Flexible Expectations

By: Zeva the Diva

My mommy has several chronic illnesses.  A few of them are psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, and abdominal adhesions.  However it doesn’t matter if a chronically ill person has one or more incurable illnesses, what they can expect to do on a daily basis is always changing.

I never know what my mommy will be able to do on any given day.  Unless I have an upset tummy I never wake her up before she is ready.  If I wake up before her I just watch her sleep and wait.  I also know that I have to wait anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes until she is ready to get out of bed to let me out.

 

Some days mom’s pain is too much for her to do much of anything.  Those days are spent with me by her side either in bed or in her recliner.  There are only two things that will get me to leave her side; a walk with daddy or mealtime!

When mommy is having a good day she takes me for a short walk.  I consider these to be bonus days as daddy takes me on walks every afternoon and sometimes twice on the weekend.  My walks with mommy are about her getting out and stretching her limits.  For me they are just another opportunity to smell flowers and say hi to my neighborhood canine friends and suitors.

While I love routine, with mommy I understand that she isn’t always able to keep one.  That is why I keep daddy on one instead.  If he hasn’t taken me for my walk by the time I am used to I will bark and whine at him until he does, this is something I never do with mommy.

With the chronically ill, their expectations as well as ours have to be flexible.  If they fixate on having a rigid schedule they will come face to face with daily disappointment.  They have to listen to their bodies and do whatever it takes to keep their pain levels from sky rocketing out of control.

Bow wow for now!

Click here to read all of my blog posts