Yesterday’s visit with Janine was shorter than the day before, despite my intent to boost her spirits with some of her favorite treats. I took watermelon, sherbet, and cranberry juice to her, but she was in no mood to consume them for the first three hours, when she opted to sleep, instead. Finally, she consented to have some watermelon, but only about half of what I had for her. And, then, she agreed to eat some sherbet; it had thawed, in spite of my best efforts with an insulated carrier and blue ice. Still, she had a few spoonsful of the melted goo before suggesting I dispose of the rest. I left the cranberry juice and two frozen containers of sherbet (given to the nurse immediately upon my arrival), which were labeled with Janine’s name and put in a fridge/freezer somewhere in the bowels of the ICU. By 4:30, I decided it was rather pointless for me to stay, in that I would be sitting next to Janine while she slept, so I opted to head home while still daylight.
The nurse told me Janine had eaten virtually nothing again today. Janine says even the smell of food makes her cough. Neither the nurse nor I can understand that. Somehow, some way, I have to insist that she eat nourishing meals, at least enough to provide basic life-sustaining nutrition.
Thank you both, Warren and Robin, for your thoughts and good wishes. I intend to take care of myself so I can take care of Janine when she returns home. In the interim, I will continue to try to successfully coax her to take in nourishment so she has the strength to recover. You may have realized I began to write this post as if it would be posted this morning; my distractedness led to its posting, rather than saving it as a draft to finish this morning. I guess I am getting a bit tired and confused. It’s time for me to drink some more coffee and try to write something coherent!
John, Bari and I send you and Janine our positive thoughts for her speedy recovery and you the strength to be at her side as she recovers. Love overcomes.
I so hope Janine’s energy and appetite return. I hope the medications she is on will really help. I feel so sorry for what she and you are going through right now. These health crises are so challenging in so many ways. Please take care of yourself so you stay strong and can keep on being her heartfelt love and support. Thinking of you both.