Jeanet van der Vlist’s Diary
My coughing has become a recurring problem. I’ve spent another whole night hacking before getting all of the mucus out of my trachea. It wasn’t pleasant, for me nor for my family. I’ll look for some information on tricks that can help me get rid of mucus easier. Continue reading “Diary June 2004”
I actually wanted to combine my July and August entries. I don’t have too much to write about. But when my website suddenly got a lot of hits at the start of this month, I changed my mind. If I don’t, people will just get worried for no reason. Continue reading “Diary July 2004”
I’m surrounded by people who are approaching 50. That’s cause for celebration. Sadly, a lot of them are overshadowed by the passing of loved ones. In order to celebrate without creating too much of a ruckus, we decided to make a website and put it on a CD-ROM. Continue reading “Diary August 2004”
Yesterday, Ward watched The Blair Witch Project. It’s a movie that’s shot like a home video about three teenagers looking for a ghost in the woods. At the time, it was hailed as one of the best and most terrifying horror films ever. We went in feeling slightly apprehensive. Ward repeatedly wondered aloud when the scary part would start. Just in case, he had a comic book to hide behind if the movie got too scary. As it turns out, there was no need for worry. It wasn’t scary at all. Continue reading “Diary September 2004”
I’ve taken up reading again. I’m reading a book by Renate Rubinstein, in preparation for our holiday in her former home. My carer does her own reading and turns the pages of my book as well. It’s very cosy, one of the things I like about autumn. It’s the first book I’ve read in 5 years. I’m still a very impatient reader. If a paragraph is too uninteresting, I’ll just skip it. I’m not a connoisseur of elegant language. It made me remember why I don’t enjoy audiobooks. I like to dictate my own speed. The novel is about a star-crossed love affair between Renate and Simon Carmiggelt. Neither of the two sounded familiar to my carers, who just stared at me, glassy-eyed. I’m getting old. Continue reading “Diary October 2004”
I felt a bit overwhelmed today, too many different people coming and going, open doors, cold draughts, noise and a lot of dust. I’m fed up with all this construction work. Moreover, today we had our first real setback: we had a faulty water main, meaning the whole wall will have to be demolished again (it turned out not to be too bad, though). I would like nothing more than for them to all get out of my house. This is the first time I’ve felt that way, because overall they’ve done a very good job. Another week and things’ll quiet down again. Continue reading “Diary November 2004”
I didn’t feel like writing much this month, so I didn’t. I think a few pictures will suffice for this diary entry.
This is the result of all of that hard work. It’s all done, everything has been repainted and the garden has been replanted. I haven’t visited it yet. I don’t like change and rely on my ancient stress-free routines. Once they deliver my bath chair, I’ll start sleeping in the brown chair and bathing downstairs. Continue reading “Diary December 2004”
We had a nice quiet Christmas break. Our hardwood floor was sanded and finished on January 3rd and didn’t take nearly as long as I’d dreaded. We only had to spend two days staying with friends, after that the smell of varnish in our house was bearable. Because I couldn’t take my PC with me, I started reading The Da Vinci Code, a very suspenseful novel. I couldn’t stop reading it and finished it in 5 days. Fortunately, one of my carers is an avid reader and turned the pages for me while she read her own book. By now I’ve also finished The Dinner Club, a novel with twists, turns, and was full of surprises. The books often don’t look good after I’m done with them. For me to read them, they need to be folded open completely. Continue reading “Diary January 2005”
I hadn’t taken a tumble in years, but this month I fell to the ground two times when trying to use the bathroom. It’s due to a combination of being tired and badly positioned legs, because of which I sank to my knees. There’s no way to stop it once it’s started. Hein had to pick me up and I could do nothing to make it easier, I was dead weight. The second time I fell, I cracked my head on the floor. I saw spots for a second, but everything seemed fine. Only by the next day did we see what the damage was. While I was drinking, I felt like my jaw had been unhinged, the way my teeth gnashed together. And while I was eating my porridge, my remaining front tooth came loose. I now have three enamel stumps where my front teeth used to be Continue reading “Diary February 2005”
On Wednesday, March 2nd, the long-awaited documentary on ALS was finally aired. I don’t like programmes about serious diseases and I never watch them. Every one of them pretends to be in-depth but always leaves me feeling like they haven’t even scratched the surface. But this time, I knew some of the people involved, so I was curious. I enjoyed how every person they interviewed had their own way of dealing with their illness, ranging from getting the most out of life to doctor-assisted suicide, from meticulously planning everything out to living from day to day. I’m more of an improviser myself. The only people who I knew before they were euthanized were male. Maybe that’s because they were used to being in control. Maybe they’re unable to deal with such radical lifestyle changes. It would have been interesting if the documentary focused more on that aspect of ALS, but they barely mentioned it. I’m so impressed with Ria Velthuizen, who managed to shed a positive light on a topic as depressing as ALS. I wouldn’t have been able to. Continue reading “Diary March 2005”
It was amazing. The party was tailor made for me. A limited amount of people. A video, made by friends and family called ‘About Jeanet’, a song, a speech by my mother and brother, a small oration by former colleagues, a homage to Hein, a Russian song sang by Jan, lots of presents and a lot of karaoke. The latter was a huge relief. You’re not on the stage singing on your own. Everyone else was singing alone. I didn’t go to sleep until 3:30. It was unforgettable. Thanks, everyone. Continue reading “Diary April 2005”
Today we had an appointment with the artist who would be painting the kids’ portraits. She talked to Floor and Ward and took a bunch of reference pictures. More of her artwork can be found on her website. Now all we can do is wait. They’ll be done in late June. Continue reading “Diary May 2005”
I haven’t written anything for June. I couldn’t get myself to do it. The only writing in June were some birthday wishes for two good long-time friends who turned fifty in the past month. It’s always a blast to reflect on long-standing friendships. I spared no expense and, together with Marjolein, wrote and gave a speech, meaning that Marjolein did the actual speaking and I sat next to her, beaming.
In the night of Sunday, July 3rd, the kids woke up to a thunderstorm, while we were still fast asleep. They were probably scared, so they thought “Let’s go to mum and dad’s room.” They came in in the nick of time, because water was gushing from our window down the wall of our bedroom Continue reading “Diary July 2005”