Home from the hospital

Ron's kidney function returned to his "normal" so they took out the catheter. Once he performed the required bodily functions, he was discharged to come home. He has strict orders to keep his fluid intake at 48 oz or less per day and to watch his sodium and potassium intake. For a diabetic with chronic kidney disease, all of these dietary restrictions make meal planning somewhat of a challenge.

Ron does feel much better and he can see that I was correct in insisting that he go to the ER. He said he realizes that I know him better than he knows himself so he just needs to listen to me. That's easy to say when he's lucid, but when he's having an episode of confusion, his "reality" makes more sense to him than what I am saying. I do have durable power of attorney for medical decisions so I can always force my hand if I have to. LOL - I just need to find my copy.

The doctor says he does not have NPH but he does have mild vascular dementia and mild Parkinson's. I read that Parkinson's can cause dementia so I'm wondering how much of this is all connected. Parkinson's > Dementia > Diabetes > Dementia - a vicious circle. He also has high blood pressure, which is another factor in cognitive function.

I believe that he has had Parkinson's for a couple of years as he has been having increasing instances of tremors of his hands. He has the "cog-wheel" effect in his arms when given resistance and told to push against it. He was initially diagnosed with intention tremors but those are supposed to happen when he "intentionally" tries to do something. He has worse tremors when he's at rest - but not all the time, which is weird. He can shake whatever is in his hands right out of them, when he's not even doing anything with it. Makes getting food into his mouth difficult when he bounces it right off his fork/spoon or out of his hands. LOL - makes getting the stains out of his clothes a bit of a challenge, too.

I have to admit the actual confirmation of the diagnosis is a bit unnerving. I wonder how long it will be before Ron can no longer be trusted to stay home alone. I wonder how I'll manage taking care of him, taking care of a house, and keeping my job. Working from home is not an option for me although I have requested to be able to do so more than once. There are a couple of people in my department who have the same job title that I do who work from home at times but that benefit has not been extended to the rest of us. I'm not entirely sure why this is so but one of the reasons I was told regarding one person is that she is perceived as going above and beyond her job title. Hmmm... The last time I went above and beyond and volunteered outside of my responsibilities, I was told I didn't know my place. So - I backed off and now I'm not doing enough. Oh well... that is life in the fast lane. Since I'm not one to make waves, I'll let it ride until I'm no longer able to handle all sets of my responsibilities.

Ron has a really good sense of humor so we'll get through this just like we've gotten through everything else that God has laid in our path. Someone reminded me that He only gives people the amount of stress/responsibilities they can handle. I believe that, too but I wish He didn't think I was quite so capable of handling so much. {grin}