@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org
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dbaplanb

@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org

#Translator, #editor, #proofreader. #Bosnian, #Croatian, #Montenegrin, #Serbian. Stories, plays, memoir, misc. Formerly theater tech and WFMU DJ, currently #LiteraryTranslator & #caregiver & #volunteer treasurer of the Jewish Historical Society of #Delaware.
Header photo: Crude lino block line drawing of a bunny in profile with big eyes and a cotton tail, with sun shining (one of my early works).

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villainousfriend, to chinese
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Urgent #translation job: potentially looking for someone who can translate ~200 words of Steam page copy from English into #Chinese, before 15:00 CEST on Thursday 9th May. Paid at a good rate, obviously.

(We will know by tomorrow if we need this for certain!)

Boosts appreciated! 💚

dbaplanb,
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@villainousfriend Try searching the ATA directory at https://www.atanet.org, green button upper right. You can search by specialization, among other parameters
Good luck!

dbaplanb, to Cybersecurity
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

Eight "unknown number" hang-up calls already today at 2pm; nine of them yesterday; not one repetition, all but one in our area code.
Is this related to the #UHC data breach? My mom has a United Health care plan (but not a Change Healthcare plan). She would be a prime target (pun intended) at 97 years of age.

#DataBreach #UnitedHealth #CyberSecurity #RoboCalls

dbaplanb, to pizza
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How my mom eats pizza. Hooray that she sill eats pizza! (I cut it in strips with a kitchen scissors before reheating.)

dbaplanb, to random
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I'm the girl in the slasher movie who instead of playing strip poker w the others, sneaks into the kitchen to lick the bowl, then while the others are naked in the hot tub, I'm locked in the way upstairs bathroom sick w salmonella, and so I miss the whole slasher episode and that's how I survive to celebrate my mom's 97th birthday
#KeepYourClothesOnGirl! #LickTheBowl #HappyBirthday #JustifyingBadBehavior

dbaplanb, to random
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1/2
2024-03-25 1am
Never mind that pieces of the house are coming detached
that holes have appeared in the brick
in the plaster
water seeping in

Never mind the loose and missing insulation
the gaps through which mice and ants and crickets squeak in, file in, hop in
making themselves at home or at least busy

Never mind my unrest, the piles of mail unopened
emails unanswered
calls unreturned ...

#caregiver #Eldercare #dementia #worry

dbaplanb,
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

2/2
The roof holds
the stove lights
the toilets flush
the ducts expand and contract with the flow of warm air
the house breathes, hums, a cocoon, sheltering

Mom sleeps, or doesn't sleep, quietly
dreaming, or not dreaming,
articulating or not an explanation to a man
she knows, well, but cannot name
when startled out of her not sleep, not dream

And I am grateful
grateful to the point of tears.

dbaplanb,
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@blabberlicious
Thank you (true story, btw) :)

dbaplanb,
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@blabberlicious
I like the image. There is a sense of superimposed reality or simultaneous realities.

You might want to give @caregivers a follow, Mastodon's version of a Yahoo group or Listserv.

Aphelion, to poetry
@Aphelion@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

If tears could
Remember
Their time
Lived as
The sea
They could
Have carried
Me to your
Arms by
Now

dbaplanb,
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@Aphelion lovely and sad and wonderful

dbaplanb, to diy
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Current puttering project: rigid structure for hospital bed to keep blankets from weighing on Mom's toes, to avoid pressure-related blisters. Discovered these are a thing: Blanket Lifters. Price range $20-$200 (higher priced sellers have the nerve to claim these are discounted prices). First attempt was cardboard shoved betw mattress & retaining bracket, then found a wire shelf from fridge, which is more rigid, but I'm looking for something more "freestanding." @caregivers

dbaplanb,
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@cobalt @caregivers Yes, exactly. Searching the term returns lots of images of ppl with legs in casts. Could be good for diabetes nerve damage, I guess, where you wouldn't feel a sore developing. My mom has to wear soft booties to prevent pressure sores on her heels, and these raise her toes up to where they bear full weight of blankets, unless blankets can be lifted higher still. I was alerted to it by a vigilant aide -- they notice stuff that I would not even know to look for.

