before; the assessment is made at 2-year intervals beginning at age 80. But today, instead of relying on my memory, familiarity with Ottawa's major roads, and my sense of direction, I relied on Google maps, with the consequence that I got hopelessly lost getting there and arrived half an hour late. Now I understand why so many of the diverse array of experts helping Wendy get lost trying to find our very easy-to-find apartment building; it's because they rely on Google maps instead of following the simple directions I give them over the phone. Anyway, I aced the test, passed the vision test 100%, got every answer right on the rules of the road test; then as the licence bureau where I do the paperwork to renew the licence is just around the corner from the test centre, I dropped in, expecting the usual hour's wait for my number to be called, and a once-in-a-lifetime event, the place was empty, not a soul waiting to be served, so I walked up to the counter, paid my fee, and am all clear to drive again for the next two years. That was a good morning's work, and I had time at the end of it all to pop into our friendly neighborhood supermarket for some urgently needed supplies, such as some tonic water for my G&T.