On Anchang Road, Fucheng District, Mianyang, a small house is staged every day with the scene of "a group of old people coaxing an old man". This group of old people are six brothers and sisters, and the object of service is their 92-year-old mother. Their old mother, suffering from hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and other diseases, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago. Six children take turns to take care of her 24 hours a day, eating, feeding medicine, measuring blood sugar and taking insulin … … They wrote down their mother’s daily diet and medication in detail. In the past 16 years, these nursing diaries have more than 300,000 words and 46 books, which record the mother’s growing old day by day and the filial piety and love of a family.
A thick stack of diaries
At 2 o’clock on the afternoon of the 27th, in a family area of Anchang Road, Fucheng District, an old house of more than 70 square meters was clean and tidy. Old Chen Yuxiang was in a wheelchair, accompanied by her daughter Deng Xiurong, and the two shook hands and whispered. Third sister Deng Guoqing wore reading glasses and recorded the time when her old mother had just taken medicine in a notebook. They have kept a diary for 16 years.
46 books
On the cover of the notebook recorded by Deng Guoqing, the words "Nursing Diary" are written in 2018.
In this notebook, the nursing time and medication time of Chen Yuxiang are recorded in detail every day. Deng Guoqing told Chengdu Business Daily that the old people are old and incontinent, and they need to change their diapers at any time. They record the time of each change, so it is convenient to remember the time of the next change. For medication, we should also not forget, because the time and dosage of each medicine are different, and the time of each medicine is recorded, so we can know when to take it next time, and everyone will not make a mistake.
After recording the morning and noon situations, Deng Guoqing and Deng Xiurong, who have been waiting since the night before, are ready to go home and have a rest. The 68-year-old eldest brother Deng Kaiguang and eldest sister-in-law Chen Xinlan are coming to take over.
Deng Guoqing picked up another notebook and wrote on it: Brother, my mother didn’t get up this morning. After lunch, she took heart medicine and antihypertensive drugs, and half an hour later she took "Yixuesheng" (Third Sister).
Different from the previous notebook, the cover of this notebook is written with the words "miscellaneous book" and the time is "2017 ~ 2018". Most of the content in it is to explain what the next brother and sister need to pay attention to before the caregivers leave.
"In the past, I kept one night with my sister, but with the increase of age, it is no longer possible. We keep it together at night." Deng Guoqing said that when the eldest brothers took over, they would go home and have a rest. "Now we should write some precautions every day to remind the successors."
In Chen Yuxiang’s old man’s house, notebooks like "Nursing Diary" and "Miscellaneous Book" are piled high. The Chengdu Business Daily reporter counted 46 books, most of which have been yellowed, but they are still well preserved.
16 years
Deng Guoqing looked at these notebooks with tears in his eyes. In the past 16 years, looking at these notebooks, we can remember the dribs and drabs that the six brothers and sisters took care of their mother.
Chen Yuxiang, a 92-year-old man, has six children. The eldest daughter is 72 years old, the second daughter is 70 years old, the eldest son Deng Kaiguang is 68 years old, the second son Deng Kaiming is 65 years old, the third daughter Deng Guoqing is 62 years old, and the female Deng Xiurong is 60 years old.
In 2002, Chen Yuxiang’s wife passed away. Since then, Chen Yuxiang’s health has gone from bad to worse, suffering from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. A few years ago, she was entangled in Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, six children are on duty 24 hours a day.
Deng Guoqing is a statistical worker. When his father was ill and hospitalized, every time the doctor prescribed medicine, he also said the dosage and usage. But at that time, most of the children were still at work and needed to take turns to take care of them. Fearing that he forgot to remind the successor when changing shifts, Deng Guoqing thought of using a notebook to record every day. This practice continued to be used after Chen Yuxiang’s illness, and it was recorded more carefully.
"A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. My mother hasn’t stopped taking medicine since more than ten years ago. Later, after staying in bed, she was still incontinent, which was particularly difficult to take care of." Deng Guoqing said that every year, the elderly have to be hospitalized, and doctors have to ask about various physical conditions. Therefore, when six brothers and sisters take care of them, they will record their daily physical condition and medication in detail.
Open the thick notebooks, each with tens of thousands of words, thousands of words at least, and 46 notebooks, which add up to more than 300,000 words.
A group of filial sons and daughters
Behind the 46 diaries are a group of filial sons and daughters. At 6 o’clock in the morning on the 28th, Deng Guoqing and Deng Xiurong got up. They made the bed first, then started to boil water and cooled a cup for their mother. For more than ten years, children have never let the elderly drink overnight water. It is said that the more people live, the more they go back. An elderly mother is like a child. This group of children took care of their mother day by day.
Children are experts.
They can take insulin and measure blood sugar.
After the blood pressure was measured, I saw that Yao had brought an instrument for measuring blood sugar. The old man Chen Yuxiang seemed impatient and hid his hand under the bed.
"Mom, be good, take out your hand, and we will measure another blood sugar. After measuring it, we will get up and eat." Deng Xiurong smiled and coaxed the old man like a child.
On the wall of the living room, there are hand-painted pictures and texts of the correct posture of wrist electronic sphygmomanometer, family contact list and blood pressure range of hypertension. "In the beginning, everyone didn’t measure blood pressure, so they searched online, wrote the correct order of use on paper, and then posted it on the wall for everyone to measure accurately." Deng Guoqing said that, like taking insulin and measuring blood sugar, family members should learn to use it accurately first, and then record the measured value of their mother every time.