dbaplanb, to puns
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My mother spends most of the time in bed and requires careful padding to prevent pressure sores and to keep her comfortable.
Tonight as I was getting her ready for bed, I joked that tucking her in is an exact science.
And that makes me a Master Mother Tucker.
She may have lost all sense of herself, but she still has a sense of humor. I told her if she needed anything during the night, just call for the Mother Tucker and I'd come running. 😂
@caregivers

dbaplanb,
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@fmhilton @caregivers My mom is good humor personified. So was my dad -- I'm a lucky mother tucker 😃

dbaplanb, to caregivers
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

Lying Low

Mama
Today I lay down
on blankets
Below your body

On the ground
Below your body

Searching for the cause

Supine
A mechanic disappearing underneath,
sliding under you

Searching for the cause

Of the sound
That terrible rasping,
grinding, grating

when we press UP

(I detached the hi/low bar and reattached it and tightened the retaining ring but)

To no avail
Mama
You would not rise

The bed is busted

@caregivers

dbaplanb,
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@caregivers
I should probably point out that the "poem" I just posted was tongue-in-cheek

It happened just like that, but the mood was considerably lighter

dbaplanb,
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@cobalt @caregivers

The head and feet adjustments (sitting up, lying down, etc.) work, but the bed doesn't raise (well, the foot of the bed goes up, but it's a little scary). I did fix it a little so it doesn't make a horrible screeching noise anymore. It's something to do with the hi/lo bar -- think the raising mechanism in the headboard is jammed.
But the doctor is putting an order in for a new one, we're due, this one is more than 5 years old. It'll take a few days though.

dbaplanb,
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@caregivers
And... sure hope the replacement bed arrives today as scheduled!
(Taking it apart wasn't as difficult as I imagined, mostly thanks to youtube videos, but I don't think I could stomach putting it back together again.)

dbaplanb,
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@caregivers
Nothing like a 10am to 5pm delivery window. The bed + technician arrived at 5pm sharp. Whew.

dbaplanb,
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@caregivers
Waiting is so exhausting

dbaplanb, to caregivers
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So many times lately I've told friends and acquaintances about my mom having a stroke, losing her sight, staying in bed and/or sleeping most of the day, being home-bound, needing total care, without shedding a tear.
But I lost it today as I was writing to the local bridge club that her bridge-playing days were over. Bridge was a defining part of her identity. That I kept her on the bridge club mailing list as long as I did...

@caregivers

dbaplanb,
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@cobalt @caregivers
Thank you for this. It's funny what hits home.
Also the realization that that [a book, a photo album, a stamp collection] will never be looked at again.
I have good people helping and I take walks sometimes. There's a creek down the street--I like to walk the bank or the bed when it's dry.
I was just thinking yesterday I should get back to my garden blog, but without any expectation of narrative or insight, just as an impetus to get out in the yard and look around.

dbaplanb, to caregivers
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

This morning, my mom, after making clear that she knows nothing of her present surroundings and recalls nothing of her past, when I tell her I am her daughter, says to me earnestly, gently: "Tell me something about yourself." 😧

How does she muster such grace in the chaos of total disorientation?

@caregivers

dbaplanb, to caregivers
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@caregivers

Anyone have experience with their person losing center of gravity/balance after time in bed or a recliner?
When we stand my mom up, she feels like she's falling forward, and as we try to keep her upright, she thinks we're pushing her face down. She's scared, it takes extreme effort by aide and trust by Mom to transfer.
She can stand and walk w/walker, is quite strong for 96, but recently lost what remained of vision. TIA!
#vertigo #eldercare #caregiving #dementia #balance #blind

dbaplanb,
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@caregivers
Right, forgot the most important thing -- the question: How to counteract this? What kind of therapy or exercise or possibke incremental changes in position would help?

dbaplanb,
@dbaplanb@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

@gryllus @caregivers
I thought about that (have run into it before), but it doesn't seem to be the case here. Her PT measured resting and sitting and standing BP and there was no drop. My theory is that it's an inner ear balance issue, also related to recent vision loss. But it seems like she could be "trained" through positioning exercises or some kind of periodic routine. For now I'm keeping her in bed, where it's less of a problem 🤷 and having her sit up and stand briefly 2x/day....

dbaplanb,
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@gryllus @caregivers
...thankfully she does not have Lewy body disease/dementia. Her's is age-related (onset in her 90s). But any dementia makes it hard to manage this kind of physical symptom. I am also ruling out vertigo because the room is not spinning, she doesn't complain of being dizzy or light-headed. (I have vertigo occasionally so I know what that's like.)
Anyway, the OH suggestion is a good one, my dad had it and it made sense once we found out what was going on.

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