Half Stat Travel Day:

A.M. Blood Glucose:     Time:  0634     Reading:  149

A.M. Blood Pressure:     Time:  0653     BP:  141/63     Pulse:  54

    The woman's a trouper, especially when she knows it involves a trip and friends and eating out...
    As I'm sure you can imagine, considering how non-emergent Mom's Type 2 Diabetes is, I didn't bother testing her at "dinner", although I gave her a second glipizde with her "dinner" pills, all of which were dispensed at "dinner", including the iron, lisinopril and vitamin C, since "dinner" was almost exactly 12 hours after "awakening/breakfast pills".
    At breakfast, which was at home, both of us were keyed up and didn't want any kind of bread so we just had sausage and eggs, she had a half of her usual compliment of orange juice and a smaller cup of tea than usual, all of which she drank, and I cut her Benefiber back to 1 tbl so as to her body to NOT have a bowel movement, even though, in her regular schedule, today would have been the day. She spent three days cleaning herself out, though, and tomorrow I'll administer her regular compliment of fiber today both in food and supplement form. She was no slouch in the fiber-foods yesterday, though, so I'm not worried, even if she doesn't have a bowel movement tomorrow. Two days hence, though, is a different story.
    Let's see: Her next food was a Turkey/Havarti/Tomato/on a Bolillo roll, her lunch, at around noon; and a cup of coffee. A little later she requested, which blew me away, the can of V-8 juice I'd brought. After her doctor's appointment I gave her a 1 oz bag of peanuts: about 1530.
    At about 1630 we headed out to the restaurant, a rib place. Delicious, by the way. She ate a full half rack of ribs, her entire dinner salad, which was small and slight on variety as our home dinner salads go, but was plenty stocked from the restaurant perspective, with grated cheese and croutons. Thousand Island Dressing. She insisted on eating it all, even though the rest of us were on to our dinners by the time she finished. We had her ribs and beans reheated. None of there rest of us finished our half slabs. She polished off hers. She ate half her beans, which were a measly portion at best, and when someone encouraged her to continue she said, "No, I can get them at home better." I beamed. That's true. The rest of us took up a collection of left over ribs. We brought them home. She ate a fair amount of bread and shelled maybe 16 peanuts and ate them, as well. And, no we didn't get back to our friend's home until 1930. Stayed for maybe 45 mintues. Retrieved the last of our stuff at the motel and were pulling onto "Test Drive" the street the motel was on, at 2040. 2038 by Mom's watch. We pulled into our driveway at 1038.
    She was up for awhile. I insisted that she could not go to bed until I'd rubbed her legs down and that was fine with her. That happened probably about midnight. She read for quite awhile, came out once to finish a trailing conversation, leaning over the banister, went back in and read some more. I happened to catch her light going out at 1313. So, I'm letting her sleep in. The woman had a big, wonderful day and is tired.
    Yes, she (and I) smoked with friends: Not before her doctor's appointment. Not until about 1500 when we arrived at friends. She did not chain smoke, thank the gods. I counted (I bought a fresh pack so that she wouldn't smoke our friends out of house and home: She smoked six cigarettes in all, filter light 100's, no chemicals (if we're going to smoke occasionally, may as well enjoy some quality), including the one she had a good hour and a half after we arrived home, only after she drove herself near crazy "looking for something" which she identified after she ferreted out a pen, inserted it in her mouth and began looking around for a lighter, by miming flicking a lighter. I did not coach her, thinking that her memory might do her in this time and she'd forget wanting a cigarette, which I would allow in the home (with all windows open and fans on), but then no more until the next time we visit MCF.
    The old WWII military way, usually obliged with a meticulously kept stainless Steel Zippo. When I'm smoking with her I have a smell flashback of the smell of burning lighter fluid from her's and Dad's and eventually my lighter. Butanes have only a faint smell. Sulfur burnoff from matches have what is to me the most provocative smell, although harsh. She used a fair amount of oxygen but only when she was moving and during dinner when I knew she'd try to mouth breathe, a lot, because of the three cigarettes she'd already had. She actually came through the evening using one tank less oxygen than I thought and, with only occasional (every 15 minutes to hour) reminders to nose breathe. Most of the time it was more therapeutic to get 5/lpm pulse versus 2/lpm continuous, although she got that during dinner. Two more cigarettes at MCF's sister's house. Fond good-byes. Sixth cigarette in the last 15 minutes before she went to bed.
    She associates MCF with cigarettes. She began immediately after the doctor's appointment to look for cigarettes and/or an ashtray in the car, after I reminded her that we were going to rendevous with MCF and family. I told her the car was a no smoking car (it was) and our motel room was a no smoking motel room (it was). The air was decent in Mesa and Gilbert and through the city at the times we traveled, which was not noticeably noxious. Mom's eyes watered from the time we passed Carefree Highway until after we arrived home.
    As soon as she had a cigarette in the evening at home I sent her to bed. Insisted that she stay there, even if she had to read for awhile to settle down. She did not ask for any more cigarettes after her last one.
    She may or may not remember smoking today. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other, the day after.
    In the morning I substituted an adult buffered aspirin for her usual 81 mg tablet. She got another dose with her lunch (which she also supplemented, come to think of it, at about 1500 with a half of my egg sandwich; she ate good, yesterday). A last dose at dinner. She was stiff getting out of the car for the last time but we did lots of post-rising stretching, "out of your hips", shoulder's back, okay, a little hula to get the hips lubricated." The car we had was a small Ford van, 2006. As I described it to a visiting friend-of-friend, more power than a Vibe, but didn't handle as well in the wind and the seat seemed higher in the Vibe. Then, MCF reminded Mom of the Oh-Shit bar built into the inner door frame of each passenger position. That actually helped. I forgot that Mom's arms are plenty strong because she does a lot of what I call "walking on her hands", which I try to curb when it becomes obsessive.
    I'll discuss her doctor's appointment, medication changes, etc., over at Mom & Me Too, at least the first post of the day, which will, eventually, be directly linked to the immediately previous, uh, link.