My Random Keys

What a day! Full training day that was pushing my limitations with some Google add ons, but ended fairly well.  Some things didn't work the way they should have and some I flat out messed up.  I'll nail it next time.

I was a little off because dad was meeting with his new nutritionist and I wanted to be there.  Dad has come a long way, however, and was willing and successful at taking his iPad to the meeting and recording the conversation. I think he was pretty proud of himself.  I'm still working on getting ride services setup, so he caught a cab ride home and was fine the rest of the day.

My directive from Sister#2 was that when dad moved up, I had to monitor sodium and sugars.  I've learned a lot and have kicked sodium in the ass in our meal preps.  We have since learned that we've done really good with that, but it's really only super important for his swollen legs and not so much his diabetes.

We've also done better than we thought with sugars.  I have provided very few high starch meals and our processed foods all maintain an extra-low sugar count.  The nutritionist shared with dad that we've actually cut back too much.  Huh?!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/31044481/Diabetic-Food-Guide-Pyramid

Diabetes resources online leave much to be desired since they all share some common graphics but often have different explanations.  I grew up a skinny kid who could consume anything he wanted.  I only started watching my diet seriously when I learned I had really high cholesterol after college.  It's very controlled now, but I still haven't put much planning into food pyramids, plates or mathematical calculations of carbs/sugars/etc.

This evening, dad and I stepped into the carb-counting world.  We are learning about 15g of carb equals one serving and dad should get 2-6 servings or 30-90g carbs per meal.  This was eye-opening. We have actually gone quite a few meals with less than 30g and were told we need to up those.  It's surprising what some of the foods were that counted as carbs and what foods he was told didn't count against him.

We have a ways to go, but we're on the right track. Dad has got to lose weight, keep sodium down and keep his glucose in check and he is seeing it all in a new light now.  He's pretty happy with the path he is on.  I'm happy I finally am learning some of the diabetic food voodoo.

Adding dad to our house about a month ago was done knowing that it would change our lives. A month in and I will confirm that it has been life changing.

Dad called his previous residence 'home' as in, "Come pick me up at THE home." He moved there just over a year ago from a different 'home' north of Houston.  Both of these Assisted Living residences provided dad with a room, a space to organize with some of his possessions, community areas for social activities and in house food preparation.  Living on his own before that proved to be more than what his family felt comfortable with.  As a result of the Assisted Living homes, dad's health did improve and there was always someone with medical knowledge to assist as needed.

The first place had residents that made my 80 yr old dad feel like a 20 yr old. He could get around, play poker, joke with people and kept a pretty positive outlook around a population of similar people and people who did a lot of sitting and looking into space.

The second place had a more youthful population, but less friendly.  At least dad had his own room, which became his downfall.  He was able to stay more hidden from view and his health declined through mismanagement of meds.

Both places he lived at served very institutionalized food particles. Sometimes good tasting, it was rarely prepared with diabetic seniors in mind.  Dad, a pretty large man, has never lost any weight in his six years in captivity, despite the less than wonderful quality of food.

After my previous housemate physically moved on in her new direction, we had the opportunity to offer a room to dad in a house with family.  Dad now has more space in his bedroom and private bath than in both the previous places combined. He has access to a private bath which is now handicap accessible, a full kitchen and outdoor patio in the shade.  He says that he is very happy here.

The Mancubs have only been able to see their grandparents 2 maybe 3 times a year. To see him every week opens up a wonderful world that they haven't had easy access to.  They are still adjusting to having him here and me living in a bedroom upstairs where their rooms are.  The poor-ish condition we have found his previous places have not replicated here. He has more pride in his room and his son is getting to say words heard years ago from father to son.  It's humorous sometimes, but the kids are getting a good feel for what it is like to be around an older loved one.

For me, no more missed meals or dinner of popcorn and Blue Bell Bullets.  We are still learning to make smaller portions for dad, but the first month saw few days accumulate more than 300mg of sodium and hardly any added sugars.  Dad was eating very healthy, except for the larger portions.  My part has been the cooking 2-3 meals a day, cleaning the kitchen after each meal, keeping floors clean, and learning how to deal with diabetic/lymphedema health issues.  It requires much more time for me, but his first Dr visit this week resulted in a good report card and ata-boy for his blood sugars and leg care.  It's worth the time spent with dad.

From the time I hit 'create post' to when I started typing, I had probably 84 different ideas for today, biggest of which is that I'm in withdrawal right now, missing my kids.  They are have a great time with their mom, traveling around the Ohio area. She's a great traveling companion and they have seen great things.  Their Independence Day will be special and I'm happy for them.  But it's been forever since I've seen them.

For most of us, Independence Day is a holiday or a weekend where we can travel or gather with friends for BBQ and fireworks.   Independence Day for others means a declaration of separation.  For a long time now,  having a diseased arm was better than losing that arm.  Now that I no longer have that arm, I feel the phantom pains of relationship now and again.  Today, I declare myself independent of those feelings that remember what was supposed to be.  I try to live my life in positive enthusiasm and give a final goodbye to that part of my life.

