RE: Caregiver-patient interaction

[Guest guest]

Greetings (and a Brrrr to) Barbara in Illinois!

You noted:

> Well, yes, you've got to admire his spunk. But last night

> he insisted on taking the dogs out instead of me (it was

> 3 degrees F.), without a coat or any pants! He came in and

> had another of these horrible chills that immobilized him,

> with extreme shaking from head to toe. It took several

> minutes for me to warm him up with down coats (which he

> should have put on in the first place).

It is very important for patients to do two things. First we need to

maintain independence as long as possible. Second, we need to accept that

things are different, and we need to be defensive toward the world around

us.

Independence is good for mobility. It is good for my own outlook on my

situation. I get most depressed when I think of the constrictions in my

independence.

BUT, I also accept my situation. I no longer drive and curtail my own

independence) because it is not safe for others for me to drive. This is

not a choice I made lightly. But hurting someone else because of my own

situation is NOT acceptable.

I no longer feel temperatures as much as before. But my body does! Just

because my brain does not register it does not mean that my body does not.

I need to bundle up just as much as before .. or more so.

Accept, adjust and adapt.

Regards,

=jbf=

B. Fisher

[Guest guest]

My husband has these types of chill also. His right arm shakes continuously. Does your husband's arm shake when holding something. When my husband holds on to something or concentrates on it it will stop until he is distracted with something else. I have read many messages about eating. What are the first symptoms? In the last month, my husband gets very short of breath right after eating anything. Sometimes he coughs, but infrequently. Is this the starting signs of the eating problems with the disease?

Gaylene