Yesterday started out with me unable to find my wedding ring. I had been in a hurry the night before and could remember putting it into my pocket before heading upstairs, but not what happened afterwards. (Turns out I had thrown it into my change jar with my change.) I had to fast for a blood test, and in order to avoid having to go to the Quest lab twice, waited until after our 1:00 appts. to eat. So it was a starving and edgy me who showed up with the Mamá in tow to get blood drawn, something I hate anyway.
When the scruffy man started babbling about why he shouldn't have to pay for his testing, even though no one in the waiting room had made eye contact, I knew he was trouble. Sure enough, when the tech came out to call us back, he made his fuss complete with threats and profanity at many decibels. As if getting a needle stuck in your vein wasn't troubling enough. It upset the Mamá, and was a little unsettling to me.
Afterwards, because of another annoying idiot, I had to go to Pitt to get my photo id. They have started to require them to enter buildings because of the bomb threats. The Med school has not yet been involved, but with my luck they'll start Monday and I will be stuck for Tuesday's training.
All of this said, I did get my packing done for the cruise and plan to do my mother's today. That is my main goal, and to set up some time to spend with Bob this weekend. And so life goes on. It occurs to me that although I have now experienced August and September without having to start school, this will be the first time that I make it through the warm spring months with no obligations to sweat all day with teenagers. How lovely! I continue to savor the joys of being released from all that. It hasn't gotten old yet.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Maintenance
today we try to get mom's new partial denture fixed. The dentist who made it insists it's perfectly fine, but she has trouble getting it in and out and now one of the teeth has begun to work its way loose. Yeesh!
Trying to figure out how to fit in all the tasks before the cruise and balance time with Bob. I have taken an inordinate amount of pride in cleaning the house, but lately have had trouble keeping up. Next week brings a meeting with Bill Roth, an appt. for Mom with Dr. Knupp, training at Pitt and packing.
Randy returned yesterday and finished the back door before and after dinner. It's always nice to have someone around to provide a distraction for my mom and I think she is slowly starting to feel better after her most recent hospital stay. She does seem sad and scared a lot of the time. I'm never sure just how to deal with it, but we manage to get through the days. Trying to balance it all at times seems impossible.
Slowly in this life I am beginning to see how to manage things without expecting the impossible of myself. We'll see if that sticks.
Trying to figure out how to fit in all the tasks before the cruise and balance time with Bob. I have taken an inordinate amount of pride in cleaning the house, but lately have had trouble keeping up. Next week brings a meeting with Bill Roth, an appt. for Mom with Dr. Knupp, training at Pitt and packing.
Randy returned yesterday and finished the back door before and after dinner. It's always nice to have someone around to provide a distraction for my mom and I think she is slowly starting to feel better after her most recent hospital stay. She does seem sad and scared a lot of the time. I'm never sure just how to deal with it, but we manage to get through the days. Trying to balance it all at times seems impossible.
Slowly in this life I am beginning to see how to manage things without expecting the impossible of myself. We'll see if that sticks.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
A scare
So, oxygen issues have been settled. I knew that once we saw the pulmonary specialist, no one would continue to talk about taking away nocturnal oxygen. The sidebar on the bed is back where it belongs, by mom's request. :) But Easter was another story. We were scheduled to have Easter dinner and the egg hunt here. She really, really, really looks forward to this, mostly I think because my sister shines and she is so proud. So we got through the Good Friday party with the volleyball crew and the Saturday dinner with the ski trip group. Mom really enjoyed that especially, since she stayed with us the whole time and loved the conversation and being included with the group.
Sunday morning was another matter. She complained of chest pains when she woke up and said she'd been having them since 5:00 a.m. I knew if we took her to the ER, they would keep her, an 85-year-old with chest pains. And they did, complete with an IV line which never had to be used. They did all the requisite tests, including another echocardiogram, and blood tests. Nothing indicated another heart attack and they said her echo actually showed some improvement over December. My sister called it: they had taken her off Imdur, which was controlling her angina pain for a decade or more, and substituted Coreg, a beta blocker which has actually made her heart a little stronger but done nothing for angina.
So now we readjust. It really does take a village, as my friend Bob once pointed out to me. Marianne kept asking about why they'd made the change, but I didn't know enough about each drug at the time to ask. And the fact is that if her own cardiologist hadn't been on vacation in December, it might not have occurred that way. She'll be back on Imdur and Coreg and we'll watch her blood pressure. I have a feeling I'll be learning that long before November when I'm hoping to train for the Normal Physical Exam at Pitt. It will feel good to go in there at that time with that already under my belt.
We need to keep in mind that none of this means she is totally out of the woods. She still has a weak heart and lungs, and still the balance issues. My plan is to hit the balance stuff hard when we return to Keystone Rehab. If she felt more confident walking, she'd feel more confident all the way around. So that's the plan.
We continue to get ready for the cruise. We'll have to finish her packing next weekend, so we may be working around our friends from Queens, who are staying in her house right now. People come and go so quickly here!
Sunday morning was another matter. She complained of chest pains when she woke up and said she'd been having them since 5:00 a.m. I knew if we took her to the ER, they would keep her, an 85-year-old with chest pains. And they did, complete with an IV line which never had to be used. They did all the requisite tests, including another echocardiogram, and blood tests. Nothing indicated another heart attack and they said her echo actually showed some improvement over December. My sister called it: they had taken her off Imdur, which was controlling her angina pain for a decade or more, and substituted Coreg, a beta blocker which has actually made her heart a little stronger but done nothing for angina.
So now we readjust. It really does take a village, as my friend Bob once pointed out to me. Marianne kept asking about why they'd made the change, but I didn't know enough about each drug at the time to ask. And the fact is that if her own cardiologist hadn't been on vacation in December, it might not have occurred that way. She'll be back on Imdur and Coreg and we'll watch her blood pressure. I have a feeling I'll be learning that long before November when I'm hoping to train for the Normal Physical Exam at Pitt. It will feel good to go in there at that time with that already under my belt.
We need to keep in mind that none of this means she is totally out of the woods. She still has a weak heart and lungs, and still the balance issues. My plan is to hit the balance stuff hard when we return to Keystone Rehab. If she felt more confident walking, she'd feel more confident all the way around. So that's the plan.
We continue to get ready for the cruise. We'll have to finish her packing next weekend, so we may be working around our friends from Queens, who are staying in her house right now. People come and go so quickly here!
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