My Random Keys

We got up extra early in Williamsburg and hit the road for Atlanta Georgia. We had big ideas about seeing the Coke exhibit and covering a lot of ground. Mission accomplished!

It was decided that Jamestown, or James-Towne, held a higher priority for us, so we started out there.  Seeing the archeological digs, the artifacts, the buildings, glass blower and hearing the stories was great!  ...for me. ;)  Road-weary kids liked it, but to a much-lesser degree. 

Today we headed to Alabama to camp! We woke up early to head out and arrived at the national park in the afternoon. As dinner time came we set up a fire and made hot dogs and smores! The gooey chocolaty smores were the best!!! As I sat around the fire with my family I listened to the sounds of nature! I love camping and to enjoy the creations of God and it's even better with my family!! Im looking forward to the next days of camping in Tennessee! - Cinderella

Woke up this morning and made our way down to Café Du Monde. It took some people a little while to figure out what to do with the donuts, but after pictures were taken we enjoyed a belly full of sugar. On with the rest of the day!

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.