Catching up

I've been trying to get back to blogging but just haven't felt up to sitting here for any length of time. The laptop is back at the kitchen table again but it's still kind of difficult to sit up in a chair.  I've got so many stories to tell, I'll probably try to break them down into segments as my stamina holds up. I may invest in another laptop that is smaller....but not now.  I just had Susan take my car by Les Schwab to check out my tires and my estimate is $748.  I knew the tread was wearing on all four but I was hoping the cost would be lower.  But why should it be?  This is my life right now.  Give all my money to everybody else.  I'll worry about it later.

When I think back over all the trauma I've experienced since that fall on my face and knee at the end of July, I sometimes feel like I've aged 5 years.  I'm very glad I got the surgery because I know the pain would not have gone away on its own. My knee was too far gone. The surgeon said it was one of the worst knees she'd ever seen and she could understand why I was in so much pain using the walker.  Helped validate the tears I've spilled these past weeks.

I'm in a lot of pain now but it was expected and I'm doing my exercises faithfully so all I can do is wait it out.  My appetite continues to be puny but that's fine.  That's the only thing that's fine about this whole ordeal.  My root canal was an unexpected $1000 expense but I'm thankful I only needed the one.  We'll see if a second one is needed later. A couple of my front teeth are still without feeling.  The broken front tooth he fixed (for free) held up for about a week or so and it broke off again.  I'll worry about that later.

Man, it sure got dark in here and here comes the rain.  I hope I don't lose electricity but the wind isn't blowing so perhaps I'll be okay.

The surgery went well.  I guess.  I was out of it. Had a spinal block.  As they rolled me in, I was surprised at how narrow the operating table was.  Lots of people in green scrubs and lots of shiny tools. I told them it didn't look much like Gray's Anatomy.  One person said she hates those medical shows as they're too unrealistic and everyone is just jumping in bed with everyone else.  Another didn't even know what the show was.

I had a nice water view in my private room after but I was so tired, I had no interest in looking out the window.  The nurses were all very nice but I got little sleep the entire time because of the constant intrusions to introduce the changing of the shift staff or to take my vitals, etc.  You become accustomed to the whole world viewing every body part you've ever tried to keep hidden.  I didn't even care towards the end who saw what.

I did have a problem one night, however, when this young male nurse came in to help me onto the toilet. I decided that I wasn't all that comfortable with the idea and asked for a female.  He never came in my room again so I probably hurt his feelings.  Sometimes, though, you just have to deal with being modest.

Jenni took me to Crestwood Nursing Home Friday afternoon and I was all ready for a peaceful sleep and to begin physical therapy.  Things didn't work out as planned, however.  I discovered immediately that my room mate (who I had looked forward to having) was a nut case who never ever shut up.  If I had been rested, I might have been able to deal with her but I was so tired and at my wits' end, I started having panic attacks.

My observations about the place when I visited a few days earlier were not as thorough as they should have been.  But I wasn't really sure what to look for in the first place.  The bed was uncomfortable, the pillow was like cement, the width of the bed wasn't even a full twin size. The tvs for each bed were 4 feet apart from each other mounted on the wall with no earphones. My roomie kept hers on  a fishing station all day and all night so trying to watch a show I wanted to was out of the question.

She may have been on the outskirts of dementia. I'm not sure.  Her daughter (who I found pleasant enough when she visited) confided in me that her mom was a hoarder and she hoped having to share the bathroom with her wasn't going to be a problem because she was a bathroom hog.  Oh dear!

The first night she called for aids to help her in the bathroom every hour or two.  Which I can understand but..... she'd get them in the bathroom and then "chat them up for twenty minutes."  It was like they were standing right next to my bed. When they came out of the bathroom, she would start whispering really loud.... be quiet...she's trying to sleep...and we don't want to bother her.  This happened several times.  One guy that was helping her she started asking if he liked her hair and she went into a long speel about the beauty shop.

She was a demanding patient and I picked up IMMEDIATELY that she was not a favorite with the staff.  She never stopped asking for anything she could think of......ice chips, ice water, warm my soup, cover me up with a blanket, get me a nurse; I'm having heart palpations, where's my phone? (the rooms didn't provide phones and the one they brought her was too far away from the base to work so they had to wheel her down the hall.)  She even requested a Catholic Bible but told them she isn't really a Catholic. It never ended.  

