| Caring for the aging when they are ill is not for the | | | | backbone was scraped, cut and glued back together. |
| weak of heart, mind and body. As we all get older, | | | | Bone spurs and deposits of Arthritis were also |
| the tendency to complain about the most insignificant | | | | removed. The doctors said he had the spine of a 95 |
| thing, increases each day. Helping them through a | | | | year old man. |
| painful experience can be an adventure for all | | | | |
| involved. | | | | It has been determined that Degenerative Disc |
| When a sick relative has an inclination to point out | | | | Disease is not actually a disease. It's simply a term |
| perceived mistakes and foibles of those around him, | | | | the medical profession uses to describe changes in |
| it makes it a little difficult to care for them with the | | | | your spinal discs as you age. These changes are |
| kindness, understanding and patience they deserve. | | | | normal, but are exacerbated by smoking and hard |
| Helping with their care can cause even the most | | | | physical work. He has done a lot of both during his |
| steadfast of us to lose our patience. | | | | lifetime. |
| My brother climbed out of his drug induced sleep that | | | | A friend, without whom I could not have managed |
| had kept him from feeling the pain of the surgeon's | | | | his care, brought him home from the hospital, two |
| knives as they amused themselves by carving, | | | | hours away from his house. Still fairly heavily sedated |
| whittling and digging into his spine. Upon awakening he | | | | he survived the trip home. Then the home care |
| looked around the hospital room and pointed out that | | | | began. |
| the flowers on the window sill needed watering, | | | | Let it be known that if I had an eight inch incision in |
| hinting that someone had fallen down on the job. | | | | the middle of my back, I wouldn't be on my best |
| Thanks to a host of drugs, including liberal use of | | | | behavior either. I consider it a God given right to |
| Morphine, he was able to survive the next five days | | | | whine and moan about even the slightest of pains. |
| in the hospital with a minimum amount of | | | | Let's face it, when you're in pain about the only |
| conversation. The pharmaceuticals also reduced his | | | | pleasure you have is to gripe. I'm good at that! |
| discomfort to a tolerable level. The better he began | | | | My brother didn't really complain, he just tried to |
| to feel, the grumpier he became. | | | | micro manage his care. I'm sure professional nurses |
| Crankiness and mental abuse by senior citizens has | | | | endure this kind of advice regularly and deal with it |
| been the subject of television shows and movies for | | | | with a smile. Not me! Having a low threshold when it |
| years. To think that this moodiness was brought on | | | | comes to someone, no matter how sick, pointing out |
| solely by his surgery would be to forget his expertise | | | | constantly how I could have done something better, |
| in picking and nagging at someone until they feel like | | | | ruffles my feathers. |
| screaming. | | | | |
| The reason for helping my brother after his surgery | | | | When we are sick we all complain. I believe it's a |
| despite his tendency to criticize is simple; he's my | | | | necessary part of healing. My hat is off to all |
| brother and he was hurting from a disease that is | | | | caregivers who can last a week or more helping the |
| not really a disease. For about five hours his | | | | bedridden without choking them. |