I apologize I’ve not posted in the blog in several months. Life has been a little busy to say the least. After surviving Covid pneumonia and later aspiration pneumonia and the hypoxic brain injuries related to these illnesses, my 81 years old mother lost the ability to walk and developed some cognition issues as well.
Life’s Been Challenging Lately
Since she can no longer live on her own, my mother moved in with me when she left the rehab hospital in February of this year. I am now her primary, 24/7 care giver, and I am not going to sugar coat this, it’s very demanding.
I’ve also got some significant health issues of my own that I’ve been dealing with. I had four small kidney stones that it took me about six weeks to pass back in June. In August, I started having a Crohn’s disease flare, and my gastroenterologist added seven new medications to the existing three that I was already on to try to bring things back under control and in remission. In the meantime, I’ve now developed a new issue with the bile ducts in my liver, which is affecting its function, leading to another struggle with anemia and leaving me feeling exhausted, all of the time.
During this time, I started having pain in my left heel and found out I have plantar fasciitis. So far, I’ve tried icing, taping, exercises and a brace to try to help it, but it still hurts to stand or walk, especially in the morning.
With all of this going on, I’ve really not had a lot of time to devote to my blog and I apologize for not posting any new content. I am going to try to do better going forward.
A Few Bright Spots in the Chaos
Life hasn’t been full of only bad news. There have been a few bright spots as well. My mother recently followed up with several of her doctors, and her blood work shows that she is no longer anemic, her protein levels are up and her kidney function is much improved since she left the hospital. After months of struggling her lungs now sound clear and appear to have healed from the pneumonia. Her heart rhythm has also finally stabilized and normalized, as has her blood pressure. She’s been eating better since she moved in and has regained some of the weight she lost when she was in the hospital, so, all around she’s received good reports.
As part of our current resting and recuperating phase, we’ve been trying to take things one day at a time now. I make lots of casseroles, and slow cooker comfort meals, and we’ve been streaming more shows and movies than we normally do.
A Million Miles Away
Last night, we streamed the latest Amazon Original, A Million Miles Away. It stars Michael Peña in a true story based on the life of José M. Hernández, who, as a child, was a migrant farm worker who grew up to live the American Dream and become an Astronaut aboard the Space Shuttle. It is truly an inspiring story of courage, determination and the value of working hard and fighting to make your dreams a reality.
The Man Who Knew Infinity
In addition to A Million Miles Away, we’ve watched several additional good movies and shows lately. The other day, we took advantage of the few remaining days that Netflix is shipping out DVDs, and watched The Man Who Knew Infinity, starring Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons. It’s based on the true-life story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, who left India in 1910 to study at Cambridge’s Trinity College. Ramanujan’s original work and discoveries in number theory and other areas of mathematics still impact our understanding of universe.
Finding You
Finding You is another movie that we streamed on Amazon Prime. It’s a sweet, funny romance about a violinist who travels to Ireland during her semester abroad where she hopes to be able to polish her skills so that she can pass her audition. The film is interspersed with both lighthearted and poignant moments as our heroine tries to help an elderly woman find peace with her past and finds herself falling for an unlikely man as she struggles to focus on her studies.
Frasier
We’ve also discovered that all 12 seasons of the original Frasier are available to stream on Amazon. We didn’t actually watch this show when it was originally on from 1993-2004, and now that we are well into season 3, it’s easy to see why this sitcom was so popular when it originally ran!
This show is so funny, watching it has become one of the highlights of my day. No matter how stressed out I may be, I can watch and episode or two and my day is better, instantly. Feeling tired, or down, and need something to bring a smile to your face? Watch an episode, or two, of the original Frasier!
I don’t know if we will be able to Binge watch all 12 seasons before the return of show, when it will premiere on October 12, 2023, on Paramount+, but we are trying!
How about you, dear reader? How’s life been treating you and what have you been into the last few months? Are you excited for the seasons to change? Have you read any good books or watched any good movies or shows lately? Please feel free to share with others in the comments section below.
Photo Credit: Nicolas Raymond, Flickr, North Point Bench Trail
Gwen's Green Thumb 