After a while her calls were pretty much ignored. Even when I called for something, I found no one coming. I was very isolated and felt unsafe. No one ever came with medication.  Told me I was still being "evaluated."  Meaning they didn't work on weekends.  And physical therapy didn't seem to be a weekend feature either.  No matter what question I asked of who, no one knew the answer and would have to find out and get back to me.

Three different women came in with clipboards to question me with stupid questions like "On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is it for you to pick out your own clothes.  I realized these were designed for the older patients who were staying long term but I felt it was a waste of time and energy asking me to get involved in beading or bingo or other crafts.  Then they asked me if I ever felt like killing myself.  Their eyes really perked up when I said Yeah, pretty much all the time.

"When did these feelings begin?"
"Right after I fell on my face."

The activities director asked me what I was interested in and said AWESOME! every time I mentioned a hobby.  I was trying not to roll my eyes.

The following morning at 7 a.m. I  got dressed and walked down the hall.  Must have looked like a homeless woman the way I was dressed and how my hair looked. No one paid a bit of attention to me as I sat by the back door whimpering.  I called Jenni and said "Come Get me!"  The half hour I sat there, not one person paid me any attention. Except....one sweet little Asian girl who recognized me from when she brought out meals. She came over and patted and rubbed my back and let me vent about the witch they stuck me in with and how I was over the edge.

When Jenni arrived, I told her about my night of no sleep. I suggested I go home  for the weekend to shower (showers were down the hall and no towels or washcloths or soap was in each bathroom in the room; just flimsy paper towels that broke apart when you used them) I told her if I could sleep in my bed, maybe I could come back on Monday when therapy started and request another room.

Good ole Jen!  "FU.... THAT!"  she said, "You're outta here!"  She went down to my room and started packing me up.  When she stopped by a nurses station to tell them she was checking me out, they had a cow.  Said I had to wait for the nurse on duty that day to arrive.  I suggested they call her and ask her to come in now but they didn't want to do that.  Jen said: Just give us the form!  They did.  I signed, they witnessed it, and Jenni said:  "Pull out your camera and take a picture of that bad boy!"

As she got me in the car, we drove off and she said: "Hey! You hungry?!  That was  the most fun I've had all week....breaking my mama out of a nursing home.

We got home, she unloaded the car, got my leg wrapped in plastic so she could help me shower, and I crawled in my own bed and slept for hours.  She went grocery shopping and we called Sue to come spend any time she could as well.  I was never so thankful in all my life to be home.

I called Home Health and they're going to sign me up again and a physical therapist will come to the house twice a week to help me with exercises.  I have the pictures of what I need to do (on the bed) and while they hurt like hell, Sue is helping me do them twice a day and I continue to walk with the walker.

I slept real bad last night. This morning I "think" I woke up with another UTI or yeast infection.  I used what I have on hand and will get that checked when home health comes.  Maybe tomorrow.  The special motion machine I was using at the hospital and at the rest home is also being brought to me so I can work on that while in bed too.  It keeps your leg moving and they like you to be on it for 6 to 8 hours a day.

And that is where things sit today.  I'm tired as all get out but I'm hoping things will calm down and I can get back on an even keel.  My theory about the lack of good care in some nursing homes is that they need MORE AIDS per patient and they need more money.  One way to start is to train one team that is strictly there to help people to the toilet and to clean up accidents.  These should be premium paying jobs; not the lowest paid!  Granted they aren't the glamour jobs but they should be rated higher than they are.  That comfort alone is worth more for the comfort of patients than anything else.

I heard call buttons going off and ringing endlessly the whole time I was there.  Not enough people caring for those who needed their help.  I realize not all nursing homes are the same but it's a shame we can't put the bad ones out of business.  Some patients (like my roomie) are more difficult to deal with and pull care away from others.  Big problem.  A sad problem.

Ironically, this roomie of mine lives on my street!  Right through the woods near Jenni's house.  Ha! Well, I sat here way too long and I'm too tired to proofread so sorry for the errors.

Saturday around town

Got out and about a little bit today, thanks to Ruth and Linda.  They loaded and unloaded my wheelchair as we made various stops and it felt good to be outside.  We drove across town to the Eagles Hall where my sister had a table set up for their flea market. She was selling bags and other things so I bought a few for Xmas gifts.

We stopped by Jim's Pharmacy so I could get my special stockings for wearing in the hospital but I have to go through all this rigamarole first. Have to measure various parts of my leg first thing in the morning and then call to see if they have the stockings available. If not, it takes 10 days to order. For a place that has the corner market on these items, you'd think they'd have a better inventory.

