Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Life Derailment

Life has been a bit of mess lately. It's funny how quickly things can change, priorities can be reassessed. We take too much for granted in life.
It sounds melodramatic, but this is how I've felt this week. I thought life was messy before, but at least all of my love ones were healthy(ish) and ok. In the space of a week, two family members have been dealing with serious health issues. One, my father, is in hospital; confused, dangerously sick and in and out of the ICU. The other, my grandmother, is still waiting on a diagnosis of an illness that is possibly a type of dementia.

Dealing with it has been hard on everyone, but especially hard on my mum. I've taken leave from work and visit one of them each day, which can be heart breaking when you know that you're visiting someone near and dear that is no longer acting like their 'usual' selves.
I've also spent a lot of time helping my mum out with things she hasn't had time or energy for.
I'm so grateful that my work was so accommodating. If I was still having to work full time (and things had been stressful at work), then I don't know how I would be able to cope.

Finding the Silver Lining


I've been trying to see the good in things that happen. For me, this whole mess has a silver lining of strengthening our relationships. We've been given a lot of time to catch up and talk as a family. My Mum and I have talked for hours while travelling together in the car to and from the hospital. My sister and brother and I have been keeping in touch. My grandpa and I have been texting each other. Now that Dad is up and talking a bit, we've been catching up too.

Being Thankful


I'm so very thankful that Dad is recovering. That we can still talk and I can still hug him.
It will be a long road ahead for him - for all of us. But I know we can make it.

My grandma is a little harder to visit with. She has lucid times, when she recognises us and things are back to how they have always been. However there are a lot of unsure moments, hallucinations that can be scary to deal with and just general unhappiness at having to stay at a hospital for now.
However I am thankful that the doctors say that they can help her. She may not get back to her old self 100% of the time, but any improvement is a positive to us right now.

On Track? Uh huh


As for being on track in terms of diet, well, of course we've had a lot to deal with and I'm not perfect. Ha, far from it. Lots of travelling around, being away from home and in sight of temptation is hard. I've tried to stick to a better diet by making sure I have a healthy snack with me, packing a lunch or dinner if I'll be away that long and if I have to eat somewhere, try and find something small and healthy. I put on a couple of kilos over Easter but have managed to lose it again this week, so I must be doing something right. I would normally turn to food at a time like this but apart from a couple of baked goods that made their way into my tummy, all is good.

Take care all.
Remember to be grateful and tell your family you love them.