It's Been a Weird Week

Last weekend, Faith seemed to be struggling with a cold. On Sunday morning, I thought she had slept it off, but unfortunately, it hit full force that evening. Because she was so stuffed up, and had a lot of drainage, she did not sleep well that night. I tried to put her adjustable bed up as much as I could, but it still wasn't enough. Around 3 in the morning I put her in her chair where she slept for a few hours. After I put her back into bed, her sleep was still pretty disruptive. Finally, around 8:30 she had had enough and just wanted to get up for the day. 

On Monday, we called to cancel her Tuesday therapy sessions. She was bummed about having to miss aquatic therapy and occupational therapy but took it well. I was trying my best to help her feel better by giving her nose spray (which she was actually asking for), keeping her humidifier going, and also doing this face mask thing that makes steam so that she can breathe it in. She calls it her inhaler. 

On Wednesday, she really didn't seem to be improving much, and I was concerned she might have a sinus infection because of how stuffed up she was, plus she was just so quiet and not her normal self. 

Faith last week before this awful summer cold. 

Thankfully, the normally busy walk-in clinic was pretty quiet, and we were called back fairly quickly. In the exam room, the nurse did her best to get Faith's vitals. Getting her blood pressure can be tricky, because she stiffens up her arms, which makes it hard to wrap the cuff around her arm and get the stethoscope in the right place. 

Another thing that can be difficult is getting an oxygen reading with a pulse oximeter. Her fingers are pretty tiny, and she has a hard time keeping her hand still. After a couple of tries, the nurse had to use the sticky sensor that wraps around the finger. Her oxygen was 97, so that was good! Her temperature was normal there, but at home it had gotten up to 99.9 degrees. 

After getting a few get well hugs from the nurse, we were left to wait for the doctor. I honestly can't remember if we had ever seen the doctor we saw. Every time we got to that clinic, she sees someone different. The one thing Faith was concerned about was the tongue depressor when they looked down her throat. 

The last time we were there, they wanted to check her for strep. She opened her mouth for the doctor, but he had wanted to get a better look, so he tried to put a tongue depressor in her mouth. She was not having it, and instead of keeping her mouth open, she bit down on it and clamped her mouth shut. They ended up taking blood to check for strep, which came back negative. 

Faith was more cooperative with this doctor, who was quick to look in her mouth when Faith opened it. The doctor said her throat looked fine. Her lymph nodes were slightly swollen, but she did not think Faith had a sinus infection. She said to call her if she spiked a fever over 101 degrees or was not getting any better. She also recommended DayQuil to help with her congestion. 

Before leaving, Faith asked the doctor for a hug, and she was happy to oblige. She told Faith she was pretty amazing for having such a positive attitude while not feeling well. Faith also made a point to say goodbye to the receptionists and asked for a sticker and hug. One receptionist gladly went to get stickers for her and give her a hug. 

It's been a weird week, but I have Jesus and coffee to keep me going! 

Afterward, we went to Wal-Mart to get her medicine and a few other necessities. Faith seemed starved for social interaction and said hi to pretty much everyone she passed by. (Well, I guess she's always like that!) She even asked one guy for a handshake, and I had to tell her that we could not shake people's hands at Wal-mart! But then we ran into a friend of ours, so she did get a hug from her! 

On Thursday, Faith finally seemed to be making a turnaround, so I told her she could go to her therapy session if she wanted to. Thankfully, it wasn't until 11:00 a.m., so we didn't have to get up too terribly early. She did really well driving the powerchair! 

Faith during a recent occupational therapy session. 

After that, since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to go for a walk by the river. I figured the fresh air and soaking up some Vitamin D would be helpful. She was pretty tired after that, so we made our way home. 

As we drove by the building across from ours, I received a nudge from the Holy Spirit to check the mailroom. (There is no other explanation for it!) A couple of days prior, I received notification that FedEx had delivered the sheet set I had ordered for her new mattress. I had to order the sheets online because her bed is a Full XL, which is very rare, and they don't sell that size of sheets anywhere locally. 

That's my package, but it's at the wrong door!

Anyway, I saw the picture of the package sitting in front of a door, but it wasn't our door! So, I figured FedEx had delivered them to the right apartment number but the wrong building. I was so annoyed that they had put it by the wrong apartment. I decided to just pray about it and believe it would all work out. When I checked inside the mail room our package was there! 

The next day, Faith and I took it easy. We called a friend, whom we talked to for nearly 2 hours! Then we had to do a grocery pickup at Wal-Mart. The only thing I really needed was bottled water, but I decided to buy her food in case I had a chance to blend. The main thing was just finding something to do that would get us out of the apartment.

I had also messaged one of our friends in Faith's room at her day program to ask her a question. She asked if Faith was OK and when I told her what she had been struggling with all week, she said, "Thanks for keeping her home!" It's a huge blessing to be able to do so, and one of the reasons I can is because of the family paid caregiver pilot program that North Dakota enacted a year ago.  

Today, we were invited to the park with some friends, and I was actually hoping it would work out for us to go just for something to do. But unfortunately, it is really hot here today and we are under a heat advisory. I knew that would not be good for either of us, so we decided to not go. We did get out and go for a short drive, though. Faith was craving chocolate chip cookies from McDonalds, and I wanted a soda from Fizzily (the Potter Pop is really good if you like root beer!) 

While cruising around, we always listen to music. One of Faith's recent song discoveries is "Fishing in the Dark", so I found a country album with that song, along with other country hits from the 80s. The other songs she likes on that cd are "I Love a Rainy Night," and "Cry, Cry, Cry." I tried to get her to listen to "Swingin'" but she does not like it at all! 

Faith tried both of my treats but didn't like them. She prefers cookies!

Even after resting all week, Faith is still a little bit stuffed up and has a low-grade fever. It's only 99.2 but I honestly thought she would be feeling 100 percent by now. This cold has just been a bugger. And I must admit, I am starting to feel very tired. I think I have been fighting off the virus, and I'm just glad I've stayed well to look after Faith. I am really hopeful though, that next week will be better!