Had my camera with me and then went and forgot to take pictures everywhere we went. I must be slipping.  I drove up to Crestwood Nursing Home as I wanted to see what it was like inside.  Looks fine. I think I'll be in a large room with one other person and it has two tvs.  The rehab room is large and has lots of equipment.  We even ran into my doctor in the hall who I introduced to Ruth and Linda.  My regular doctor; not the surgeon.

We drove around PA a bit looking at places we remembered and then came back here so they could get on their way. They intend to stop at the casino for lunch and gambling.

Had a doctor appt yesterday to find out the results of all the blood tests I had.  I don't have adrenal insufficiency so I guess the surgery is on for Tuesday morning early.  I do have a little case of the sniffles but I assume it's allergies so I'm going to keep my mouth shut about it.  It's hard to stay 100% healthy every single day and I can't imagine that a stuffed up head would interfere with knee replacement.  If I don't pull through,......well.....we'll all know I miscalculated.

I'm still not sleeping worth a darn. Mainly because of the upper arm pain. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and suffer through until I'm done using a walker.  Maybe I'll mosey on out to the recliner and see if I can't catch a couple of winks.  Think I'll get on my comfortable sweats while I'm at it.  I made an attempt to dress (and wear earrings) since company was coming but they're gone now to back to my usual attire.

Got this in an email the other day and thought it was worth passing along...tips on ways to protect yourself from thieves...

SCENE 1.

A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in the

locker. After the

workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought

to himself,'Funny, I thought I locked the locker...

Hmm, 'He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in

order.Everything looked okay - all cards were in place...

A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of

$14,000! He called the credit card company and started yelling at them,

saying that he did not make the transactions.

Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the

system and asked if his card had been stolen...

'No,' he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit

card, and yep -you guessed it - a switch had been made.

An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet.

The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards.

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the

card missing earlier, he would  have to pay the amount owed to them.

How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy?

$9,000!  Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped?

Small amounts rarely trigger a 'warning bell' with some credit card

companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to

big one!

============================

SCENE 2.

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card.

The bill for the meal came, he signed it and the waitress folded the

receipt and passed the credit card along.

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket.

Funny enough,though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and  behold, it

was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under

the watchful eye of the man.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong

expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and

took out the real card. No exchange of words --- nothing!  She took it and came back to the

man with an apology..(This scenario actually happened to me at a local restaurant- Falls

Terrace-between the waitress and the front desk cashier.)

Verdict:   Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours.

Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or

the card is taken away for even a short period of time.

Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at

it, 'assuming'that it has to be theirs.

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD

EACH

TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

==========================

SCENE 3:

Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that I

had called in.

I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked

directly to my checking Account.

The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid

it on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.

While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing.

I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing

seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds

when I take a picture.He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he

was still pressing buttons.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was

really going on.

It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I'm paying close

attention to what he is doing..

He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open.

About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved.

Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my

credit card.

Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would

never have known what happened.

Needless to say, I immediately canceled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlour.

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Whenever you are using your credit card take caution and don't be

careless.

Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use

your card.Be aware of phones, because many have a camera phone these days.

Looking forward to the Emmys tomorrow night.  And that is about it for now.

Stressful Thursday

Well, it was a tad stressful today but I manage to bring a lot of that on myself most of the time.  I fretted all night and all morning about having two root canals and if he'd be able to get it all fixed up good enough for the surgery to continue.

Much to my relief, the Sequim dentist (who only does root canals and such) was super nice. So was his assistant.  Made me feel relaxed right away and I only needed one root canal.  So happy.  Did not hurt at all.  My arms gave me a lot of problems sitting there but they've been acting up for weeks and will probably continue so until I'm done using the walker.

The Novocaine has worn off now and I'm half expecting some discomfort but I'll deal with it. I can't take Aleve or Advil 'cause surgery is near but I can take Tylenol.  He also did a temporary fix (for free) of my front chipped tooth.  Told me not to chew on beef jerky but it should hold for a while.

Not sure if my lip will ever heal properly. Just have to wait and see.  I came home and rested for the afternoon. Wanted to take a nap in the worst way but I'm trying to stay up so I'll sleep better at night. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.  Usually, it's my achy arms that keep me awake more than anything else.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit my regular doctor at 11 a.m. I'll drive myself and hopefully, can manage getting the walker in and out of the back seat so I can wobble up the handicap ramp.  My knee doesn't hurt unless I try to walk so I know this surgery is a must have.  Only one more hurdle to jump.....and that's getting the go ahead from my doctor tomorrow when she explains the results of my latest blood work.  I must think positive.