My dad spent about 5 years in assisted living and was told what to do and when to do it. He was not independent.  Now that he has escaped from them, he lives with more freedom. He has more say about what he wants to eat. He has a private room and bathroom. He says that he is doing better now.  Yet, he is not independent. He can't drive anymore and still needs assistance around the house from time to time.  But he is experiencing new freedoms and day trips. There is a level of independence even when one loses a total ownership of that freedom.

My great, great granddad fought for his independence and lost at least two brothers in that war.  That time fighting got him shot near Richmond and a year and one day later, on July 2nd 1863, he was captured on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg.   He spend that Independence Day a prisoner of war.  At the end of the war, he gained his independence again and was free to return to Alabama and soon after take his family to Texas.

And then there is Independence Day overdose.  The Encore Channel is playing the Will Smith movie back to back all day long! Maybe a little much even for a fan of the movie.

May your Independence Day be a celebration of remembrance or a declaration of future independence from something that holds you back.  

* Dad on July 3rd at Bob Bullock State History Museum.  After we took it he ask if I got the little kids in the background.  "You can just tell everybody that that was the group I was with today." Daddy cracks me up. 

Just got back from the city library.  Went to go get dad a city library card. My dad wants an actual
book, not a digital copy. He's 81 and new to town with a drivers license that expired 20 days ago.   ...and he couldn't get a card.

He can't walk far and he's with me, a guy that just updated his own dusty, unused, neglected and forgotten about library card.  "No sir, he needs to go get his license renewed so he can setup his account."  REALLY?

/forgive me dearest librarian friends.../  REALLY?  The buildings are cutting back hours because of lower use.  With the rise of ebooks and decline in physical checkouts,  there is nothing you could do to help this man?  Are there that many octogenarian hoodlums vandalising library books, cavorting around in a drunken pulp-based stuper, waging war on the economic success of the Pubic Library?  Is there a rash of disabled veterans checking out Garrison Keillor books and typing carbon paper copies to sell at illicit AARP swap meets?

He has the same address as I do. But they couldn't even make him a care-of in my name.  Yes, it IS a big deal to get my dad a new license.

Ahh, forget it. This small barrier to desired physical reading material has already sent him down a dark path.  I think he just took his walker and a bunch of small envelopes of Metamucil to sell to some young and influenceable 60 year olds on the corner.

photo credit: http://louisgreenberg.com/images/dusty-old-books1.jpg 

I was thinking about that old science movie today about the zoo keepers that used a sock painted like a condor momma to feed condor hatchlings.  The idea was to imprint them on birds and not people.  I keep thinking that some poor hatchlings grew up desperately seeking their momma vulture that smelled like feet.

Along that line, we are trying to train Merl the Squirrel in the back yard. I've been fairly successful in calling them when I put peanuts on the landscaping bricks near the back of the yard.  I can spot him over a yard away sometimes making his way into our tree.  A couple of times, after I went in to start dinner, Merl came near the back patio looking for more peanuts while dad sat there.

So, is it bad that I wanted to help them get used to feeding from a human by putting peanuts on dad's feet while he slept on the back patio?  

Ever since dad moved in with us, I've been LCDM (Lead Chef in charge of Diabetic Meals).  I could wear the chef hat and everything, but I've no training.  It was a minor drawback that the internets helped me with.

My sister gave me directions, "Shoot for 350mg sodium a day, low sugars and watch the carbs." Dad's diabetes, as I understand it, stemmed from being very overweight for so many years.  My task is to enrich his life here in Austin, get him more healthy and lose some big inches so his knees will last longer.  So I have my sister's directives and my goals for dad.  He is on board with it all.

Okay, that back story will develop over time, but was needed to make the following brainfart make a little more sense.

Have you seen the Vessyl?  Not a good Sci-Fi movie, but a new product being promoted (way too often) on Facebook.   It's a new product that can analyze your beverage with nutritional data, log it, connect to your 'activity monitoring devices' and report back to you on your smart phone.

https://www.myvessyl.com/

If it weren't for the $100 price tag, I'd check this thing out.  It tracks your liquid intake.  Seriously?  At the end of the day, I would know how much sugar, sodium, etc that dad drank?  I think of it less as a police tool for him and more for information to help build better habits.  

The ad/video on their site even shows a guy pouring a drink and the Vessyl says, "beer".   Now, with "more coming soon" on this, I'll buy one of these for Mancub2 if it will warn her, "beer with Rufi!  Don't drink!"

What else could be coming?  What about a vessel plate or fork?  How cool would that be?  Or maybe Vessyl tooth implants.  "Howard, your BBQ has too much sugar" or "Howard, chew your food more" or "Howard, there was a worm in that apple".

Ooo!  Vessyl underwear??  (Yes, I crossed the line on that one.)

For now, I am a label-reading fool and drill sergeant menu approver and will track nutritional intake the old fashioned way.  ..now where did I put that pencil?