Lewy was pretty grouchy today. He started off refusing breakfast, and then got mad because he was hungry.
Fine.
I made him two eggs and grapefruit juice. He fussed all the way through the eggs and has taken to expressing his displeasure by spitting out puree or liquid, should it suddenly offend him.
Oddly though, no matter what, he opens and suckles the eye droppers with the meds. I thought the nurses said it tasted bad. I guess it’s probably awful, the way Lewy’s taste buds are. He got mad because there was sugar in all his food…pureed twice baked potatoes, white beans, hamburger & rice, orange pulp, and a 30/70 mix of Rotel Tomatoes and a fresh cucumber chopped to mush. I made it all from scratch, well except the Rotel, and there was no sugar put on any of it.
Now that I write that paragraph, I’m wondering why I spent the afternoon messing up the kitchen to make coconut pudding for him. It turned out nice and fluffy too…For some reason I guess a real sweet might suit him. As the nurse said, eggs and milk equal protein, and he needs the calories. After making the pudding I spooned it into several of those little clear plastic drink cups used at every party in the world for wine and cocktails. That’s a large serving for Lewy, but I thought ...pie….
After they had time to chill, Daddy woke up and started twisting up his covers into the cigar again. He gets so tense he starts the weight lifter high pitched groan he does. It’s weird, that squeal seems to go on continuously without him needing to take a breath. You’d swear he was about to pop.
There’s only so much of that I can watch before I give him the anxiety meds. Again he suckles the eye dropper. Gleefully taking his “medicine”. I have a hard time thinking of it as “Medicine”. It seems like “Drugs” to me. Just what I’ve criticized nursing homes for doing. “Drugging them up, so they won’t be any trouble.” You never quite understand what its like until you walk in their shoes. I cannot imagine having a dozen Lewy’s under my keep.
I would go absolutely mad.
After a few minutes, he calmed down enough that I thought I would approach him about eating.
“NO!” He was adamant, he was not going to eat anything or drink anything. Everything I gave him made him drunk. He had to be able to drive over to town to pick up some lumber and I was up to something. Hubbie and I are conspiring to steal his customers.
“I made you coconut pudding……?”
“NO!” “I saw you over there. I know what you are doing! I knnuummn uhunummm numnum. I ain’t unnumm happen mminnmm “ And this went on for another 10 minutes.
“OK, Daddy, OK…You don’t have to eat pie if you don’t want to.”
“Come Here! When unnm getting unmmn out ununm here?”
“Do you mean; when are you going to be able to get up?”
“No…..uuummm….Am I completely dead now?’
“No, you are not dead at all.”
“Well….uunum …when am I going?”
“I don’t know Daddy; no one knows that about anybody.”
Lewy was still all twitched up with the covers wadded up over his stomach. The rest of his body was exposed to the air. I had on jeans and a sweat shirt and I felt cold. “Are you cold?”
“NO!”
“Do you want some covers?”
“NO!”
“Do you want coconut pudding?”
“NO!”
I felt his skin. It was cold. I took the electric blanket and pulled it up over him and set it on Roast. As it warmed up Lewy settled down. I placed the hospital blanket we now have over his shoulders and tucked it around to seal up any air holes.
Within a couple of minutes Lewy was not asleep but off somewhere seeing things and people I can’t see.
I stood leaning over the bed rail watching his face for a few minutes. I think it’s safe to tip toe away now.
“Have a good time Lewy.”