As if I didn't have enough on my mind, I started sneezing, and feeling stuffed up today.  Been hanging on all afternoon but I'm praying it's just allergies.  Hunter is down with a cold but I've been trying to avoid being around him so I don't think it's his germs.  I hope.

I took my Ipod to the dentist so I could play music while in the chair. They had Pandora Radio on at their office and that music was fine so I didn't use my gadget. The assistant told me I could download pandora for free on my Ipod and have it wherever I went.  I have a nifty little speaker that plugs into the pod too so I'm going to try and figure out how to do that.

Well, it's 5 o'clock and I'm kind of hungry so I guess I'll see what I can throw together that is super easy.

Just one damn thing after another!

Falling SPLAT! on your face and injuring your knee is one thing, but man, I somehow managed to screw up other body parts as well.  I knew something was "off" because I just wasn't getting my act together.  Depression I could understand but the fatigue, loss of appetite, anxiety, (plus sore knee and arms, poor sleeping, etc) was wearing me down.  Every day I seemed to be stuck and couldn't get any energy generated.

From what I've been reading online, (and I'll find out more Friday when I see my doctor), it could be the stress I was under affected my adrenal gland. Apparently, it can peter out if your stress level is ongoing and that makes you tired, listless, and so forth.  My sed rate (which I'm not even sure what that is) was not good. Perhaps it has to do with sodium levels.  Anyhow, I was anemic, had a UTI at one point, and then the knee got a nasty infection on top of it all.

I've lost track of how many times blood has been drawn.  Today, Sue took me to see my surgeon and IF
my regular doctor gives her okay on Friday, my surgery is still scheduled for Sept. 24.  Other factors are coming into play,however, so I'm a tad uneasy that the date might be pushed back.  I hope not.  My knee hurts all the time and I can barely get around with a walker some days.

After I saw my surgeon (and she was much nicer to me today so I'm not as scared of her as I was), we went over to the hospital lab.  I was there for close to two hours!  First you have to have your name called (even though I had a 10:30 appt all set up) then you get registered and sit some more. Then you get called again.

As I heard my name, Sue started to push the wheel chair to one window (she was sitting down in a chair next to me) and I told her...no, it's around the corner that they want me.  Still sitting, she backed up the wheelchair to get me going in the other direction and she ran over her foot. She had thin flats on. It hurt!  She started to cry.  People watching became the high spot for all the others sitting in there.  I got into the lab and they drew blood, a doctor came and gave me a shot and I had to sit for a half hour to get more blood drawn.  Then I had to sit for another half hour, and have a third blood draw.  Then I had to pee in a cup.  That was a story in itself.

I couldn't go at first. Made Sue go in with me (she wasn't thrilled) and while she ran the faucet, I tried to pee on demand.  They gave me what they call a "nun's hat" to use.  It sits on the toilet under the seat and you pee into it and then you can pour into the tiny cup. Interesting concept.  Much easier than trying to hit the cup.  Afterwards I left the 'hat' on the toilet as I wasn't sure what to do with it.  They told me they're discarded but I told them that was a waste as they're quite handy and should be cleaned and reused.  I think they thought I was wacky.

I was REALLY happy when we finally got to leave.  I drove around the block to find the clinic I have to go to on Friday when I see my regular doctor about the results of the blood tests I had today.  Am dreading that.  I think they call it adrenal insufficiency but supposedly, it can be taken care of and shouldn't affect the surgery postponement.  I hope.

I went back to the dentist a couple days ago because my front tooth was zinging (all four on top are dead and I can't feel them). He did more x-rays and this time said I had an abscess starting.  Why it wasn't found the first time I don't know.  Maybe it takes a while to show up.  You can't have surgery with any infection somewhere else so he arranged for me to see a Sequim dentist tomorrow. He'll do TWO root canals within a two-hour time frame.  Jenni is taking me just because I'm not keen on going alone.  Going to cost $2000 and if he doesn't get all the infection out, surgery is postponed. Period.

While at the surgeon's office this morning, she told me I'll have a spinal block. Also told me again about all the dangers in surgery.  I can get blood clots, an infection (and the knee replacement would have to be done over) or the knee could fail, and all kinds of other gentle thoughts like I could lose a limb or my life!  I told her I knew she was obligated to name the risks but now I needed another pill for anxiety!

