After a week of bleak grey, the sun was more than usually welcome.
I was pleasantly oriented, or is it orientated? I never quite know the correct useage of those two words. Feeling most wonderful due in part to chocolate for breakfast, I began my day.
My first client had just fallen perhaps an hour before I arrived.
She was very sore but ambulatory and off to get X-rays today. I hope she did not break anything. I find her so lively and inspirational. Alot of people describe her as severely demented but I am not convinced it is so. She is making sense of the irrational in the best way she knows how.
My second client was pissed at me. I was not sure why until she mentioned she was calling in the clockmaker *again*. "Remember you wound my clock for me? Well I told you it had to be done a certain way and
All right I am not the rhinocerous-skinned I once was but in this case I tuned her completely out. Don't be asking me to wind your clocks lady. And by the way, I have 120 clocks and more than a few are antique. And yeah, I am a horologist and a ... wait a minute! I don't care to justify myself to you. I said nothing at all. Pay the Clockmaker honey. She thinks I am a moron so I can be her moron.
My third client really is demented but in a lovely elegant way. I enjoy her company and she enjoys mine and we discuss fashion, customer service and religion. None of that pesky healthcare stuff ;)
My next client has severe jaw pain this week. She in sure it is a heart symptom and therefor refuses to see her Doctor as she thinks they will shove her into hospital again. It scares her though. She has a very bad back with collapsed disks and a serious heart condition. She is so vibrant and engaged in life even though she cannot walk to her washroom without getting out of breath. I think she should be on oxygen but then I am not her Doctor. I told her about the new drug my parent is on. It has made a huge difference in his life. Or rather, it has enabled a difference in his life to occur.
Tramacet.
This drug has been available in Canada for about 14 weeks now.
It is prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Tramacet is similar to another opioid: morphine.
My parent already takes Gabapentin for long-term pain management. That was a difficult adjustment for him physically and once in his system for a few weeks, it was clear that Gabapentin + Tylenol 3 was not effective nor efficient pain management for him.
Enter Tamacet.
The first three weeks were awful as his body adjusted to the medication.
Thanks to an involved pharmacist and me being proactive, his dosage was more than halved and he went from being zombieman laying on the couch 24/7 to walking about with his cane only. Happily. Joyfully. He is slowly resuming his life. It is very good.
I understand that the pain is still present under that substantial layer of medical buffering.
It is still a good feeling to see a man who was bowed regain his footing.
Hurrah for Tramacet.
Finishing my day with a pedicure and a facial at my favourite Day Spa, I returned to my parents home for a delicious dinner culminating in, yes CHOCOLATE!!
mmm chocolate.
mmm.
-=-
What if I was not so involved? Would he be lying in an extended care hospital now stoned to death? Perhaps. What if the Pharmacist was not every bit as involved as I am and equally curious on the effects of a drug new to market now 3 months only? What if the Doctor did his usual "Oh well: he is after all 81 years old with many serious medical conditions" ?
People have to be their own best Doctor or have someone willing to educate themselves on their conditions if they want a good quality of life in their senior years. It is only one in ten million that gets the olde age + the incredible vigour. The rest of us have to learn it as we go.
