A Day at a time
I'm late this morning and just finished with my telehealth appointment with my kidney doctor. I'm feeling really lazy because in a few hours I'll be receiving my monthly order of kidney supplies.
So my protein levels are down. I can only say that I forget to eat. Yes, I'm one of those. Sometimes I won't be hungry until evening. So I am trying to get back on a schedule of eating in the morning. If I am not hungry, then I should be slipping in a morning protein shake.
Other than that I am considered a model dialysis patient. I try to keep my levels balanced through food and supplements. I can say that I am now off the heparin. I was on that stuff daily for almost a year.
One of my daily habits is to go down to the lobby and talk with a few of the residents in the building. I meet individuals who are trying to survive the last years of their lives. All of them have one problem or another related to illness and old age. All of them have stories to tell.
I listened to one tell me that she was a black widow because she didn't have any luck with men. Three of the guys she dated and/or married died and she is now alone, and she is in the early days of dementia. They have her on some pill that slows the disease, but sometimes she stares off into space and loses her train of thought.
Another guy told me of taking care of his wife until her death. She had Alzheimer's for years. They had been married almost 50 years. He sits in the lobby and then gets up to take his walk in the middle of his story. Sometimes he is so cranky that the other residents won't talk to him. Still he's funny when he makes observations about the other residents.
Others tell me of their former lives and how they have dreams but are too tired to either start or finish them.
Sadly at any one time three or four of the residents are in the hospital for falls or other illnesses. Another lady who uses a walker and talks to anyone who will talk to her is still suffering from the effects of a stroke.
None of these people feel old. Not really. Even when their knees and back aches.
So you wonder why I am here. Well, the rent is affordable and even though you could say it is a warehouse for seniors, the residents are never boring.