Laura's Visit: Day Two

My dad got up at 7:30 and that's when everyone started to move around. I made breakfast (eggs and toasted bagels). Mom made coffee for the both of us.

Dad announced that he needed to have a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner. He had felt bloated from the dinner we made last night. (Penne pasta with tomato sauce and onion bagels, toasted, dipped in olive oil, and a soup that mom made.) And even though he was able to fall asleep, when he woke up, the bloated feeling was still there and kept him awake. By making lunch bigger and dinner smaller, he would be able to sleep through the night without feeling hungry or uncomfortable. We all agreed that this was a very wise decision on his part and we would make the adjustments according to his needs.

After breakfast dad fell back asleep. It's during this nap that my mom and I went out to do a little shopping. We had to buy milk. That's about all we could think of. Dad wanted to eat out for lunch, which the both of us didn't want to do, but he'd be upset if we didn't go along with this idea.

After the morning nap, we went to the accupuncturist's office and then went out for lunch. Dad had yu tou soup on his mind. The same soup Jeff and the Aunties had during their visit. Yes, the same one that could've fed ten people. I think he had such a good time with my brother and the Aunties at that meal, that he wanted to relive it with me and my mom. No such luck. Instead, we found a nice restaurant that served a medicinal chicken soup.

The restaurant wasn't bad. Everything we ordered was light and tasted pretty good. I think the most important thing was that my mom was around and she has a pretty big say on what gets ordered.

When we were done, we sat around to digest for a little while. During this time I noticed my dad staring at every dish the waitress was carrying to the next table, mouth open, eyes looking hungry. My mom made a comment about how scary he looked. Then we all laughed because we all knew that he really was hungry inside and couldn't help but feel envious of all the dishes the next table was able to eat. We packed up the soup and went home. Dinner was going to involve the leftover soup.

Dad's pretty upset about his weight-loss. He kept bringing it up and I kept trying to make light of it. I reminded him that since he was in his forties, he's been trying to lose weight. Now he doesn't have to worry about it anymore. All he could do was chuckle out of courtesy. He said ..."not like this". And he's right, because he's not only lost excess weight, but all the muscle in this arms and legs. He has little to no energy and when he does anything, it makes him completely exhausted. So he sleeps. And when he sleeps, he becomes inactive, which is probably why he's lost all the muscle in his body.

Dad's constantly comparing himself now with himself a couple of months ago. "I used to be able to walk a lot, now i can't"... but that's because he was on a medication that wasn't having much effect on his cancer. So, now the medication seems to be working, but he can't seem to stop feeling fatigued.

After dinner, I gave him a light back rub. The guy at the acupuncturist office showed me where he needed a massage to help his shoulder. After about five minutes my dad was out of breath saying that he felt like he just worked out.