Tuesday 12 June 2018

More Things Gone

This whole "losing my arm strength" thing is getting very annoying. Not only is almost everything too heavy for me to pick up, even something as small as a dozen eggs, but now my fingers have taken to locking up consistently whenever I extend them to reach, grab, or push something. It's like the knuckle joint on each finger actually inverts and locks during the process. Then I have to stop whatever it is I am doing, release the hand in question, or both hands sometimes, then shake them to loosen my fingers.

It's all kinds of things, though. For example, not only can I not roll over in bed, I can't even roll onto on side these days. This means when I am put to bed, I need to choose my position carefully as I will likely be there for at least 12 hours. I'm going to start asking my HCA's to put me on my side. I'll sleep that way for a few hours, then roll onto my back for the rest of the night.

Then there's my jackets and hoodies. I simply am not strong enough to pick them up over my head. I need someone to help me put them on. These days I take them with me and ask the first person I meet to help me, even if it's a stranger. Actually I ask strangers for a lot of help these days. I find people are almost always both willing and cheerful. They seem to innately understand the issue.

I've also discovered that I can no longer open some of my pill bottles, expecially the larger ones, which really aren't that large. The child-proof caps are also ALS-proof caps. I know I can get my medications in blister packs, although I don't know what that will cost. My current worry is whether or not I will be able to tear open the packaging.

And that's another thing... packaging. But this is enough complaining for today. I have a lot of reasons to dislike packaging, so more on that another day.

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