A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding
Than a hundred blows into a fool. -Proverbs 17:10
Hi all! Hoping your Friday is sweet! (Aren’t most of them??)
I don’t have a lot of news today to report. I have seen mom a few times this week and do again tonight. She has a deep rumble in her chest, so they are going to change her breathing treatment a bit…and hopefully that helps. It is always a worry for someone in late stage dementia because aspirating food/drink is a leading cause of lung issues that end lives of patients at the stage mom passed 100 weeks ago. We are on it like stink on a dumpster fire.
Speaking of 100 (see what I shoehorned in there??!), yesterday I passed a milestone in trying to prepare for this ridiculous 2-day run in June. I joined a group on Facebook called the 5k per day January challenge which, not surprisingly, prompted members to squeeze in a 5k run (or more) every day in December. For those, like me, who don’t speak metric, a 5k is 3.1 miles. Somehow I squeezed in the runs in December despite unfavorable weather. Then January started and the group changed to 5k/30 which means either a 5k or 30+ minutes of hard cardio every day. I stumbled my way into that group and did that one too…all month. At the end of January I was sitting at 62 days straight and the group stopped changing…so I continued the 5k/30 with the intent of stopping, for one day, today, the day after day 100. So today I will not exercise (except for the cardio I got trying to slip and slide my way to my car to drive to work in the snow. ;)…….. and will redouble my work tomorrow.
I hate dementia. I really do. I am not in the physical shape to run as much as I am…but I will keep plugging along. Runners who are designed for running snortle at my paltry miles. I mean, for many of my runner friends, a 100 mile week is quite doable and a 30 mile week is a breeze. But I still weigh 250+ pounds. I lumber along… I am trying to lose 30 more before the big run, but who knows if I will get that far. Just today, while reviewing my life insurance on my annual visit (Zoom), my agent grimaced when I told him my weight and looked further to the expensive side on the premium chart. I am 50 and have lived about 9 presidential terms of time overweight…I probably need to do a Hot Dog Eating Contest for my Longest Day fundraiser instead of my runs…but this just seems to be what I am supposed to do. Will I make it 37 miles on day 1? Will I make it the return trip of 37 miles day 2? Depends on how hard I try and how hot it is…but it won’t depend on whether I hate dementia enough to have the heart to do it.
Tuesday is my Zoom Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group. I only have so many slots, but if I get too many, I will open another one. I hate dementia for you a much as I hate it for me. We need a world without this mess and that exactly what I want to shoot for through all of these things I write about and do. If you haven’t been hurt by this disease, I am super happy for you! I really am. However, odds are you have and will. Now is the time to fight to #EndALZ
Have a great weekend, friends!
-Mark
Update: I will be speaking to a reporter today from the always excellent St. Louis Post Dispatch, a newspaper I have loved, as a Cardinal fan, for as long as I have been old enough to read/use Silly Putty to copy the comics. Topic: How has the home health and nursing home worker shortage hurt the dementia caregiving community. I will post it, if possible, after it publishes. 🙂
Thank you all for everything. I am sorry I ask for money seemingly often. It is just that money will be necessary if we are to ever beat this thing. 🙁
If you don’t mind, drop some coin in my Longest Day Fundraiser. Here is the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/running-til-im-purple-ii
It doesn’t go to me in any way. 🙂 If you have questions, holler. 🙂 If you want to donate or have your company donate, holler. If you have a need, holler. If in b=doubt, holler. 🙂 We are a team.
