Three Beautiful Things 06/10/16: Day Pack, Not Peaking, Mom's Improving

1. I'll test my right heel. I'll see if it really is doing better. I'll walk along the bank of Greenbelt Lake and on to the swimming pool for my workouts rather than drive. I can more readily do this now because today I bought a day pack to strap to my back and use to carry my swimming gear. I think this pack will double as a camera equipment pack. I also bought a water bottle.

2. Before making these major purchases at REI, I drove down to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see what kind of water foliage was (or was not in bloom). I think these gardens peak in July, so for seeing the big blooms, I was early, but I was hoping to find some turtles basking in the sun or come across some other surprises. The turtles stayed hidden. I don't know where the geese were. I was too slow to photograph dragonflies! But, I did take some pictures of what things, in general, looked like today.  Scroll to the end of this post if you'd like to see them.

3. I checked with Christy to make sure Mom was feeling like being on the phone and late in the afternoon I called her. She sounded good and has a sound understanding of her condition and what she needs to do to improve. The treatment is working. She started her treatment on Tuesday and by Friday afternoon, she had lost about twelve pounds of the watery weight that had built up in her frame thanks to the edema. Yes, her sleep at night has been interrupted by frequently needing to void her bladder, but, thanks to the oxygen, Mom told me that she has been sleeping more peacefully than she has in quite a while and she's not having oddball dreams like she had been. So, reduced swelling and water weight. Better sleep. Good appetite. Devotion to appropriate hydration. Loving attention from Christy. A couple of meals from Carol. I hung up feeling pretty good about how this past week has progressed.

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