Sue and I stopped at Jack in the Box after our errands. I needed a chocolate milk shake after all the trauma of the day.  First one in weeks and I drank it all!  Got home to find a birthday card in the mail with a big ole "70" on the front.  I can vaguely remember turning 60 and not being all that thrilled about it.  70 just plain pisses me off!  Still.... it's better than the alternative, I suppose.

I've decided to try taking my Prozac at bedtime instead of in the morning. I wonder if that was contributing to my needing a nap all day long.  I know it's suppose to take a while for that stuff to kick in.  I guess I feel a little calmer....but not much.  It's hard being high strung and neurotic.

Well, I guess I've rattled on enough about the latest medical journey I'm on. Gets boring after a while but this is my life right now.  I know I'll have a room mate at the nursing home so maybe my depression will lessen with company.  If the surgery stays on track, I check in super early on the 24th and I think go to Crestwood on the 27th or 28th. My goal is to be home two weeks (or less) later but it all depends on how well I conquer the physical therapy.

Kind of feels like when I was pregnant. I'm scared and I know it's gonna hurt and I don't want to do it but too late now....I'm going along for the ride, like it or not!

Finally figured out why my blog wasn't letting me sign in.  I have to use Chrome instead of Explorer when I get online. You'd think they'd at least warn a person. I'm too tired to proofread this now. Sorry for any errors.

Saturday with Catie

My granddaughter arrived last night from Renton to spend the weekend with me.  I decided this morning I was going to take a stab at driving again.  It's been about 7 weeks and even though my left knee is still
achy, I figured I didn't need it to drive.  I was a little nervous (I seem to be a little nervous about every facet of my life these days) but I managed just fine.

Stopped at Safeway and she pushed me around to buy half a dozen items and pick up a prescription. Then we stopped by Jim's Pharmacy but the clerk (who was less than cordial) told me I needed a prescription to get the compression stockings I have to wear after surgery.  They give you a pair in the hospital but I was told they can be uncomfortable and you're better off getting your own.  Oh well....saved me $40.   I did buy a small bottle of this glue that is also suppose to help the stocking stay up.  Big ripoff. $12 but that store is overpriced with almost all their items.

Next we dropped off my vacuum at the vacuum store so the guy could put a new cord on it. Then we went to Joanne's Fabric as Catie is cross stitching a special project and needed thread. I was in the wheelchair again so I browsed around a bit and bought some purple yarn.  Then we went to Big Lots to look around but didn't buy anything.  Stopped at Wendy's to get some chili and fries and then ate them at the lookout near the harbor.

Les called while  we were there so we went on home as he had brought me three movies to watch.  Catie and I spent the afternoon watching movies.  Toy Story 2 and The Color Purple, which she'd never seen.  She went over to Papa Murphy's to pick us up of pizza for dinner and later tonight she'll go visit her mom.  I'll head off to bed.

Didn't sleep well last night. Never can understand why.  Am thinking I'm going to call the dentist up on Monday and see if he can't work me in for a quick look at one of my front teeth.  It's acting up and I'd act to think of dealing with a bad tooth during rehab.  Also can't help but wonder if the teeth are why I'm having headaches all the time.  And maybe why I'm nauseated so much.  Would really like to get to the bottom of it.

Well, that's all I got for now.

Not liking this blog spot today

Sometimes I hate computers.  They act up for no reason except to make me irritated. Tried all morning to get signed on and it kept telling me to use another name.  I just may hunt around for another blog website to use if this keeps up.

Been feeling a tad punk the last few days.  Not sure if the heat is contributing to my knee looking a little swollen or if it's "just one of those things."  At any rate, I had a period where I was feeling halfway confident to try and use a cane instead of the walker to get around but I'm still a little nervous about trying it out without someone  here to pick me up if I fall on my butt.  I'd really like to move on from the walker although I know I'll use it again once I get my replacement.

My upper right arm/shoulder/neck are causing me so much grief -- even when I try to sleep.  I assume it's from using the walker but sometimes I wonder if it isn't a 'neck thing out of whack' as I suffer the most while in bed.  I've tried using one pillow, two pillows, three pillows, and no pillow but I just can't get comfortable.  I wake up every single morning with a headache so I assume it's either a neck problem, I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep, or a sinus issue. Maybe dust mites.  You have lots of time to ponder everything when you're housebound.

Home health nurse showed up a couple days ago to draw more blood.  Guess my doctor is watching my numbers.  She also needed a urine sample but after three glasses of water, I gave up in disgust. I had Jenni run the cup in after she got off work.  Sometimes you just can't pee on demand, no matter how hard you try.

