I’ve posted nothing in my blog since Inauguration Day, Jan 20th. It was also a day to honor MLK, far more significant than the coronation.
So what brings me back to the keyboard? Here’s the backstory. Some weeks ago Jadyne had noted that she wasn’t feeling strong. During her runs she walked more than she ran. She’s been sleeping longer, napping more, sometimes twice a day. When she’s awakened she wasn’t refreshed. She’s gone to bed earlier. If our GP weren’t on vacation she would have called.
On Thursday we worked our normal shift at Dorothy Day, stopped at Safeway, then took BART to SF to meet Jay and Laynie for a Giants game. We walked the 1 and 1/2 miles from BART to Oracle Park, took BART home. Jay went straight to bed.
Friday was worse. She spent the day in bed, rousing herself only to go to the Kaiser lab and do blood and urine tests. Later that night David Anderson came over, and after seeing the results, (all normal), concluded that nevertheless she had “something”, an issue that wasn’t going to resolve itself by itself.
At 1:45 yesterday (Friday) morning she couldn’t go to the bathroom by herself. After I helped her I called 9-1-1.
2 am Friday
I followed a half hour later, knowing that I couldn’t see her for an hour or so, that staff would be administering tests, giving her an IV. The EMTs told me that her blood sugar read 450. Normal is 120 or so. The diagnosis came after I arrived—diabetes, most unusual in a seventy year old with no record of heavy sugar intake, no sweets, no sodas, no sugar.
Jay with the bearer of the news
Saturday night in ICU, tended by wonderful caring nurses. When I came to see her yesterday (Sunday) she was feeling better, still weak, and after interminable explanations and demonsrtations about self-care, she was able to get out of bed, and with the nurse’s help, begin walking.
We brought the walker and a cane home, but she didn’t need it to get into the house.
After lunch. Early afternoon. She left.
It’s 5:30, Monday morning. She’s in bed. Stay tuned. Insulin shots and blood sugar tests are right around the corner.
Sunday, June 15th. A distant memory. Jadyne is home in a house full of flowers, learning how to read her blood sugar levels, insert insulin, and eat the new diet. After one and a half hours at the protest yesterday she felt fine, walked an hur today, went shopping, and except for her insulin/blood sugar issues is back to her old self.