Coming to Terms With It

Diagnosed in 2004 with diabetes, David has fought this disease every step of the way.  Being honest about it, he is not great with his diet, but I'm on his case all the time. 

Something I never blogged about was December of 2010.  I don't know why.  It was awful, but it should definitely be marked down as a landmark time in our lives.  So much changed. 

December 2, 2010 David had his first surgery - a trial for a spinal cord stimulator in his back.  We needed to do something about the escalating pain from the diabetic neuropathy.  After some tweaking, he decided it was a go. 

December 22, 2010 David went in for a simple outpatient surgery to have a permanent spinal cord stimulator implanted.  He ended up in ICU, & they couldn't get him extubated until the afternoon of the 24th.  What I had found out was that they were keeping him hyped up on meds & trying to extubate him without me there.  When I finally got there, I made them let me handle David.  It took quite a while, but by the mid-afternoon, when they tried again, they were finally successful. 

The pain levels were astounding.  Why?  Well, no one paid attention to me when I said his dosages weren't being administered properly.  It took a lot of threats to get them to contact the doctor managing his pain throughout this event.  Let me tell you, the doctor was not happy at all.  He had left orders that he was to be contacted if there was a problem.    Needless to say, his pain meds dosages were finally adjusted.  When the surgeon came in, I asked about bringing David home.  I was up front about our experience in the hospital & that David would recover faster at home.  Thankfully, the surgeon agreed & David finally came home.  Oh! And, the surgeon will never go to that hospital again.  He has privileges there, but hasn't gone there in years.  He did it as a favor to us since it was convenient for us.

Erin had been staying with Jolene & her family throughout this week.  A few hours after I got David settled, Jolene brought Erin back home & left us with a care package since she knew we weren't going to be thinking of food.  She did this for us on her holiday - Christmas Day.  Let's just say that in David's eyes, Jolene is a hero.

He went back to work on February 1, 2011.  Within the hour, he was let go from his job.  His boss decided that rather than accomodate David & his needs, they no longer had a job for him.  And the fight was on.  We won! July 2011 David was reinstated as a disabled retired employee.  We also won disability from S*cial Secur!ty.

In the end, it was for the best.

David can't work anymore.  His pain meds keep him up till all hours of the night, & then he crashes from the exhaustion.  He has no ability to concentrate. 

In the last year, I have encouraged David to continue with his hobbies - astronomy, model building, saltwater fish tanks.  We've made changes to how he deals with his hobbies & the limitations his neuropathy has put in his path.  I insist he keep up with all of it to the best of his ability.  He's really doing well with it.  It takes longer to build a model.  I bought him a motorized cart for his telescope so he can move it easier.  Things like that.

Today we came to terms with the fact that he can't keep up with our fish tank.  It's a saltwater tank & beautiful.  He just can't do the water changes & other maintenance.  I've been waiting for him to make the decision & voice it.  He was waiting for me to voice my decision.  Now we have to find out how to sell everything.  And if there is anyone who even wants to buy it all.

And we're coming to terms with it all.

Unhappily but realistically.