Well, enough on body functions.  Then again, it's about all I got.  I guess I could discuss the movies I've watched on Netflix.  Yesterday I watched a VHS movie in my collection.  Seen it before, of course, but I always enjoyed it.  Filmed around the Columbia River Gorge. Anyhow, it was called "Sometimes a great notion" from a book by Ken Kesey.  Starred Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, and Paul Newman.  1970 flick and pretty good.

Another one I watched was a foreign movie from the Netherlands that was nominated for an Oscar in 2002.  Called Twin Sisters.  Had subtitles (which normally is a turnoff for me) but this story was especially intriguing.  Had to do with twins separated when their mom died. One was given to the bad relatives and one to the good. Takes place during Hitler's time in Germany.  Excellent!  The kind of movie you wake up thinking about days later.

Another was a 2012 movie filmed in Norway called 'Into the White'. Some subtitles at first but mostly English.  About American fliers and German fliers during WWII that shoot each other down in the mountains and end up bonding to try and save themselves.

I won't comment on the news.  It all stinks!

Here's a picture of my cousin, Cindy, on the right with her daughter (in the middle) and one of her bridesmaids.  Cindy is 5'8" but she looks short compared to these girls. Mirinda, the bride is getting hitched on Sept. 21.

 



Got an email and photo from Bob Blaurock that I thought was interesting. Maybe I'll put it on Facebook too.  He wrote:

 

This picture was taken about three weeks ago. We went on a tour with our '65 Olds to Idaho. There were about 100 vintage cars on the tour. On the tour we stopped for lunch at the local high school. Obviously Teton, Idaho is behind the times. I rest my case. (Like the majority of us who graduated from PTHS he agrees that the controversy about our Redskins name is just so much BS!)

 

 

Well, I guess I'll head back to my recliner now.  If this website continues to act up, I'm going to hunt around for another.  Not in the mood for fighting with it.



And Sunday arrives....

Looking pretty nice outside.  It's a little after 11 and Mary just made a quick Safeway run to get a few groceries on my list.  She's been so great this weekend.  Her, Hunter, and Wayne cleaned off my back deck of all the pots, furniture, and "stuff" so it's looking nice and litter free.

I'm feeling better but still have the shakes a bit in the morning. Not sure why.  Not sure why my body has chosen to do a lot of weird things these past weeks.  Has given me a lot to think about of how I'm going to live my life once I have that new knee and can maneuver around on my own.  My biggest enemy is my own imagination -- definitely have to work on getting back into fight mode.

Home health will come one or two days this week to draw blood as doctor wants a check on how my numbers are going.  Otherwise, it should be quiet with no trips needed.  Next Wed is the pre-op appt. with the surgeon and then the following Tuesday I'll check into the hospital. Should get sent to Crestwood Rehab on the 27th or 28th and how long I'm there depends on how well I get the exercises done.  I try to focus on coming home in October and starting my life again.

Mary ran a few errands for me yesterday. I rode along. Even managed to use the walker (instead of the wheel chair) to navigate down the ramp and to the car.  One of our stops was at the hospital to "drop off" a sealed envelope containing one of my lab tests.  We went to my clinic first but they directed us to the hospital lab.  I waited in the car while she ran it in.  Half hour later she returned plenty steamed!  Customer service was not working that day. Maybe the lab front desk girl resented working Saturdays.  Anyhow, she had a big sign  up blocking her window telling people to sign in and have a seat.

Mary tried telling her she was just dropping off an envelope but the girl wouldn't even talk to her.  Mary said another guy said there for 45 minutes because the girl wouldn't look at his paper directing him to x-ray; not the lab.  They have cards you can fill out with comments so Mary used her time to lambast the process they were allowing to happen.  Not one to bite her tongue, Mary told her that it was absolutely stupid how she wouldn't take the time to spend 30 seconds helping a person. Good for her!  Jenni does the same thing when she's confronted with poor customer service.

I found out later that Jenni spoke up for me in ER the night I was brought in and was out of it with pain. They wanted to send me home and Jen said NO!  Then they aspirated and admitted.   I hate most ERs I've observed and Port Angeles is top of the list for poor service.  I still remember how my dad suffered waiting for help in 2009.  Last month when Hunter broke a toe, I took him to ER around 4 pm until Jen could get there and they didn't come home until 11 pm.  They spent less than 5 minutes with him putting on a walking boot.  No excuse for that.  When I drove myself to the ER the first night I fell and my lip kept bleeding (this was at 3:30 a.m.) I was the only one there except for maybe one other person.  The doctor made a quick hello and introduction as he looked at my injury and I never saw him again.  I left after an hour and all I got was the desk guy saying "don't you want your discharge orders?"  Oh brother!  What a racket!

