7 am - Mom is awake, she doesn't want to get out of bed

7 am - I make Mom a cup of tea, empty the commode, rinse her dentures; get her a glass of orange juice with 1 TSP of PEG dissolved into it; make her a bowl of cornflakes w/ banana slices and 1 TBS of psyllium husk

8:30 am - Sally arrives - she will give Mom her morning pills and inhaler; also she will do laundry, clean the floors and clean the kitchen; Mom has decided to stay in bed for the morning, she doesn't want to get dressed

8:30 am - I go upstairs and leash up the dogs for their morning walk; I am trying to figure out how to generate income given my limited options; took some nice photos of crows I am hoping to make into Christmas cards

9:30 am - make a cup of coffee and read literature, annotating the documents in preparation for the first webinar at 10 am - Empathy and Caregiving - how to respond to dementia patients' response behaviour - aggressive reactions to changes in their environment

10 am - FCBC webinar - not very satisfying - there is no opportunity to interact or feel part of the group, it is really just watching a live recording of the content, that will be available online as part of the 70+ hours of webinars available on the FCBC website

11 am - UofA Conversation 3 - Building a Better System - Partnering with Caregivers - this was more useful - the chat is an important component because we are able to interact with each other as the presentation is going on - I do have some connections to follow up for that; also reminder to self - I owe Donna Thomson a follow up email

12:30 pm - now I am hungry and I want to go downstairs for lunch, a break and get ready for the afternoon, but Sally is here until 1:30 pm so I leash up the dogs to take them for a walk - Jethro is not doing great, he can hardly bark at this point, he has congestion and pressure on his lungs from his enlarged heart. I notice he is stumbling on our walk so I cut it short to get him back home.

12:45 pm - put in a call to CoV - I got a notification about a street use permit deposit that was paid in 2016 - attempting to follow up and figure out what to do about it. Apparently there was an inspection on Jun 21 2021 - I have no recollection of that - so there is additional work to do on that - I emailed to ask for more information and figure out next steps

1:30 pm - Sally departs, Mom has stayed in bed for the morning; she is asleep as we make the shift change

1:30 pm - Downstairs, make a quick lunch, preparing for a call with my sister, Maggie about the chat she had with brother Lyle, who lives in New York. He is very involved with decision support with regards to Mom's care and provides Mom with significant monthly allowance to bolster her savings from drawing down too quickly for paid care.

2 pm - Quick check in w/ Maggie, postponed our call for 15 minutes

2:30 pm - Collaborative work w/ Maggie on project development work - unpaid time for me with hopes of grant funds later

2:45 pm - Mom complains of pressure and pain in her chest - we have bad forest fire smoke right now - it is hard to tell what impact that is having on Mom

2:45 pm - I give Mom two puffs on the Ventolin inhaler and also a cap full of Pepto Bismal

3 pm - Mom is feeling better, the pain is gone. She is happy lying in bed.

3 pm - Nurse Bettina called in - I had asked her about helping Mom get over her constipation and large, hard stools that are causing problems. Bettina says to give Mom 1/2 a dose of PEG in the morning, and see if it helps to soften her stools. We are going to cut out the psyllium husk for now - it may be causing the extra bulk in her stool. The PEG will draw moisture into the stool to soften it, the psyllium husk draws moisture into the stool and makes it bigger.

345 pm - Mom is a little restless, we are waiting for the caregiver to arrive to give her bath and shampoo

345 pm - I pull out the guitar and we sing Greensleeves, Side by Side and See See Rider - Mom is very happy to have me singing and playing with her

4 pm - Caregiver arrives to give Mom her bath and shampoo, Mom is not going to get dressed today, she is going to stay in her nightgown and go back to bed after the bath

4 pm - I am catching up on today's report

4:30 pm - My old friend Rina called in - we have not talked in over a year - I had left a voice message the other day when I was desperate for someone to talk to and I couldn't think of anyone in my close circle that was due for a checkin. It turns out our mutual friend, Katherine, is still managing spiritual retreats on her property on Bowen Island. I talked to Rina about my idea of a retreat designed for caregiver restoration - she thought it was a good idea and gave me Katherine's number to call and catch up, and see if this was an idea she thought might work on one of her retreat properties.

5 pm - Yogurt and maple syrup, bun and butter, Ensure - eating in bed, doesn't want to get up

5 pm - prepped light meal for Mom, walked Adele while checking in w/ Maggy re. discussion w/ Lyle about cutting back on paid caregiving service and re-directing saved funds to me; Maggy is going to talk to Mom's sister and brother in law and update them on what is happening; let them know there is an opportunity to help Mom out with caregiving expenses if that is something they would like to do

7:30 pm - Mom is still asleep

7:30 pm - Husband Mike is home - we are figuring out a quick dinner from leftovers