Before taking insulin, Deng Xiurong kept spinning in his hand with the instrument and counted in his mouth. When I counted to 36, I stopped and began to give my mother an injection. "Our brother and sister can measure blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin, and we can all be regarded as half nurses." Deng Xiurong said with a smile.
Mother is like a child.
"Come on, have some more, so as not to be hungry."
Because she didn’t sleep much the night before, at 3 pm on the 27th, the old man Chen Yuxiang was sleepy and went to bed to rest. Near 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the two sisters began to wake their mother up. They have summed up their experience, and eating after 6 o’clock in the evening can’t be digested by the elderly.
"Mom, get up, the chickens are crowing, be good, get up soon!" Deng Xiurong whispered in Chen Yuxiang’s ear. Maybe he didn’t wake up, the old man resisted and lost his temper. While shouting "go away", he reached out and pushed.
This trick didn’t work, and Deng Guoqing next to him sang a children’s song, "Little Rabbit, open the door, open it quickly, I want to come in … …” Hearing the song, the old man slowly opened his eyes.
Watching her mother open her eyes, 62-year-old Deng Guoqing came to the bed while singing and making rabbit ears. It was not until the song was finished that the old man smiled and held out his hands. Later, the two sisters worked together to dress the old man and help him to a wheelchair.
At 5: 30, my brother Deng Kaiguang brought a special meal for the elderly, added some sesame oil, and fed it slowly in spoonfuls. For every spoonful of rice, Deng Kaiguang blows it gently first, and then slowly feeds it into his mouth. After feeding a few spoonfuls, the old man pushed it away with his hand. Deng Guoqing quickly took over the rice bowl and continued to feed. The old man did not buy it.
"There’s still a little. Come on, have some more, so as not to be hungry … …” Coaxed, the old man ate a few more spoonfuls.
Feeding a meal is like coaxing a child, so is feeding medicine after a meal.
A hard-working mother all her life
"Mom is here, home is here."
Since 2002, Deng Guoqing’s six brothers and sisters have taken turns to take care of their old mother at home. For more than ten years, they have hardly traveled far, and even the large-scale real estate developed in Mianyang in recent years, they don’t know where it is. "Parents, not travel! This is what our parents told us when they took care of grandparents and grandparents. " Deng Kaiguang said.
In Deng Xiurong’s view, their six brothers and sisters have been caring for their mothers for more than ten years, which is a kind of feedback.
"In those days, life was very tense. My mother always gave us rice to cook porridge at home, so she drank some rice soup and never had enough. It was also from that time that my mother fell into anemia. In my impression, she was always busy and suffered a lot for us. " Deng Kaiguang said that the mother also took care of the housework such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and washing clothes at home.
Many people around them asked them why they didn’t ask their mother for a nanny or send them to a nursing home. Deng Guoqing said that everyone has their own family, but both partners and children can understand. The most important thing is that mothers will be much happier when they see their children every day.
"Mom, home is here! Home is more cohesive! We can see our mother every day, and we are also very practical. " Deng Guoqing said.
Chengdu Business Daily reporter Tang Xiaojun’s photo report
Diary excerpt
Change diapers once at 6: 00 (shit), blood pressure at 7: 44 is 116/57, buttocks are washed and medicine is applied at 8: 00, 8 units of insulin are given on an empty stomach at 8: 03, a bag of Huoxiang Zhengqi pills (twice a day) is given at 9: 30, and diapers are changed once at 9: 40 (a little shit); In the afternoon, change diapers at 12: 30, diapers at 14: 25, diapers at 4: 40 (a little shit, urine) and diapers at 5: 25 (shit); At 8: 10 (in the evening), I wash my ass, apply medicine, wash my face and feet, change my diaper at 9: 30 (shit) and at 12: 30 (shit) … …
— — March 26, 2018
At 7: 47, the blood pressure is 119/65, at 8: 08, the blood sugar is 6.3, at 8: 15, at 8: 40, there are 2 ketonic acid tablets (three times a day), and at 9: 45, there are 3 medicinal charcoal tablets … …
— — March 27, 2018
Will the blood sugar rise after taking the medicine you bought? Last night, my mother started to get up and pee again, 5 ~ 7 times a night, eating less and peeing more. Fear … …
— — October 21, 2017
We eat separately, so we need to drink more water after eating this medicine. At night, when I am on duty, there are sometimes 7-8 times, at least 3 times. Thanks a lot! Let’s cheer together!
— — October 22, 2017
Mom flooded Jinshan again, and the bed was wet. We washed all the wet ones, and there is a piece of cloth under the sheets. Come back this afternoon and make it … …
— — Simei
Last night, my mother was flooded with water, diapers, cloth diapers, wool blankets, small towel sheets and shit. She also knew that she was wet and threw it all over the floor … … I was busy this morning, and the ground was full of urine. Fortunately, I put my clothes on the air-conditioned table and chair every time, and they were dry every morning … … Otherwise, you can’t win by baking … …
— — Simei
Mom is old, and I don’t know if the diaper is wet … … Mom coughs up phlegm. Mom says she can’t spit it out. When she coughs, she will have phlegm. She needs to take medicine to eliminate phlegm. I don’t know if the sausage given by Sister Chen was eaten last time or it was caused by a cold. She needs to take some medicine to relieve cough and eliminate phlegm. — — Third sister
… …