Okay. I got that off my chest.

Don't really have much else to share.  Watched a really good movie on Netflix called The Red Dog. Terrific music throughout and a good story too.  Posted a new photo on facebook this morning that Mary took while I was on my laptop.  My poor mouth is going to cost me some money I'm afraid what with a front tooth chipped and my four upper front teeth feeling dead.  When I floss, I can't even feel them and when I touch them with my finger, it's like a stick is in my mouth.  I assume that means the teeth are dead or whatever they call it.  My cousin says I may end up needing root canals.  Four of them?  That has to be more than I can afford, I suspect.  I'll play and wait and see game for now.  If they don't hurt or turn black, I'll just deal with it.

Gotta go now.

Foggy Friday

For whatever reason, I had a case of insomnia last night. Turned on the late-night talk shows and surfed back and forth trying to find something of interest. I kind of like Jimmy Kimmel. Much more than Letterman, who I can't stand!   Ended up watching Leonard Cohan on PBS. Man, what a performer.

Finally crawled out of bed at 8:30, showered, dressed, fixed breakfast, and made my way to the kitchen table to blog a bit and surf the net.  Saw this picture on Facebook of Mary Gaboury and her grandkids.

 I called ancestry.com again yesterday to plead my case for them to remove the $85 fee from my visa bill. (I was adamant that I had cancelled my subscription in time) Much to my relief and surprise, they allowed me the refund.  Today I may try to sit down and balance my checkbook and pay bills. I've been putting it off as I didn't have the energy to nerve to see where my finances sit.

Home health physical therapist came yesterday and said I'm doing the exercises required pretty good so he doesn't think he needs to return until I come home from the nursing home rehab.  I wish my surgery was closer than Sept. 24 but I'll deal with it.  My strength is still not great.  By the time I shower, dress, fix breakfast, and get to the table, I'm sweating like crazy.  I suppose lack of fresh air and exercise (and the fact I was so sick) took a toll.

I'm still surprised at how quickly I was wiped out from the fall.  I assume it was the infection in my knee scrap that got into my blood stream and did the damage.  Sure didn't appear to be that bad of a bloody knee but infections can be tricky.

Watched a Netflix movie yesterday called 'Evening.' Starred Meryl Streep and her daughter, Vanessa Redgrave and Claire Danes.  Terrific flick but sad.

Maddie has a soccer game in Bainbridge tomorrow. I'm looking forward to Mary coming to spend the weekend. And here's an oldie from the 60's.....

20 more days

Not much to report today.  Sue drove me to a 1/2 hour meeting downtown at the Angeles Joint clinic where they talked about what to expect in rehab.  Only me and one other guy were there.  His birthday is 9-24 and he's having his left knee replaced that day too.

Watched a movie on Netflix this morning (Ethan Frome) with Liam Neeson. Sitting here watching Wheel of Fortune now and will try to stay up for Jeopardy too. Jen stayed over last night but she decided to head home for tonight. That's a good thing.  I can get my own shower and get dressed and halfway fix small meals for myself. Thank God for the walker.

Nausea has passed for the most part so I assume it was that antibiotic making me sick.  I'm taking ibuprofen every 4-6 hours but trying to hold it at that. Tylenol just didn't seem to be helping.  Home health physical therapist comes tomorrow and Mary comes on Saturday so she'll help me with more exercises too.

I finally got my nerve up to open bills. Dentist came to over $600. Wish I could afford dental insurance but my fixed income just won't handle the premiums.  I know medicare isn't going to pay for a lot of my hospital pills too so I'll deal with that when the time comes.  Have to focus in other areas for now.

Mary McMinn's grandson, Doyle, called me from Sequim today and said her obit was in the Leader today. He asked me to encourage people to visit her celebration of life at Fort Worden.  I forget the day but I'm sure it's listed in the paper. Wish I could go.  He said his dad, Jim, had knee replacement surgery and is very active now and happy he had it done.

Jenni and Maddie stopped in to use my printer.  She tested the printing by typing www on a plain sheet of paper. (she knows how I feel about waste)  Anyhow, we joked about it and I said I can always reuse the paper printing on the other side.  Then she scrunched the paper up and threw it in the trash.  That's her sense of humor.  We did laugh.

