Chemotherapy Diary - Cycle #4: Day 15
Friday for me as a carer, is not the start of the weekend, heavy partying, getting ready to go to the pub after work with friends. It is the weekly day - the day of the week where I like to do most of the chores. The dreaded chore day. Cue hair in a messy bun, a t-shirt, feather duster and cloths flying everywhere! Though it is my non- work day - hoorayyyy!!! I still get up at the same time as if I were going to work - booo!!!! No lie in's for the carer unfortunately and caring is not for the faint hearted either.
Food shopping
Friday morning is the best time to do the food shopping. And that's a fact proven by the combined wisdom and experience of all the elderly, the stay-at-home mother's and disabled. Stop any elderly woman or gentleman in the street and ask them when they do their food shopping and they will answer Friday morning. Sainsbury's is packed with the elderly and that's good company to shop with as opposed to trolley raged mothers with children racing through the aisles. I choose a quiet time so that I can take my mum who really enjoys going food shopping with me when she can. It's an activity that can't be rushed or done under pressure. It's quality time that my mum really enjoys and my favourite time of the week.
Healthy Eating
Having stocked up at the supermarket, I like to make a batch of soup for my mum that she really likes and is packed full of healthy and fresh vegetables. I've posted my go-to soup recipe on my blog before here. The veg. that I add will largely depend on what I've bought at the supermarket and what is fresh but I find some comfort and solace in stirring the soup knowing that I will be able to help heal and nourish her tired and weary body from fighting the cancer and to counteract the drugs that have been put into her body.
Cleaning
During my mum's 9 hour surgery to rid her body of as much of the disease as possible, her spleen, affected by the cancer, was removed. The spleen protects the body against infections by fighting germs. As such, I like to keep a clean and tidy house. What's more, I want my mum to be safe and comfortable in her own house and concentrate on resting and recovering as opposed to wasting energy on hoovering and laundry. I may not be able to take some of the pain she has to endure but this is something that I can do for her.
Admin
There are a LOT of appointments that my mum attends and with those appointments, comes follow ups. I spend Friday afternoons as my mum's Personal Assistant, arranging her diary for the coming weeks, making sure appointments are at a time when she has energy to attend the appointment and trying to schedule them together so she doesn't have to make multiple trips to the hospital. We really don't like to go the hospital if we don't have to!
There's a general belief that with a cancer diagnosis, you can't waste a single moment of your life. You must jump out of a plane or bungee jump off a bridge to raise money for charity, have an epiphany, meditate and travel the world. Actually, what my mum craves the most right now is a sense of normality. A routine to give her life some sense and order, some peace and quiet to rest her weary and tired, body and soul. She finds comfort in the the knowledge that I will be doing laundry on Friday morning. She can rely on me to pre-cut stoma bags so that she does not run out during the week. When at any given time, you are told you will need to spend the night in a hospital and have no night bag with you, an element of control over your life is vital to your mental wellbeing.
Mx
Food shopping
Friday morning is the best time to do the food shopping. And that's a fact proven by the combined wisdom and experience of all the elderly, the stay-at-home mother's and disabled. Stop any elderly woman or gentleman in the street and ask them when they do their food shopping and they will answer Friday morning. Sainsbury's is packed with the elderly and that's good company to shop with as opposed to trolley raged mothers with children racing through the aisles. I choose a quiet time so that I can take my mum who really enjoys going food shopping with me when she can. It's an activity that can't be rushed or done under pressure. It's quality time that my mum really enjoys and my favourite time of the week.
Healthy Eating
Having stocked up at the supermarket, I like to make a batch of soup for my mum that she really likes and is packed full of healthy and fresh vegetables. I've posted my go-to soup recipe on my blog before here. The veg. that I add will largely depend on what I've bought at the supermarket and what is fresh but I find some comfort and solace in stirring the soup knowing that I will be able to help heal and nourish her tired and weary body from fighting the cancer and to counteract the drugs that have been put into her body.
Cleaning
During my mum's 9 hour surgery to rid her body of as much of the disease as possible, her spleen, affected by the cancer, was removed. The spleen protects the body against infections by fighting germs. As such, I like to keep a clean and tidy house. What's more, I want my mum to be safe and comfortable in her own house and concentrate on resting and recovering as opposed to wasting energy on hoovering and laundry. I may not be able to take some of the pain she has to endure but this is something that I can do for her.
Admin
There are a LOT of appointments that my mum attends and with those appointments, comes follow ups. I spend Friday afternoons as my mum's Personal Assistant, arranging her diary for the coming weeks, making sure appointments are at a time when she has energy to attend the appointment and trying to schedule them together so she doesn't have to make multiple trips to the hospital. We really don't like to go the hospital if we don't have to!
There's a general belief that with a cancer diagnosis, you can't waste a single moment of your life. You must jump out of a plane or bungee jump off a bridge to raise money for charity, have an epiphany, meditate and travel the world. Actually, what my mum craves the most right now is a sense of normality. A routine to give her life some sense and order, some peace and quiet to rest her weary and tired, body and soul. She finds comfort in the the knowledge that I will be doing laundry on Friday morning. She can rely on me to pre-cut stoma bags so that she does not run out during the week. When at any given time, you are told you will need to spend the night in a hospital and have no night bag with you, an element of control over your life is vital to your mental wellbeing.
Mx
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