a small spill

Sean and I took Mom out to Fort Hunt Park today; I decided to have Mom try the same longer-than-usual walk she'd done yesterday, despite some misgivings about her weakness. The walk was quiet and smooth for the most part, but Mom did end up collapsing, her knees buckling under her when we were somewhere around the halfway point. Sean and I, who were already holding on to Mom, tugged upward as Mom fell, keeping her from smashing anything. We asked Mom if she was all right; she laughed, embarrassed at her weakness, and nodded. Sean and I kept a far firmer grip on Mom as we headed back to the car, and she didn't collapse a second time.

Sean had driven to the park separately; he had to leave for a rehearsal, so I took Mom home, examined and tended to her knee, then changed her pants: they were white, and the knees were somewhat mud-streaked from the fall. Mom's right knee turned out to be fine, but her left knee was a bit raw and scraped; thankfully, there was no bleeding. I washed the area with soap and water, dried it, applied wound cleanser and dried it again, topped it off with ointment and placed a large bandage on top before putting Mom's new pants on.

Before we parted, Sean and I talked about ways to help Mom strengthen herself. Increased protein intake is one line of attack; another is the resumption of the strengthening exercises Mom had done a while back with her therapists. Sean suggested having Mom practice standing up and sitting down while at her couch; that way, if her legs were to give out, she'd plop onto something soft. Sounds like a plan to me; we'll start that tomorrow-- whatever it takes to stave off the inevitable day when Mom will be wheelchair-dependent.

Mom's fine right now; she's sitting comfortably on her couch and watching Korean TV. Earlier in the day, she had sat at our "bar" for lunch (one side of the new cuisine island is essentially a bar), but I'd had to help her get onto her bar stool. As I mentioned before, she's been weak for the past few days. Good thing we all stay vigilant.



DIGRESSION: Before I forget, I owe Mr. and Mrs. Lindow thanks for the food and flowers they had so kindly brought over yesterday. And our apologies to Mom's friends today: we'd had to cancel because Mom had gotten up so late.


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