Happy Birthday to my pal, Carol Musial, in Bremerton.  And Happy Birthday to my friends on FB. I do read FB on my phone to keep up on peoples' posts but I haven't felt like posting anything myself yet.

Sounds like we're in for a little rain in the days ahead.  I don't mind. Kind of nice to sit inside and watch it come down.  My mood is raising a little more every day. I even managed to knit one row on my afghan.  One thing this ordeal has shown me is that I might just look into caregiving when I'm well.  Not the heavy duty stuff where you have to lift people but I'd like to be of help to a shut-in or two by dropping in to clean, cook, visit, and run errands.  You can feel so isolated and depressed without contact.  What surprised me about my situation was how it knocked me for a loop anxiety-wise and energy wise.  Obviously more was or still is going on besides the banged up knee.  All the books I want to read and I haven't picked up one yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

My appetite is slowly returning so I'm hoping my lab work will reflect an improvement. I called Crestwood Nursing Home today to ask about what kind of things to take and they said I'd probably be in a room with one other person.  That will be nice.  There are a lot of programs in place to help people through injuries and for that I'm thankful.

First day of school

Jenni always takes a picture of the twins on the first day of school.  This is their 8th grade shot.

As they were getting in the car this morning, they forgot to close the front door.  Next thing they knew, Sammy was standing there looking at them from the sidewalk.  Sammy cannot be trusted without being on a leash.  He doesn't mind.  Jen called to him. He took one look at her and took off across the street where two dogs live that bark at him through their window all day.  He did his usual.
Stopped to bark at them, ran around to their backyard and barked at them some more. 

Hunter and Jen argued about who was going after him.  Not the first time Hunter has had this job.

Bad doggie!  Hunter isn't pleased.

Jen takes me to the doctor at 11. EKG was fine but they drew more blood to see why my sodium numbers are low.  Back on Prozac to try and get the depression nipped in the bud.  She stopped my antibiotic for the UTI (another doctor had prescribed it) so I was mighty glad about that. It made me sick all the time.

Still nauseated today but am hoping tomorrow will improve.  Have to do a hemoccult (poop on a stick) to rule out a problem there.  Oh joy!  Tomorrow Sue will take me to this meeting that is suppose to answer any questions you have about knee replacement and give us an idea of what to expect.

I may be in a nursing home for one to three weeks. (probably closer to three) and then home health will follow up with physical therapy at home for a couple weeks more.  May have to be an out patient at a physical therapy place too (or the hospital).  Will leave nursing home on a walker and should graduate to a cane and then on my own.  Long haul.

If I can just get some quality sleep, I'm hoping I can resume interest in knitting, reading, tv, etc. Going to work hard at it.  I do my exercises twice a day but still have a difficult time standing on my bad leg.  At least I've conquered taking a shower on my own.  Jen fixes up my meals so they're handy to microwave or prepare while sitting on my walker.  I'd be lost without my walker.

Doctor told me to stop watching the news and only watch happy stuff.  So much evil lurking out there. It upsets me.

I'm telling Jen to stay home tonight. Time for me to quit being alone at night.  She had a new washer installed today and a new dishwasher. (everything was breaking down at once)  She got a new kitchen floor (bad leak ruined the recently laid tile) and she got new counter tops and kitchen sink and had to get a new toilet too. I think.  Carpeting is next.  I couldn't deal with all that.

Mary's coming this weekend. Looking forward to that. Imagine Jen is too. She's worn out caring for me.

Starting a new month

Well, it's finally September.  By the end of this month, I'll be 70, have a new knee, be in rehab to make the knee work, and hopefully, on the road to recovery.  I'm hoping my doctor appt. this Tuesday will give me some answers to why I can't seem to jump back.  Must be the anemia but we'll see.

Jenni stayed the night again and fixed a pancake for me for breakfast.  An hour later, I threw up a bit.
Very tired. Went back to bed for another nap.  She ran the washer, did dishes, swept, vacuumed, cleaned my bathroom, and left me some lunch in my ice chest by my recliner.  Her and Hunter are coming back this afternoon and she'll fix supper.

Wayne is taking Maddie and her boyfriend to the drive-in in PT tonight.  I watched a little golf this afternoon but still feeling shaky so I guess I'll head back to my chair.  Nothing much else to report. Jen tells me Big Lots opened up this week so I plan to shop there next month.  Is that totally boring, or what?

Walking seems to be improving. Some days are better than others but I'm confident progress is happening.  Just need to get the insides working now.  Promised Jen I would try to blog at least a few lines a day. This is it for now.