Creative Solutions

When you wake up to the realization that your old patterns are no longer serving you well, it’s time to change. Take this morning, for instance, as I tried to decide what to have for breakfast. I needed fruit, fiber, and protein without a ton of calories. None of my usual breakfast menus seemed to fit the requirements. So I made a salad of leafy greens, leftover chicken, and strawberries. It was a perfect solution.

This was not rocket science. And salad for breakfast is not original with me. In fact, Sis’s partner introduced me to the idea long ago. But now that I’ve broken my old pattern of thinking (salad isn’t for breakfast), I’m empowered to experiment with all sorts of novel choices.

The bigger problem that has plagued me ever since I began caring for Dad is how to get him into bed at night with minimal physical effort on my part. It’s not that I couldn’t lift him and place him on the bed, on top of the protective, water-poof pads. But I don’t want to get him into a dependent routine that Mom will be unable to do herself when she gets home from the hospital and is fully recovered from her surgery.

Dad has developed his own get-into-bed-routine that requires just a little help from me. However, due to his Parkinsons, he doesn’t remember it easily from night to night. It’s almost like being caught in a Groundhog Day time warp in which you must start all over again each night. And it can take him 20-30 minutes just to remember and then persuade his muscles to cooperate. It’s exhausting to watch him.

So, a couple of nights ago, as Dad struggled to remember what he has done each night for months, I sat on the side of the other twin bed and pretended I was Dad. I tried to imagine myself with very little flexibility in my back and little muscular coordination in my legs. Then I practiced over and over until I found a movement that I thought might work. Then, I had Dad try it.

Last night was our second try. It seems to be a much more natural and comfortable series of moves for him than the old way. Though I am giving a bit of lifting assistance to his legs, I am hopeful, with time, that he will be able to do more of it himself so that I (and later Mom) will do less.

Sue